WT/TPR/G/400/Rev.1  
9 December 2020  
(20-8842) Page: 1/29 
Trade Policy Review Body   Original: English  
 
  
TRADE POLICY REVIEW  
REPORT BY  
THAILAND  
Revision1 
Pursuant to the Agreement Establishing the Trade Policy Review Mechanism (Annex 3 of the 
Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization), the policy statement by Thailand  
is attached.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1 With information provided by the Government of Thailand just before the meeting.  WT/TPR/G/ 400/Rev.1  • Thailand  
 
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  Contents  
1   OVERVIEW  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................  4 
2   ECONOMIC AND TRADE ENVIRONMENT  ................................ ................................ ....... 4 
2.1   Domestic Economy  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 4 
2.2   Foreign Trade ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............  5 
2.3   Foreign Investment  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..... 5 
3   ECONOMIC AND TRADE POLICY DEVELOPMENT, 2015 -19 ................................ ...........  5 
3.1   National Policies towards Structural Reform  ................................ ................................ .... 5 
3.1.1    Infrastructure development  ................................ ................................ ........................  7 
3.1.2    Trade and business facilitation  ................................ ................................ ....................  8 
3.1.2.1    Ease of doing business  ................................ ................................ ...........................  8 
3.1.2.2    Relaxation of foreign exchange regulations  ................................ ...............................  8 
3.1.2.2.1    Repatriation of export proceeds  ................................ ................................ ............  8 
3.1.2.2.2    Foreign currency deposit (FCD)  ................................ ................................ .............  8 
3.1.2.2.3    Outward transfers  ................................ ................................ ...............................  8 
3.1.2.3    Regulatory guillotine  ................................ ................................ ..............................  8 
3.1.3    BCG  economy  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........  9 
3.2   Sectoral Policies  ................................ ................................ ................................ ........  10 
3.2.1    Tariffs and customs procedures  ................................ ................................ ................  10 
3.2.1.1    National Single Window & ASEAN Single Window  ................................ .....................  10 
3.2.1.2    Authorized Economic Operator (AEO)  ................................ ................................ ..... 11 
3.2.1.3    Border trade facilitation  ................................ ................................ ........................  11 
3.2.2    Agriculture  ................................ ................................ ................................ .............  11 
3.2.3    Fisheries  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................  13 
3.2.4    Industry  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................  14 
3.2.5    Services  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................  15 
3.2.5.1    Civil aviation  ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 15 
3.2.5.2    Financial services  ................................ ................................ ................................ . 16 
3.2.5.2.1    Banking  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........  16 
3.2.5.2.2    Securities  ................................ ................................ ................................ .........  16 
3.2.5.2.3    Insurance  ................................ ................................ ................................ .........  17 
3.2.5.3    Tourism  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..............  19 
3.2.6    Intellectual property  ................................ ................................ ................................  19 
3.2.7    SMEs  ................................ ................................ ................................ .....................  22 
3.2.8    Government p rocurement  ................................ ................................ ........................  23 
3.2.9    Competition  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...........  23 
3.2.10    COVID -19 related policies and measures  ................................ ................................ .. 23 
3.3   Regional Trade Arrangements and Economic Cooperation  ................................ ...............  24 
3.3.1    FTAs ................................ ................................ ................................ .....................  24 
3.3.2    WTO ................................ ................................ ................................ .....................  25 WT/TPR/G/ 400/Rev.1  • Thailand  
 
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  3.3.3    APEC ................................ ................................ ................................ .....................  26 
3.3.4    ASEAN ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................  26 
3.3.4.1    Trade in services  ................................ ................................ ................................ .. 27 
3.3.4.2    Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with dialogue partners  ................................ ..............  27 
3.3.5    RCEP  ................................ ................................ ................................ .....................  27 
3.3.6    ACMECS  ................................ ................................ ................................ ................  28 
3.3.7    ASEA N Capital Markets Forum  ................................ ................................ ..................  28 
4   FUTURE ECONOMIC AND TRADE POLICY DIRECTIONS  ................................ ..............  29 
 
 
  WT/TPR/G/ 400/Rev.1  • Thailand  
 
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  1  OVERVIEW  
1.1.  Thailand has experienced many changes  during the review period. The passing of 
His Majesty  King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 2016 was a great loss among Thais across the nation. Since 
the passing of the beloved King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Thailand has been under the reign of 
H.M. King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun.  
1.2.  The new Constitution has been enacted in 2017 after being approved by voters in 2016. 
Afterwards, on 24 March 2019, Thailand held its first general election since 2014. 
General  Prayuth  Chan-ocha has been chosen by the parliament as the Prime Minister of Thailand 
and the leader of the coalition government.  
1.3.  Thailand is fully committed to the World Trade  Organi zation (WTO) and strongly supports the 
rules-based multilateral trading system providing for stability and sustainability of international 
economic growth. In 2019, Thailand played importance role in both regional and international trade 
cooperation . Thailand was the chair of ASEAN Committee in Geneva (ACG) as an ASEAN 's 
chairmanship and the chair of General Council. In addition, Thailand has successfully concluded 
two FTAs (Thailand -Chile FTA, and ASEAN -Hong Kong , China  FTA) and is currently negotia ting 
several bilateral and regional trade agreements.  
1.4.  During the review period, our international trade always accounts more than 100% of GDP. 
However, due to the global economic slowdown in recent years, plus the novel COVID -19 pandemic 
in 2020 which is s till ongoing, the future of global economy, including Thai economy, might be 
gloomier than the 2008 Financial Crisis.  
2  ECONOMIC AND TRADE ENVIRONMENT  
2.1  Domestic Economy  
2.1.  In 2019, Thailand 's economic structure comprised of service sector, the largest economic 
sector, with 61.1% share, followed by industrial and agricultural sectors with shares of 30.9% and 
8.0% respectively.  
2.2.  In terms of gross domestic product (GDP), in 2015 -18 Thai economy constantly expanded at 
3.1%, 3.4%, 4.1% and 4.2% respectively, due to the continual growth of private final consumption 
expenditure which accounts more than 50% of Thai GDP. Nevertheless, in 2019, the economy grew 
with a slower pace at 2.4%, mainly because of the decline in exports and imports of goods and 
services, a nd the marginal increase of the private final consumption expenditure. In June  2020, the 
Bank of Thailand forecasted that the Thai economy will contract 8.1% in 2020, mainly due to the 
severe impact of the COVID -19 pandemic which enormously affected worldw ide economies. On 
18 May 2020, the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) announced that the 
GDP in Q1/2020 contracted 1.8% year-on-year as a result of decreases in exports, public and private 
investments, and government expenditure.   
2.3.  Headline and core inflations remained low during 2015 -19. Although the Monetary Policy 
Committee (MPC) and the Minister of Finance set the 2020 headline inflation target within the range 
of 1-3%, the headline inflation is expected to be lower than the lower b ound of the inflation target 
because of lower demand -pull inflationary pressures and lower energy prices from declined oil 
demand, which is largely a result of the COVID -19 outbreak. Besides, the Ministry of Commerce 
estimated in April 2020  expected that t he headline inflation of Thailand in 2020  will 
be -1.0 to -0.20%.  
2.4.  From 2015  to 2019, the MPC adjusted the policy interest rate several times to respond with 
the changing economic circumstances. From August 2019 to May 2020, due to the trade tension, 
global  economic slowdown, and particularly the COVID -19 pandemic, the MPC decided to lower the 
rate five  times (with 0.25% cut each) from 1.75%  to 0.50% to mitigate the economic effects from 
such circumstances.  WT/TPR/G/ 400/Rev.1  • Thailand  
 
