With its fast and convenient transportation, easily accessible by car, train and plane, coupled with state-ofthe-art infrastructure and communications, Songkhla is also home to the Southern Region Industrial Estate Songkhla Province (Chalung). The province is also adjacent to the Malaysian states of Kedah and Perlis and offers border crossings between the two countries at two locations: Sadao and Padang Besar. All this makes Songkhla the undisputed southern business center, as well as the venue for the most important state offices and financial institutions. It is also home to the region's major state and private academic institutes, not least Prince of Songkla University – the biggest university in southern Thailand.
The net result of all this is that Songkhla is not only important in the context of Thailand but constitutes one of the key commercial cities in all of Southeast Asia.