ASEAN member countries are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
And, unlike other far reaching multilateral policy initiatives, it seems at least that there is a strong, broad-based commitment to follow through on these commitments as each of the ASEAN member countries has already signed off on an action plan designed to achieve the above referred to objectives as set forth in the blueprint by 2015.
These are exciting and ambitious goals which will no doubt have significant short, medium and long term economic implications on Thailand and the rest of the ASEAN countries.
But, as with most big, ambitions new government plans there will be perceived winners and losers.
Among the major winners from Thailand’s participation under the AEC should be the Thai consumer.
Implementing a policy of free flow of goods and investment throughout the region should reduce transaction costs and help to drive down the cost of goods produced in the region.
Another major winner should be Thailand listed companies and other large Thailand companies looking to find new markets for their products and services throughout the region. The removal of the trade barriers as required by the AEC should open up interesting opportunities for Thai companies looking to expand their customer base and diversify their businesses.
However, many of Thailand’s SME’s will likely see these coming changes a bit differently. Although SME’s, also, stand to benefit from Thailand’s participation under the AEC, many will likely feel threatened by the provisions of the AEC requiring Thailand to open up to its market to increased foreign competition.
This situation sets the stage for an intense policy debate in Thailand (and the other ASEAN countries as well) leading up to 2015.
In order to satisfy its commitments under the AEC, the Thai government will be required to make a series of legal changes in order to make Thailand investment law consistent with its AEC obligations.