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  2.2  Foreign Trade 
2.5.  During 2015 -19, Thailand 's internatio nal trade was fluctuating. In 2015 -16, the total trade 
dropped 8.40% and 1.77% respectively due to low commodity  and oil prices and sluggish global 
demand. Nevertheless, the trade increased sharply at 11.86% in 2017 and 9.39% in 2018 because 
exports to maj or export destinations, such as United States, China, Japan, and ASEAN notably 
increased. After the sharp rise, the trade shrank 3.65% in 2019, mainly because of the decreases 
of both exports and imports of Thailand 's major trading partners.  
2.6.  Thailand 's major trading partners during 2015 -19 based on total trade value are China, Japan, 
and United States respectively. In 2019, in terms of export, United States was Thailand 's top major 
export destination, following by China and Japan with the export values of 31.3, 29.2, and 
USD 24.6 billion respectively. For imports, China was the largest import partner of Thailand, followed 
by Japan and United States with the import values of 50.3, 33.2, and USD 17.3 billion respectively. 
If counting all ASEAN member states together, ASEAN would beco me the most important trading 
partner of Thailand with values of export and import at USD 62.9 billion and USD 45.0 billion 
respectively.  
2.7.  In 2019, main exports of Thailand are motor cars and parts, automatic data processing 
machines, precious stones and je wellery, rubber products, and polymers of ethylene and propylene. 
Major imports are crude oil, machinery and parts, electrical machinery and parts, chemicals, and 
iron and steel products.  
2.3  Foreign Investment  
2.8.  Inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) were on an increasing trend from USD 55.4 billion in 
2015 to USD 60.7 billion in 2018. Nonetheless, the FDI inflows decreased in 2019 to 
USD 59.0 billion. Japan has long been the most important investor in Thailand with its 14.5% share 
of FDI inflows to Thailan d in 2019. Other large investors were China (14.0%), Singapore (13.4%), 
European Union (11.7%), and United States (6.8%) correspondingly. Foreign investors mainly 
invested in financial and insurance, manufacturing, and real estate.  
2.9.  Thai enterprises also in creasingly invest abroad. The statistics show that in 2019 31.0% of Thai 
investment flows went to ASEAN, mainly to Singapore (20.0% of total investment outflows), followed 
by Japan (13.0%), the European Union (11.7%), the United States (10.0%), and 
Hong Kong China  (7.5%). Sectors that Thai enterprises focused on were manufacturing, wholesale 
and retail trade, and financial and insurance.  
3  ECONOMIC AND TRADE POLICY DEVELOPMENT , 2015 -19 
3.1  National Policies towards Structural Reform   
3.1.  The Government has laid out a long -term vision for Thailand to achieve high -income status by 
2036. The 20 -Year National Strategy (2018 -2037) has been issued since 2017. The National 
Strategy  sets its goal as a springboard for Thailand to transform itself to be a digital economy, base d 
on the sufficient economy principle.  The strategy includes a wide range of top -down initiatives, 
especially in infrastructure and people development, to transform Thailand into a nation that can 
compete against wealthier, more knowledge -based economies. The National Strategy 's vision is to 
be determined to maintain national security; ensure competitiveness of the country and the people; 
strengthen human capital; improve social cohesion and social equality; promote public sector 
efficiency and private sect ors can operate  under the fair competition policy; enhance good 
governance and anti -corruption; eco -friendly growth and development are to be promoted. The 
tasks have been carried out through different committees parallel with the ongoing work of 
governmen t agencies.  
3.2.  Moreover, there is the Twelfth National Economic and Social Development Plan 
(NESDP ) 2017 -2021  which is the main tool for the implementation is set aside to drive the country 
to achieve its goals in the first period. There are four complementa ry strategies in the 
NESDP  2017-2021; advancing infrastructure and logistics; developing science, technology, research 
and innovation; developing regional, urban and economic zones; and strengthening international 
cooperation and development. Additionally,  annual budget allocation, integrate development issues WT/TPR/G/ 400/Rev.1  • Thailand  
 
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  to formulate specific strategic investment plans are also taken into account. To effectively achieve 
the objectives of the National Strategy and the NESDP 2017 -2021, many concrete measures are 
indicat ed. 
3.3.  In the  economics area, many economic policies are announced. Local Economy  is one of key 
highlight measures to uplift the country competitiveness. The concept of "Local Economy " aims at 
transforming the country into an innovative, value -based industry especially in community 
enterprises and people development, to enhance and transform community enterprises 
and small and medium enterprises (SMEs)  into a business that can compete against disruption, 
more knowledge -based economies. The cooperation between the Government authorities and 
private sector is highlighted for strengthening the local economy. For example, technology and 
innovation sharing which is significant tool to support the community enterprise and SMEs. 
Additionally, the G overnment also supports Public -Private Partnerships (PPP) in many integrated 
development projects such as matching business partners between the big firms, local authorities 
and community enterprises. As for the short term target, Thailand aims to increase the proportion  
of new entrepreneurs to at least 45% per GDP within 2021; strengthen investors ' confidence and 
encourages private investment by fostering export growth in order to expand production capacity; 
and support entrepreneurs to expand their production capacity i n Thailand more than 10% 
within  2021.  
3.4.  "Thailand 4.0 " is also one of the key development policies supporting the National Strategy . 
To continue with the digital economy theme, the Government  targets to encourage the utili zation of 
digital technology in orde r to deal with emerging issues, such as, smart cities, the digitali zation of 
public sector, transport and logistics system to improve the quality and reach of public services, and 
thus pursue more inclusive growth outcomes.  Thailand 4.0 is set as a key eng ine to transform 
Thailand into a value -added, innovative and knowledge -based economy, among others, the 
Government targets to explore the concept and best practices of digital government as well as the 
integration of digital technologies into public admini stration to improve its quality and effectively 
and efficiently deliver public services.  The Government also aims to apply emerging digital 
technologies via Thailand 4.0 to promote structural reform for better governance and regulation of 
the digital econo my. Basically, this policy is based on the following core elements; advancing 
technology and innovation to increase productivity of ready high performing industries; developing 
new technology -based industries with great growth potential; enhancing Thailand 's position as a 
regional hub by upgrading its physical infrastructure (ports, roads and rail links, and airports); and 
promoting the digital competitiveness of Thai Community enterprise and SMEs.  
S-Curve & New S -Curve industries  
3.5.  Thailand has become a mid dle-income country since 1976. In order to overcome this problem 
and move up to high -income country, Thailand urgently needs to reform its economic structure and 
enhance country 's competitiveness under the dynamic digital era.  Thus, the Government has set 
"10 Targeted Industries " to be Thailand 's new economic growth engines that will help Thailand 
achieve its structural reform by shifting Thai economy to be high -valued, high technology and 
innovative based.   
3.6.  The 10 targeted industries have been categori zed into two groups as "First S -Curve Industries " 
- the upgrading of five existing industries , and "New S -Curve industries " - the development of new 
high-technology and innovative industries.  
Table 3.1 Thailand's 10 targeted industries  
First S -Curve  New S -Curve  
Advanced Agricultural and Biotechnology  Biofuel and Biochemical  
Smart Electronics  Digital  
Affluent Medical and Wellness Tourism  Medical and Comprehensive Healthcare  
Next-generation Automotive  Automation and Robotics  
Food for the Future  Aviation and Logistics  
 
3.7.  In accordance with Thailand 4.0 policy, the Board of Investment (BOI) announced 
7-year investment promotion strategy (2015 -2021) with an aim to lead the country towards 
innovation -driven economy by offering incentives for targeted industries in order to accelerate R&D, 
innovation, and human resource development in Thailand.  WT/TPR/G/ 400/Rev.1  • Thailand  
 
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  EEC 
3.8.  To support the structural reform and econom ic development, enhance Thailand 's 
competitiveness, and explore opportunities in the global supply chain, the Government has initiated 
the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) and the Eastern Special Development Zone Act B.E. 2561 
(2018) has been in force since 10 May 2018.  
3.9.  EEC is the strategic area designated to be a centre of the targeted industries development to 
support high value -added, high -technology, and innovative economy. EEC initially focuses on 
three  Eastern provinces, namely Rayong, Chonburi, and Chachoengsao. The EEC development plan 
includes world -class transport infrastructure development (rail, road, ma rine, and air transport), 
digital infrastructure development, smart cities, tourism development, and human resource and R&D 
development. Investors who invest in EEC will receive various generous incentives compared to who 
investment in other areas, for exa mple, longer corporate income tax exemption (maximum 
13 years), fixed rate of personal income tax for foreign executives and staffs at 17%, and longer 
period of land and real estate lease (50+49 years).   
3.10.   EEC will help Thailand becoming a land, water, and a ir transport hub, as well as an industrial 
and innovation hub; developing cities and promoting tourism; developing special economic zones 
for trade, investment and tourism, with a key focus on distinctive potentials of each region that are 
complementary to  and in line with neighbouring  countries ' economic zones development; city 
planning; related facilities for trade and investment, implementing supporting measures designed 
to attract more investment in our targeted industrial sectors.  
3.1.1   Infrastructure develo pment  
Transport development plan  
3.11.   Ministry of Transport (MOT) has launched the 20 -year Strategic Plan of the Transport Systems 
Development Strategy from 2018 -2037 to enhance country 's competitiveness in an area of seamless 
transport connectivity. This long -term strategic plan for transport development focuses on 
three  fundamental concepts including (1) Transport efficiency , (2) Green and safe transport, and 
(3) Inclusivity. The 20 -Year Thailand 's Transport Systems Development Strategy also comprises of 
five areas: (1) Integrated Transport Systems (2) Transport Services (3) Regulations and Institution 
(4) Human Resource Development and (5) Technology and Innovation.  
3.12.  Additionally, the MOT has launched Thailand 's Transport Infrastructure Development Strategy 
2015-2022, which is a framework to efficiently implement and monitor transport infrastructure projects 
over the next eight years. The essence of the infrastructure development plan comprises of five plans 
as follows: (1) Intercity rail network development , (2) Improving public transport networks and 
service , (3) Enhancing connectivity between key domestic production bases and neighbouring 
countries , (4) Increasing water transport network , and (5) Enhancing air transport capability.  
3.13.   During 2015 -19, Thailand ha s continually improved the quality of road network to assure the 
ultimate accessibility, mobility and safety. Road transport development covers projects in road 
development to support the agriculture and tourism sector, four -lanes highway development, 
Motorway development, intermodal facilities development, regional highway maintenances, bridges 
crossing the river, and bridge/tunnel crossing the train tracks. In term of air transport, Thailand is 
determined to enhance airport safety and efficiency in line w ith international standards as well as to 
increase airport capacity by constructing a new airport and implementing airport development 
projects, such as new terminal construction and expansion of runway, taxiway, and apron 
during  2015-22. 
3.14.   Water transport d evelopment includes developing Inland Port and Coastal ports in Thai gulf 
and Andaman coast to facilitate domestic and international freights. One of the key projects are the 
development of Laem Chabang Port and Map -Taput Port.  
3.15.   Furthermore, Thailand focuse s on the development of nationwide railway network to increase 
the use of rail transport for both passenger and freight. Therefore, the Department of Rail Transport 
(DRT) was established on 15 April 2019 to oversee and regulate the railway operation of Tha iland. 
The Government has many rail transport development projects to increase rail transport efficiency, WT/TPR/G/ 400/Rev.1  • Thailand  
 
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  such as track upgrade (from single -track to double -track), new route construction to cover more 
provinces and connect with neighbouring countries, and  mass rapid transit (MRT) development to 
accommodate urban transport. Moreover, two high -speed train projects are under construction, 
namely (1) Bangkok -Nakhon Ratchasima and (2) high -speed rail linking three international airports 
(Suvarnabhumi -Don Mueang -U Tapao).  
3.1.2   Trade and business facilitation  
3.1.2.1   Ease of doing business  
3.16.   Department of Business Development (DBD) has undertaken several activities in order to put 
force greater ease of doing business for foreign investors as follows.  
(1) Launching the e -Registr ation System and currently working on a project to upgrade the 
system with the objective to develop its capacity.  
(2) Improving the capacity of company name reservation system by using fully functional 
AI technology in considering the request to reserve a company name.  
(3) Launching a single -service platform by combining the incorporation process with Social 
Security registration.  
(4) Issuing Ministerial Regulations to remove service businesses under the Foreign Business 
Act, B.E. 2542 (1999) to exempt busi ness from the foreign business license requirement 
in order to facilitate business operations and promote trade and investment in Thailand.  
3.1.2.2   Relaxation of foreign exchange regulations  
3.17.   During 2019 -20, the Bank of Thailand (BOT) relaxed the foreign exchange regulations under 
the Foreign Exchange Regulatory Reform to facilitate foreign exchange transactions, thereby 
enhancing the ease of doing business. Key relaxation measures are as follows:  
3.1.2.2.1   Repatriation of export proceeds  
3.18.   Exporters with proceeds below USD 1,000,000 per bill of lading have been allowed to keep 
the proceeds abroad (compared to the previous threshold of USD 200,000). Furthermore, exporters 
with proceeds exceeding the above threshold have been allowed to offset the proceeds w ith foreign 
currency expenses, without prior approval from the Bank of Thailand. These regulatory relaxations 
have helped businesses reduce their fund transfer costs and manage their foreign exchange risk 
more efficiently.  
3.1.2.2.2   Foreign currency deposit (FCD)  
3.19.   The BOT streamlined rules on foreign currency deposit (FCD) account held with onshore banks 
by consolidating foreign currency accounts with different sources of foreign currencies. These have 
provided flexibility for businesses, including exporters and impor ters, in managing their foreign 
currencies.  
3.1.2.2.3   Outward transfers  
3.20.   The BOT increased the ceiling threshold for outward payment for eligible purposes, such as 
international trades and services, international lending and repayment of loans, that do not require 
supporting documents to USD 200,000 (compared to the previous threshold of USD 50,000) This 
has not only reduced the burden of providing documents, but has also facilitated outward payments 
and transfers, thereby promoting the more balanced capital flows.  
3.1.2.3   Regulatory guillotine  
3.21.   To enhance Thailand 's competitiveness and improve Thailand 's ease of doing business, since 
2016 the Government has initiated the project called "Regulatory Guillotine " by hiring Thailand WT/TPR/G/ 400/Rev.1  • Thailand  
 
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  Development Research Institute (TDRI) to review T hailand 's existing laws, rules, and regulations to 
ensure efficiency, as many laws have become redundant, obsolete, or incompatible with current 
situations.  The first stage of the project is "Licensing Guillotine ", focusing on streamlining the 
complex lice nsing and permits issuing processes and regulatory procedures to facilitate people and 
businesses.  
3.1.3   BCG  economy  
3.22.   In 2019, the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, Thailand, in the 
programme called "BCG in Action "; a Bio -Circular -Green economy (BCG) policy driven programme 
that aims to enhance the potential technological development and the infrastructure of the targeted 
industries (S -Curve), namely advanced agricultural, food, biofuel energy, medical and healthcare, 
and tourism. To  achieve this, science, research and innovation are considered as significant tools 
which enable Thailand to maximi ze the benefits especially for farmers and community and encourage 
entrepreneurs to manufacture products and services with high added -value o r innovation, as well as 
to create a network in driving innovation in the BCG economy.  
3.23.   The Government has introduced the concept of "Circular economy " which not only supports 
industries to achieve balanced and sustainable growth in all areas but also fulf ills the United Nation 's 
Sustainable Development Goal 12 "Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns ". In 
this connection, the Government has exerted much effort to restructure the industry 's production 
pattern from linear to a new circulating pattern that employs cost -effective, waste management and 
raw materials recycling concepts. The development guidelines of circular economy can be divided 
into three  main areas as follows.  
(1) Production: The Government promotes the use of degradable raw materi als, such as 
biomaterials in production process. Some of the promotion measures are included in the 
Bio Industry Development Strategy. This strategy focuses on promoting the use of 
technology, innovation, research and development to improve the production process and 
propel by facilitating mechanism, such as the Industrial Transformation Center (ITC), the 
Industrial Design Centre (IDC), and the Centre of Robotics Excellence (CoRE).  
(2) Waste Management: The Government emphasi zes on the development of industrial and 
waste management systems by applying digital and information technology to develop 
applications, such as the auto E -license system to reduce time for approval the removal 
of industrial waste from factory, the factory inspection system 4.0 to  monitor waster 
balance and secondary waste, and the E -Manifest system to control hazardous waste 
transportation using mobile system.  
(3) Secondary use of raw materials: The Government encourages the use of raw materials 
that have already passed production and  consumption into the new production process. 
At the same time, the Government tries to promote the processing of waste and used 
goods back into industrial raw materials and to set the standards for secondary use of raw 
materials.  
3.24.   These measures and proje cts could be characteri zed into three different objectives, which 
are:  
(1) Monetary and fiscal measures to promote investment and support entrepreneurs: The 
Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) grants incentives to promote investment in targeted 
industries, inc luding those related to the BCG economy model (Bio -Circular -Green 
economy). The current investment promotion policy (7 -year investment promotion 
strategy, 2015 -2021) will not only help strengthen Thailand 's economy but also enhance 
Thailand 's capacity to a chieve sustainable development goals. Also, Ministry of Finance 
grants tax incentive for businesses that purchase bio-plastics packaging in order to 
promote the consumption of bio-plastics, the expenses of bio-plastic packaging can be 
used to deduct corpor ate income tax at the rate of 125%. And other measure is to 
financially support Green Projects in which the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural 
Cooperatives provides low interest rate loans to approved agricultural entrepreneurs or 
agricultural related b usinesses which are in search of financial support for this 
environmentally friendly project.  WT/TPR/G/ 400/Rev.1  • Thailand  
 
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  (2) Measures to support technology and innovation development: The Ministry of Industry 
(MOI) has established the Industry Transformation Center 4.0 (ITC 4.0) in all 76 MOI 
offices throughout the country for the purposes of assisting new and small entrepreneurs 
to have access to testing and experimenting facilities of new technologies and innovations. 
In addition, MOI also provided technological transfer and innovation  knowledge to these 
businesses under the emphasis of establishing Circular economy Business Models (CBM) 
to enhance Circular economy strategy.  
(3) Measures to promote value added for agricultural products: The Ministry of Agriculture 
and Cooperatives (MOAC) ai ms at more efficient farming products and innovation creation 
of using agricultural products and farming by products in supporting of Bio -economy. In 
addition, MOAC also supports the establishment of Smart Farming projects as well as 
community enterprises in developing new and better OTOP Products.  
3.2  Sectoral Policies  
3.2.1   Tariffs and customs procedures  
3.25.   Thailand is a member of the Harmonized System Convention and currently applies the HS2017 
tariff nomenclature. As an ASEAN member country, Thailand adopted 8-digit commodity 
classification code of AHTN (ASEAN Harmonized Tariff Nomenclature) that applies to all imports, 
i.e. imports from ASEAN member countries and from any other countries. Under the 8 -digit 
classification, Thailand has 10,813 tariff lines, cor responding to the AHTN classification.  Duties are 
levied as ad valorem  rate, specific rate, or both ad valorem  and specific rates. For goods subject to 
both ad valorem  and specific rates of duty, only the rate which renders higher amount of duty shall 
be applied. The value of imports is normally based on the c.i.f. price. The Most -Favoured Nation 
Tariffs (MFN) average rate is 12.55%.   
3.2.1.1   National Single Window & ASEAN Sing le Window  
3.26.   National Single Window (NSW) has been operating since 2008 and officially implemented in 
2011 with the establishment of two secure data centr es serving the exchange of electronic 
documents among government agencies and business sectors. It enable s multiple transactions 
including G2G, B2G/G2B, and B2B and comprises various services to facilitate the stakeholders to 
reach the single point of entry, single submission to relevant agencies, and accommodate the 
regulatory authorities to perform the sing le decision making in accordance with international 
standard for Single Window. There are currently 37 government agencies linked through NSW 
and 19 of them have expanded the services to business. The prominent systems are launching to 
allow the traders ut ilizing single declaration to apply for the import/export permission and 
certification, e.g. hazardous substance importation, rubber exportation, certificate of origin, and SPS 
certificate.   
3.27.   The way forward to enhance the business activities using NSW was recently defined, for 
example, completely simplify and standardi ze the process for import/export of strategic goods 
(sugar, rice, rubber, frozen product, and hazardous substance), cooperate and develop the 
integration of port and logistics communities via NSW, and expand the single submission system for 
the import/export permission of agricultural products.  
3.28.   ASEAN 's efforts to promote trade facilitation in the region continued to intensify towards 
achieving the regional goals of reducing the trade transacti on costs by 10% by 2020 and doubling 
intra-ASEAN trade between 2017 and 2025.  One such measure is the ASEAN Single Window, which 
is an electronic mechanism for exchanging trade -related documents. The ASW live operation has 
been started since January 2018 t o enable the exchange of ATIGA e -Form D in order to expedite 
and enhance the granting of preferential tariff treatment for the customs procedure and finally all 
10 ASEAN member countries came on board by the end of 2019.  
3.29.   The ongoing ASW work plan is to ex pand the exchange of additional electronic documents, 
e.g. ASEAN Customs Declaration Document (ACDD) which is the advance export information 
exchanged between the customs of partner countries for the risk management proposes, electronic 
Phytosanitary certi ficate which will be exchanged between the national plant protection organi zations 
of the ASEAN countries to certify the import requirements of plant and its product. In addition, ASW WT/TPR/G/ 400/Rev.1  • Thailand  
 
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  would also be used to exchange the electronic documents with the non -ASEAN dialog partners in 
the upcoming years and the sustainable development of ASW is handling by Project Management 
Office worked at ASEAN Secretariat coordinating with ASEAN member countries.  
3.30.   Other initiatives on trade facilitation include the operationali zation of the ASEAN -wide Self 
Certification (AWSC), allowing certified exporters to self -certify the origin of their exports to enjoy 
preferential tariffs under the ATIGA. The ASEAN Seamless Trade Facilitation Indicators (ASTFI) has 
also been developed to m easure and monitor the implementation of trade facilitation measures 
across the region. Finally, the live operation of the ASEAN Customs Transit System (ACTS) will 
enable ASEAN to achieve a seamless movement of transit goods in the context of single truck,  in 
single declaration, and single guarantee.  
3.31.   Practical trade facilitation tools were also developed to facilitate trade in the region, such as 
the ASEAN Tariff Finder, a no -cost free online search engine to obtain up -to-date information on 
tariff-related  information under various ASEAN Plus One FTAs. Another tool is the ASEAN Solutions 
for Investments, Services, and Trade (ASSIST), a non -binding consultative mechanism for solving 
operational problems encountered by ASEAN -based enterprises on the implement ation of ASEAN 
economic agreements.   
3.2.1.2   Authorized Economic Operator (AEO)  
3.32.   Thailand 's Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Program has been administered by Thai 
Customs Department since 2011. The program is carried on in accordance with WCO SAFE 
Framework of St andards to secure and facilitate global trade. There are two categories of AEO 
operators in Thailand : Importer/Exporter and Customs broker. The AEO operators will enjoy the 
benefits such as simplified customs procedures covering import, export and re -expor t, speed and 
fast process for tax/duty refund and compensation, facilitated and simplified process for placing a 
guarantee on transhipment and transit, tax incentive including export under the Mutual Recognition 
Arrangement (MRA). As of 31 March 2020, ther e were 382 AEO operators; 196 AEO 
Importers/Exporters and 186 AEO Customs brokers. Thai Customs Department has signed AEO -MRA 
with Hong Kong , China  (June 2015), the Republic of Korea (December 2016), and Singapore 
(June  2018). Under the MRAs, Thai Customs Department takes into account the status of the other 
AEO programs when conducting its own risk assessment. In addition, Thai Customs Department has 
its strategy to expand the AEO -MRA in order to strengthen cooperation with other foreign Customs 
Administra tions and enhance the security level of global supply chain and facilitate global trade.  
3.2.1.3   Border trade facilitation  
3.33.   Thailand is a member of the WTO which has an obligation to comply with WTO Trade 
Facilitation Agreement (WTO TFA) for simplification and harm onization of customs procedures. The 
latest update in March 2020 for Thailand on the Implementation of WTO TFA in provisions amounts 
to 97% have already been executed. Thai Customs Department has continuously improved customs 
procedures to tackle with chan ges in the global trade environment by issuing the related customs 
notifications as follows :  
(1) Customs notification No. 5/2561 dated 10 January 2018 concerning Pre -Arrival Processing 
in order to accelerate the performance of customs procedures for imported goods from 
foreign countries and to promote national logistics and international trade which is 
benefic ial to enhance Thailand 's competitiveness.  
(2) Customs notification No. 9/2562 dated 10 January 2019 providing additional options for 
duty payment to reduce time and costs for traders.  
(3) Customs notification No. 139/2560 dated 10 November 2017 concerning e -Trans ition 
System comply with customs procedures under the Customs Act B.E. 2560  (2017).  
3.2.2   Agriculture  
3.34.   During 2015 -19, the agricultural GDP increased from USD 19.73 billion in 2015 to 
USD 27.56 billion in 2019, with an average growth rate of 2.3% per year. In 201 5-16, agricultural 
GDP declined continuously due to severe natural disasters, especially, the drought that had occurred WT/TPR/G/ 400/Rev.1  • Thailand  
 
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  since 2014. Agricultural GDP started to increase again in 2017/18 due to the situation of the 
agricultural production returned to normal . However, in 2019 agricultural sector has growth only 
0.1% due to drought, plant diseases and pest, including the slowdown of global economy, which 
eventually affected the exportation of agricultural products.  
3.35.   The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MOAC) provides the MOAC 5 -year agricultural 
plan (2018 -2022) as well as the short -term operational plan. These plans comply with the 20 -Year 
National Strategy (2018 -2037). The 5 -year operational plan of MOAC is under the vision of "Secured 
Farmers, Prospe rous Agricultural Sector and Sustainable Agricultural Resources. " This vision aims at 
strengthening farmers and agricultural institutions as well as increasing farmer 's income up to more 
than USD 3,134.53 per year in 2022. The plan comprises of five strate gies as follows : 
(1) Strengthening the Farmers and Agricultural Institutions,  which aims to strengthen farmers 
and agricultural institutions to become Smart Farmers and Smart Groups with Smart 
Enterprises. Moreover, the program enhances farmers to be proud and  feel secure in their 
careers, as well as, applying innovation and technology in farm labour  management, 
farmland, financing opportunity and risk management.  
(2) Increasing the Productivity and Quality Standards of Agricultural Commodities,  which 
seeks to deve lop product 's quality and sustainable agriculture, and improve agriculture by 
using BCG model, comprising of three components. The first component is 
Bio economy  (B), which is biodiversity -based economy, aiming to use biological resources 
with zero -wasted method. The other component is Circular economy (C), targeting to 
utilize materials. Both components are under the third component, which is Green 
economy (G), directing to solve the pollution pro blem in order to reduce the impact on the 
world sustainably.  
(3) Increasing Competitiveness in Agricultural Sector through Technology and Innovation,  
which focuses on developing technology and innovation to drive Agriculture 4.0 under the 
Thailand 4.0 Economic Model. The program will manage the agricultural information 
technology for farmers in order to access information regarding agriculture and agricultural 
technologies, and develop agricultural researches and papers to commerciali zation, and 
precisi on agriculture.  
(4) Managing Agricultural Resources and the Environment to be Balanced and Sustainable,  
which comprising of water resource management, conservation and recovery of 
agricultural resources, agricultural area management (agriculture, fishery, and livestock), 
adaptation to climate change and decrease in its effects, as well as international 
cooperation.  
(5) Development of Public Administration System,  which emphasi zes on developing 
implementation method, structure, and administration system of the Government. 
Capacity building for the Government officials will be provided to improve their skills and 
capacities.  
3.36.   In addition, the MOAC gives precedence in driving government 's agricultural policies both 
crucial and main policies, which comply with master pla n in agriculture, and national strategy. In 
2020, eight important policies in agricultural sector are driven as follows:  
(1) Managing water resource system by increasing irrigation area and water management.  
(2) Encouraging agricultural sustainability by promoting  alternative agriculture/integrated 
agriculture, encouraging organic farm, as well as reducing chemicals and replacing with 
organic substances in order to promote food safety.  
(3) "Market -led production " producing in market demand, by expanding marketing 
chann els/new markets, encouraging smart farmers/young smart farmers to be 
entrepreneurs, strengthening community enterprise/cooperatives, and developing 
processing method for value -added agricultural products.  WT/TPR/G/ 400/Rev.1  • Thailand  
 
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  (4) Reducing cost of production by using appropriate ag ricultural inputs, promoting the use of 
production technology and agricultural machines, developing system and increasing 
efficiency of the agricultural logistics system, and building up "Agri-technology and 
Innovation Center - AIC" throughout the country,  which is the place to educate and 
practice in technology and innovation of value -added agricultural products.   
(5) Managing sustainable fishery by solving Illegal Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IUU) 
problem and recovering aquatic resources.  
(6) Solving urgent problems of farmers by implementing royal rain making in drought area, 
providing land ownership for farmers, promoting livestock raising according to market 
demand (cattle and goat), controlling and preventing outbreak of animal diseases/pla nt 
diseases and promoting substitute plants to reduce water usage in water shortage area.  
(7) Establishing the National Agricultural Big Data Center (NABC) to provide data and 
information for planning and decision making in agricultural production.  
(8) Establishin g the Agricultural Learning Center (ALC) at farm level to be the demonstration 
size and technologies transfer in rural area.  
3.2.3   Fisheries  
3.37.   The fishery and seafood industry are very important to Thai economy, with around 
two million  people employed across the w hole industry. In the last five years (2015 -19) seafood 
products export revenue was approximately USD 6,355 million per year. Seafood is also an important 
source of protein food for domestic consumption. The Government focuses on creating sustainability 
for the fisheries sector throughout the supply chain especially sustainable fishery management and 
improving the quality of life and well -being conditions of fishermen and farmers.  
3.38.   Department of Fisheries, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, as an agency 
responsible for the promotion and development of the Thai fishery sector has made a 3 -year Action 
Plan (2020 -2022) consisting of five strategies which are in line with the MOAC 5 -year agricultural 
plan (2018 -2022).  
3.39.   Since 2015, the Thai Governm ent has taken steps to tackle Illegal, Unreported, and 
Unregulated Fishing (IUU fishing) in various areas until the European Union delisted Thailand from 
the list of possible countries that do not cooperate under the IUU regulations of the European Union 
(yellow card) on 8 January 2019. Thailand received international recognition and confidence in 
implementing solutions to the problems of IUU fishing policies and strategies. The Government has 
completely laid the foundation for the system to tackle IUU fish ing to contribute to the sustainability 
of marine resources in six main areas : 
(1) Legal framework : Thailand has issued a new fishery law, namely the Royal Ordinance on 
Fisheries B.E . 2558 (2015) and its amendment B.E. 2560 (2017). Thai vessel law was 
improved  to control the fishing fleet and fishery by issuing numerous regulations to 
effectively enforce the law. There are strict penalties to deter illegal behaviour . There is 
no legal loophole to let the illegal vessel and illegal action back into the system ag ain. The 
new fishery legal framework is modern and in accordance with international laws and 
regulations. Moreover, Thailand became a party to the port state measures agreement 
(PSMA), the UN Fish Stock Agreement (UNFSA), and has formulated a National Plan  of 
Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing 
(NPOA -IUU), which is in line with the International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and 
Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IPOA -IUU) of the United N ations 
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).  
(2) Fleet management and fishery management : The Thai Government can control overfishing 
and overcapacity problems through fishing gears control measures, fishing days and 
fishing licenses that are consistent wit h the number of aquatic resources that do not 
exceed sustainability levels, according to the Fisheries Management Plan of Thailand 
(FMP). The Thai Government has established a new Thai fishing vessel registration system WT/TPR/G/ 400/Rev.1  • Thailand  
 
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  to be able to control and monitor th e entire fishing fleet with a system linking data among 
relevant departments for efficient fleet management.  
(3) Monitoring, Control, and Surveillance (MCS) : A system has been developed to control and 
monitor illegal fishing by establishing the Fisheries Monit oring Centre (FMC), there is a 
Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) installed in all Thai commercial vessels. Port In -Port Out 
Control Centers are also established in both coastal provinces of the Gulf of Thailand and 
the Andaman Sea to control the entry -exit of  Thai flagged vessels before and after fishing. 
There are vessel inspections for species and weights of the aquatic animals of which Thai 
fishing vessels bring to the fishing port. There are also inspections at sea and air 
surveillance. For vessels flying Thai flag operating in international waters, the  Department 
of Fisheries has laid down measures to control, monitor and prevent illegal fishing including 
the development of observers onboard to monitor fisheries and transhipment of carrier 
vessels in the i nternational waters. In this regard, the Fishing Info Network has been 
developed, which is a real -time electronic database of fishing vessels linking various data 
to enable the operations unit to inspect and control effectively and accurately.  
(4) Traceability : Thailand has developed the traceability system to prevent illegal aquatic 
animals and illegal fishery products from Thai fishing vessels as well as imported products 
from foreign countries into the Thai production lines. The electronic traceability syste m 
has been completely developed in compliance with the Port State Measures (PSM) to 
prevent the importation of aquatic animals derived from IUU fishing into Thailand.  
(5) Law enforcement : Laws enforcement under the Royal Ordinance on Fisheries B.E. 2558 
(2015) and its amendment B.E. 2560 (2017), as well as other laws and regulations 
concerning labour  in the fisheries sector of the Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Social 
Development a nd Human Security have been adopted in the same direction. When finding 
the wrongdoing, criminal law is enforced including fines and strict administrative measures 
under the Fisheries Act, such as suspension of fishing licenses, withdrawal of vessel 
regist ration or fishing license, detaining or confiscating fishing vessels and aquatic animals.  
(6) International Cooperation with foreign countries and regional fishery management 
organi zations : In addition to closely cooperating with the European Union to develop and 
improve the law measures and tools to combat IUU fishing as a flag state, coastal state, 
and port state, the Department of Fisheries has expanded cooperation with foreign 
countries and third countries that are flag states, coastal states, port states, and has 
continued strong cooperation with the relevant RFMOs: the Indian Ocean Tuna 
Commission (IOTC) and the South Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement (SIOFA) by following 
the Conservation and Management Measure, and the administration of the organi zation 
and cooperation in the fight against IUU fishing at the regional and global levels.  
3.2.4   Industry  
3.40.   The Government has launched the "Action Plan on Industrial Development " under the vision 
"Moving towards Wisdom -driven Industry that Connects with Global Eco nomy ". The 20 -year Action 
Plan (2017 -2036) targets are : (1) industrial sector GDP growth of not less than 4.5% per year , 
(2) the investment growth of not less than 10% per year , (3) export value average of not less than 
8% per year , (4) Total Factor Produc tivity (TFP) average of not less than 2% per year , and 
(5) creation of 150,000 new innovation -driven entrepreneurs. The Action Plan has three  main 
objectives as follows.  
(1) To enhance Thailand 's industrial competitiveness in international level.  
(2) To generate c ountry 's income and employment as well as continuous and stable economic 
growth.  
(3) To utili ze industrial development as the key engine to drive Thailand towards a high -
income and developed country.  
3.41.   To achieve the objectives of this Action Plan, the Governmen t has set five sectors of targeted 
industries as the "New Engine of Growth " namely (1) Agricultural and bio -technology , (2) Health, WT/TPR/G/ 400/Rev.1  • Thailand  
 
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  wellness, and bio -med, (3) Smart device, robotics, and mechatronics , (4) Digital , and (5) Creative 
industry, culture, and hi gh value services. Furthermore, restructuring and strengthening 
competitiveness of primary industries and supporting industries are also emphasi zed in order to 
support the targeted industries. These primary industries include petrochemical and chemical, 
energy, metallurgical, packaging, machinery, mold, and mine industries.  
3.42.   Additionally, the Action Plan consists of three  following guidelines with the goals to boost 
national competitiveness, ensure consistent economic growth, and support the country vision 
towards "Thailand to become a developed country with security, prosperity, and sustainability in 
accordance with the S ufficient Economy Philosophy " as stipulated in the National Strategy :  
(1) To transform Thailand 's industry towards wisdom -driven industry by enhancing 
productivity of targeted industries, increasing the utili zation of digital technology in SMEs, 
raising the a mount of Innovation -driven Enterprise (IDE), as well as reducing waste and 
CO2 from industrial sector.  
(2) To reform Thailand 's Industrial Ecosystem towards wisdom -driven industry through 
restructuring governmental bodies to facilitate the development of targe ted industries and 
increasing number of FDIs in targeted industries, R&D investment, researches and patents 
in targeted industries, and skilled labours enhancement to support the targeted industries.  
(3) To connect Thailand 's Industry with global economy by cr eating industrial production 
pattern that meets global demand and embracing digital technology for raw material 
procurement and market expansion at the global scale.  
3.2.5   Services  
3.2.5.1   Civil aviation  
3.43.   The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) audited the D epartment of Civil Aviation 
(DCA) of Thailand under the Universal Safety Oversight Programme - Continuous Monitoring 
Approach (USOAP -CMA) from 19 to 30 January 2015. It was found 572 findings, 33 of which were 
significant safety concern (SSC) concerning th e certification process for the issuance of air operator 
certificates. On 18 June 2015, ICAO listed Thailand as a "Red Flag " country and put red flag symbol 
on its website symboli zed that the state is not providing sufficient safety oversight to ensure the  
effective implementation of applicable ICAO Standards.  
3.44.   In this regard, the Ministry of Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) 
jointly resolved the 33 findings by amending Thailand Air Navigation Act and enhancing CAAT 
officers ' comp etence to gain trust and credibility from global civil aviation community. A new air 
operator certification process was introduced and all international air operators were required to 
re-certify under the new scheme.  
3.45.   On 30 June 2017, CAAT has resolved all the 33 findings and requested for a re -audit from 
ICAO. ICAO accepted Thailand 's request with an audit by ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission 
(ICVM) under USOAP -CMA. This was an audit to monitor the level of progress made by the state in 
resolving previous ly identified deficiencies. For this reason, from 20 to 27 September 2017, ICAO 
audit team conducted the mission and audited focusing on the AOC re -certification programme with 
new AOC certification process to resolve the 33 findings.  
3.46.   The ICVM results show ed that Thailand resolved all the 33 findings effectively and was able 
to practically implement them. This results in an increase in the overall Effective Implementation 
(EI) from 34.20% to 41.1%. Therefore, ICAO SSC Committee announced the removal of Thai land 
from the list of countries that have safety risk in civil aviation (Removal of Red Flag) on ICAO website 
from 6 October 2017 onwards. Afterwards, CAAT continued the effort in implementing the corrective 
action plans with tangible progress. Therefore, the preliminary audit result of the second ICVM audit 
during 13 -22 May 2019 showed that, within four years, the EI level of Thailand has almost doubled 
from 34.20% to 65.07%, surpassing ICAO 's target of 60%.  WT/TPR/G/ 400/Rev.1  • Thailand  
 
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  3.2.5.2   Financial services   
3.2.5.2.1   Banking  
3.47.   During 2015 -19, the Thai banking sector has been developed substantially through the 
implementation of Financial Sector Master Plan Phase III (FSMP III). Over the past five years, the 
Thai banking system has remained strong and resilient due to high levels  of capital fund and loan 
loss provision to withstand shocks from economic uncertainties together with implementation of 
micro - and macro -prudential policies.  Additionally, the Bank of Thailand has consistently put effort 
on enhancing the Thai banking regu lations to international standards through enhanced banking 
supervision, and the TFRS 9 accounting standard adoption.  
3.48.   The Bank of Thailand has implemented the FSMP III in order to promote financial sector 
development since 2016. The FSMP III incorporated f our key themes, including competitive, 
inclusive, connected and sustainable. One of the main initiatives regarding regional connectivity 
includes further liberali zation of banking sector on a reciprocal basis, through bilateral negotiations 
with ASEAN memb ers. This aims to strengthen the role of ASEAN, enhance trade and investment 
connectivity across the region and promote greater role of regional banks.  
3.49.    In response to more volatile economic environment and capture key risks that could be 
detrimental to th e financial system, the Bank of Thailand has emphasi zed on the quality of banking 
supervision and regulations on financial institutions. Consequently, the Bank of Thailand has 
participated in the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP), conducted by the  IMF and the World 
Bank. The outcome of the FSAP shows an excellent score in 24 key areas and a good score on 5 out 
of a total of 29 assessed areas. This indicates that the Thai financial system is strong and can 
withstand market volatility well, while the  standards of regulation is on par with those in developed 
countries.  
3.50.   Furthermore, the Thai banking system has further converged with IFRS Accounting standards. 
Thailand has replaced its accounting standard on financial assets with the new standard, TFRS 9 , as 
suggested by the Federation of Accounting Professions (FAP) and the Bank of Thailand. Prior to the 
adoption, the Bank of Thailand and the FAP had ensured that financial institutions and small and 
medium enterprises (SMEs) were ready for TFRS 9 adoptio n to prevent any possible adverse impacts. 
TFRS 9 became effective nationwide on 1 January 2020.  
3.2.5.2.2   Securitie s 
3.51.   Thailand has continued to improve its capital market to become a significant source of 
financing while the elements of fairness, efficiency and transparency are fully maintained. In 2019, 
the total value of market capitali zation of the securities listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand 
(SET) and the Market for Alternative Investment (mai) was THB 16.96 trillion (increased by around  
35% from 2015). Especially for SET, the market capitali zation increased to THB 16.75 trillion which 
was 36.35% increase from 2015. The SET index at the end of the year stood at 1,579.84, up 1.02% 
from the end of 2018. The SET 's dividend yield was 3.14% wh ile the mai 's dividend yield was 2.91%.  
3.52.   Total trading value of both SET and mai in 2019 was THB 12.98 trillion, with a daily average 
trading value of THB 53.19 billion, considered the highest in ASEAN for eight consecutive years. In 
terms of trading value by investor type, foreign investors comprised 41% of total trading value, 
while local investors, proprietary trading, and local institutes were accounted for 34%, 14%, and 
11% respectively. Compare to 2015, a daily average of derivatives trading volume ros e to 
428,368  contracts per day in 2019, which was a compound annual growth rate of 29%, mostly due 
to the rise of single stock futures and the popularity of gold online futures.  
3.53.   In terms of international standard, Thailand has voluntarily undertaken the Fi nancial Sector 
Assessment Program (FSAP) in 2018. The assessments of FSAP for capital market sector2, which 
were based on two international standards: IOSCO Principles for Securities Markets and CPMI -IOSCO 
Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures, revealed significant progress in every area with 
Broadly Implemented and above for majority of the principles. The positive outcome of the 
 
2 The assessments cover : (1) roles and responsibilities of regulator , (2) market participants including 
issuers, market intermediaries, collective investment schemes, seconda ry market, audit ors, and credit rating 
agencies,  and (3) securities clearing and settlement systems . WT/TPR/G/ 400/Rev.1  • Thailand  
 
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  assessments not only helped strengthening the confidence of global investors and increasing 
business opportunity and investment choices but also reaffirmed the Thai capital market 's 
competitiveness and efficiency.  
3.54.   In addition, Thailand 's significant progress has been recogni zed in the World Bank 's Doing 
Business Report 2020. Particularly, it was ranked No. 3 among the 19 0 participating economies, in 
the area of protecting minority investors - a significant jump from No. 15 in the preceding year. This 
significant progress was substantially due to the mechanism to enhance governance safeguards on 
protecting shareholders fro m undue board control by separating the roles of chairman and CEO.  
3.55.   To enhance connectivity of the market, the SEC placed a strategic focus on creating proactive 
alliance with regional and global regulators through assistance providing and information shar ing to 
enhance supervisory efficiency and enforcement at the multilateral level, e.g. ASEAN Capital Markets 
Forum (ACMF) and Alternative Investment Fund Managers  Directive (AIFMD).  Similarly, the SEC has 
also strengthened market connectivity through the bi lateral cooperation, by signing MoUs, Letter of 
Intent and Exchange of Letters for Cooperation with 23 foreign securities regulators. Additional to 
collaboration of supervision and information sharing, the SEC has pushed forward an implementation 
of cross -border financial products and the cooperation on market data connection in capital markets 
by signing the MoU concerning cooperation and exchange of information on cross -border equity 
offering and issuance of depositary receipt with the Securities and Exch ange Commission of 
Cambodia (SECC) in 2019. Continuously, the SEC has also explored potential collaboration with 
other strategic partners and facilitated as CLMV connector to create better opportunity for businesses 
in capital market, prosperity of the reg ion, and ultimately, the growth in ASEAN.  
3.56.   In term of Corporate Governance (CG) practice, Thailand has remained  the regional leader. 
As evidenced in the ASEAN CG Scorecard assessments from 2012 to 2018, the selected Thai listed 
companies had consecutively r eceived the highest average scores. In the 2018 assessment, the 
highest average score was 85.73%, and 11 listed companies were included in the list of 
top 50 regional companies with the highest scores. Another CG improvement was evidenced in the 
2018 CG Wa tch Assessment  by the Asian Corporate Governance Association and CLSA (Credit 
Lyonnais Securities Asia).  Thailand was ranked  6th out of 11 Asian countries, and received 
second  highest scores for the  listed companies ' provision of audited financial statemen ts, strong risk, 
and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting.  
3.57.   Recogni zing recent developments related to Financial Technology (Fintech), the SEC has 
worked toward a more flexible licensing regime to further enable innovative players to operat e in 
Thailand and tackle key obstacles. In May 2018, the Royal Decree on the Digital Asset Businesses 
B.E. 2561 was enacted to regulate the offering of digital tokens and undertaking of digital asset 
business (exchange, broker, dealer, and ICO portal).  
3.58.   In addition, the SEC has also exerted its efforts to further enhance the capital market beyond 
good CG and more towards sustainability in order to propel the country to achieve the United Nations 
Sustainable Development Goals. The initiatives have included, f or instance, the introduction of 
CG Code and I Code 2017. The former serves as the guidelines for the corporate boards to 
incorporate ESG matters into their business decision -making in order to create long -term business 
value, whereas the latter is a marke t-force mechanism to increase companies ' ESG awareness by 
the investors.  In 2019, the SEC began to create a roadmap on developing the eco -system for 
sustainable finance. The Roadmap has been part of  the SEC strategic plan 2020 -2022 with an aim 
to support responsible investment regarding ESG principles.  
3.2.5.2.3   Insurance  
3.59.   In 2018, Thailand had 0.51% share of the world insurance market and ranked 27th in terms 
of total premium volumes. The sector 's direct premium income remained roughly at 
THB 849,189  million . At present (end of 2019), Thailand has 81 insurance companies, of which 
22 are life insurers, 57 are non -life insurers, and 2 are domestic reinsurers.   
3.60.   Thailand 's life insurance sector has been ranked as the world 's top 30 in terms of premium 
income in 2 018. Direct written premiums for life insurance reached at THB 617,081 million with the 
growth rate of 4.34%. Life insurance penetration was 3.78% and life insurance density was 
THB 9,291.43 per capita. As the world 's top 35 largest non -life market in 2018 , total premium WT/TPR/G/ 400/Rev.1  • Thailand  
 
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  written was THB 232,108 million with the growth rate of 5.67%. Non -life insurance penetration rate 
was 1.42% and non -life insurance density was THB 3,494.87 per capita.  
3.61.   The Office of the Insurance Commission has conducted several activities  according to the 
Government and the Insurance Commission's policies under the Insurance Development Plan Vol.  III 
(2016 -2020) with the main mission to regulate and foster efficiency of insurance business in order 
to ensure that it operates with efficiency , transparency, trustworthiness and to ensure that the policy 
benefit has been delivered to beneficiaries accurately and in a timely manner. The OIC is currently 
developing the Insurance Development Plan Vol. IV (2021 -2025). The vision of the Insurance 
Development Plan Vol. IV is to promote Thai insurance industry to grow sustainably under the new 
challenging environment.  
3.62.   The main factors contributing to this continuous growth are as follows:  
• The OIC has strengthened a prudential supervision to align with a n international standard 
in order to ensure that companies are stable, financially strong and operate their business 
with high quality standard and trustworthy. The OIC has implemented many activities such 
as developing Risk Based Capital phase 2 (RBC 2), Own Risk and Solvency Assessment 
(ORSA), Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), Early Warning System (EWS), International 
Financial Reporting Standard 19 (IFRS 19), and overall analysis of Thailand 's insurance 
industry (Stress test).  
• The OIC has promoted a deve lopment of insurance products that are appropriate and suit 
customer needs. Moreover, in order to access to people in rural area, the OIC promotes 
microinsurance products which offer simple, non -complex and affordable insurance 
premiums for people with low  income such as a rice insurance and personal accident 
insurance. In addition, the OIC also launched other crop insurance such as Maize 
Insurance, Longan Insurance, and Lava Durian Insurance. A personal accident (PA) 
microinsurance product was another prod uct that gains a success and make people more 
access to an insurance system.  
• The OIC has encouraged the insurance sector to adopt new technology to enhance 
efficiency and provide better service to consumers. In 2017, OIC launched an insurance 
regulatory sa ndbox project to promote innovative ideas and foster growth in an insurance 
sector. In addition, the Insurance Bureau System has been developed and operated as an 
insurance data centr e to support an insurance business and enhance supervisory 
capability. Th e OIC also established the Center of InsurTech, Thailand (CIT) to be a focal 
point among insurance companies and start -ups to exchange knowledge and experience 
on Insurance development. Another role of the CIT is developing the digital infrastructure 
for Thai insurance industry such as OIC Gateway and central applications.  
• The OIC has promoted an insurance literacy and awareness to the public about the use of 
insurance as a risk management tool, aiming that people will have interest to insurance 
and use insurance product as a proper tool to manage their risks. The OIC 's activities are 
as follows: the OIC community, Training for the trainer project, and insurance training 
courses for various agencies.  
Improving regulatory capacity  
3.63.   The OIC has developed the  insurance law by entirely redrafting the Life Insurance Act and the 
Non-life Insurance Act with the main goals to address the current issue of law enforcement and to 
be in line with an international standard and those of other financial sector 's regulatio ns. The content 
of the drafts has been divided into three groups of related provisions as follows: (1)  provisions 
regarding consumer protection , (2) provisions regarding prudential and stability of an insurance 
company , and (3) provisions regarding to prom otion of merger and acquisition and a liability of 
board members and senior managements. So far, the scrutiny of group 1 has become effective since 
21 November 2019. The group 2 and 3 are still in the legal procedure.   WT/TPR/G/ 400/Rev.1  • Thailand  
 
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  Participating in FSAP  
3.64.   The OIC has par ticipated in Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) mission during 
February -March 2019 which was the first full scope assessment. The assessment was conducted by 
The World Bank and IMF, and it was benchmarked against the ICPs issued by the Internationa l 
Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS). The result of assessment was graded in a high level. It 
showed 10 ICPs with the Observed (O) level, 12 ICPs with Largely Observed (LO) and 4 ICPs with 
Partly Observed (PO). There was none of Not Observed (NO) or Not Applicable (NA). The Assessor 's 
comment in the report identifies that OIC has a prominent point in the development of qualified and 
effective supervisory staff, the implementation of stronger supervisory requirements, an effective 
risk-based supervi sory framework, and enhanced information exchange and cross -border 
cooperation.  
3.2.5.3   Tourism  
3.65.   Tourism and related industries are ones of the key sectors providing immense contribution to 
the Thai economy. It has been an effective means in creating job opportuni ties and rising local 
incomes as well as foreign exchange revenues. Foreign tourists generate more than THB  900 billion 
in national income each year, e.g. THB 1,876.136 billion in 2018 and THB  1,933.368 billion in 2019.  
3.66.   The number of tourists coming to Tha iland has grown steadily. In 2019, there were 
approximately 39.80 million international tourist arrivals, up from 38.18 million in 2018, which was 
equivalent to an expansion of 4.24% from the previous year.  
3.67.   In reali zing the vision of Thailand Tourism 2036,  the nation needs to devise stepping stones 
to lay out the development path to reach the ambitious goal. The 5 -year objectives and targets have 
been set to portray what Thailand could realistically achieve in the next five years. The overarching 
strategic objectives and targets over the next five years focus on improving the overall quality and 
capabilities of Thailand 's tourism industry and supporting sustainable growth that leverage the great 
value of Thainess. The challenge now lies in the ability to cre ate greater economic benefits from the 
industry, while ensuring the sustainability of the nation 's tourism assets.  
3.68.    Thailand 's tourism industry is driven under the guideline of the Second National Tourism 
Development Plan B.E. 2560 -2564 (2017 -2021) aims to guide development actions in accomplishing 
the four objectives: (1) to become quality tourism destination which increases tourism 
competitiveness , (2) to increase economic value of tourism industry with balance and sustainability , 
(3) t o distribute tourism income and benefits inclusively throughout the nation , and (4) to 
sustainably develop tourism industry on the principle of Thainess and environmental sustainability.  
3.2.6   Intellectual property  
3.69.   Intellectual property  (IP)  remains an area in which the Government has continued to 
strengthen its  efforts with an aim to develop an effective and robust intellectual property regime.  
Since its establishment in 2011, the National Committee on Intellectual Property Policy, which is an 
interagency commi ttee led by the Prime Minister, has  continued to provide policy direction and 
oversee the implementation of Thailand 's policies on intellectual property.  In 2016, the National 
Committee on Intellectual Property Policy adopted the 20 -Year (2017 -2036)  IP Roa dmap in order to 
guide the development of the country 's IP system  and to ensure that the IP system is aligned with 
the country 's shift towards "Thailand 4  .0".  
3.70.   The Roadmap covers six areas, namely : (1) IP creation , (2) IP protection , (3) IP 
commercial ization, (4) IP enforcement , (5) geographical indications , and (6)  genetic resources, 
traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions. Since its adoption, the Roadmap has been 
providing the direction for the development of the nation 's IP system and is currently being 
implemented by the relevant agencies, with the Department of Intellectual Property of the Ministry 
of Commerce (DIP)  being the main responsible agency.   
3.71.   Thailand recogni zes the importance of joining international IP agreements to ensure that its 
IP system is in line with international standards.  To this end, Thailand deposited its instruments of 
accession to the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration 
of Marks  on 7 August 2017  and to the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for WT/TPR/G/ 400/Rev.1  • Thailand  
 
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  Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled on 28 January 2019.  The 
two agreements entered into force for Thailand on 7 November 2017 and 28 April 2019, 
respectively.  In addition, Thailand is also in the preparation process for its accession to the WIPO 
Copyright Treaty, the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty and the Hague Agreement 
Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs.   
3.72.   In terms of legislat ive development, Thailand has amended its Trademark Act and Copyright 
Act during 2016 -2019 and is currently in the process of amending its Patent Act, as well as further 
amending the Copyright Act.   
3.73.   The Trademark Act (No.  3) B.E.  2559 (2016)  which amended the Trademark Act B.E.  2534 
(1991)  came into effect on 28 July 2016.  The amendment aimed to, inter alia , streamline the 
registration process, allow for the registration of sound marks  and support Thailand 's accession to 
the Madrid Protocol.  The Copyright A ct (No.  4) B.E.  2561 (2018), which amended the Copyright Act 
B.E.  2537 (1994), entered into force on 11 March 2019.  The purpose of the amendment was to 
incorporate copyright exceptions for persons with certain disabilities, including persons who are 
blind,  visually impaired or otherwise print disabled, and support Thailand 's accession to the 
Marrakesh Treaty. Another important legislative development is  the Computer Crime Act (No.  2) 
B.E. 2560 (2017), which amended the Computer Crime Act B.E.  2550 (2007).  After the revised Act 
entered into force on 24 May 2017, right owners have been able to make use of the site blocking 
mechanisms under the Act to combat online infringements.   
3.74.   Thailand is in the process of amending the Patent Act B.E.  2522 (1979), which cov ers both 
the patent section and the industrial design section. For the patent section, the amendment focuses 
on streamlining the patent registration procedures, complying with the Protocol Amending the TRIPS 
Agreement and addressing the formality of applic ations for patents related to genetic resources and 
traditional knowledge. For the industrial design section, the amendment focuses on streamlining the 
registration procedures for industrial designs and laying the groundwork for Thailand 's accession to 
the Hague Agreement.   
3.75.   In addition, Thailand is in the process of further amending the Copyright Act  B.E.  2537 (1994), 
which consists of two phases.  The first phase aims at enhancing the mechanisms for the protection 
of copyright in the digital environment and  preparing for Thailand 's accession to the WIPO Copyright 
Treaty.  The Council of State already completed its consideration on the draft amendment and 
submitted  it to the Cabinet for further review. The draft amendment will then be forwarded to the 
Parliament for its approval.  After the completion of the first phase, Thailand has a plan for the 
second  phase of the amendment of the Copyright Act, which involves laying the groundwork for 
Thailand 's accession to the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Trea ty. 
3.76.   At the WTO, Thailand attaches great importance to the TRIPS Council and has continued to 
actively participate in the body.  Thailand also appreciates the need for a mechanism to facilitate 
access to essential medicines, particularly by countries with no  or insufficient manufacturing capacity 
in the pharmaceutical sector.  On 28 January 2016, Thailand deposited its instrument of acceptance 
for the 2005 Protocol Amending the TRIPS Agreement, joining other members in bringing the 
amendment to the TRIPS Agree ment into effect on 23 January 2017.  
3.77.   The Department of Intellectual Property  (DIP), as the main government body responsible for 
IP issues, continues to engage in cooperation activities with its counterparts in different regions, 
such as the United States P atent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the China National Intellectual 
Property Administration (CNIPA), Japan Patent Office (JPO), the European Union Intellectual 
Property Office (EUIPO) and the European Patent Office (EPO). The DIP also maintains close conta cts 
with national IP offices of ASEAN Member States and is an active participant in the ASEAN Working 
Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation (AWGIPC), which is a forum for cooperation in the area 
of intellectual property among ASEAN Member States, as w ell as between ASEAN and its dialogue 
partners, such as Japan, China, the Republic of Korea, the European Union and the United States of 
America.  
3.78.   The DIP has taken various steps to improve the efficiency of its registration procedures.  To 
increase service efficiency and facilitate IP applications, the DIP has made available an electronic 
filing (e -Filing)  system as an alternative channel for submitting application, as well as an e -Payment 
system as a means for accepting electronic payments. The e -Filing sys tem has been running since WT/TPR/G/ 400/Rev.1  • Thailand  
 
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  19 February 2018.  In terms of human resources, the DIP has recruited 78 patent examiners and 
20 trademark examiners during 2016 -18 to facilitate the registration process.  Moreover, the DIP, in 
cooperation with its counterparts, a s well as the World Intellectual Property Organization, has 
regularly organi zed capacity building activities for its examiners so that they are best equipped to 
perform their tasks.   
3.79.   Thailand recogni zes the importance of an open and transparent process wit h respect to the 
development and implementation of its IP policies.  In this regard, the DIP, in carrying out its 
missions, welcomes engagement of stakeholders to ensure that all views and concerns are taken 
into consideration.  Stakeholders have been invite d to participate in public hearings throughout the 
legislative amendment process.  Consultation meetings have also been held by the DIP to serve as a 
forum for IP right holders to be kept informed about current IP policies and for views to be exchanged 
between right holders and relevant government agencies on IP issues.  
3.80.   Thailand also sees the importance of the inclusion of local communities within the IP system.  
In this connection, the DIP has been promoting geographical indications as tools for local farmer s 
and producers to  increase economic value of their products.  Provinces across the country have been 
encouraged to have their products registered as GI products, and as of June 2020, 76 out of 
77 provinces have at least one GI registered, with a total of 1 26 GIs.  The DIP has also sought to 
promote the registrations of Thai GIs in foreign countries, which resulted in Thai GIs now being 
registered in the European Union (Thung Kula Rong -Hai Thai Hom Mali Rice, Doi Tung Coffee, Doi 
Chaang Coffee, and Sangyod Mu ang Phatthalung Rice), Viet Nam (Isan Indigenous Thai Silk Yarn), 
Indonesia (Lamphun Brocade Thai Silk),  and India (Lamphun Brocade Thai Silk).  
3.81.   The DIP has sought to encourage innovation and promote IP commerciali zation in a number 
of ways.  In February 201 7, the DIP set up a new unit called the Intellectual Property Innovation 
Driven Enterprise Center (IP IDE Center)  as an advising centr e for entrepreneurs and SMEs on IP 
issues, such as technology trends, the management of IP, and the protection of IP abroa d. In 
January  2018, the DIP launched a new version of its "IP Mart ", an online platform for IP owners to 
commerciali ze their products.  The IP Mart, at http://www.thaiipmart.com , provides a channel for IP 
owners to showcase and sell their products to consumers. The DIP also organi zes the "IP Fair " on an 
annual basis.  The event is organi zed under a theme, which varies from year to year, and covers 
activities such as IP seminars, IP product exhibitions and IP  consultation services.   
3.82.   Thailand has given intellectual property right (IPR)  enforcement a high priority at all levels of 
government.  At the policy level, the Cabinet instructed key enforcement agencies to combat IP 
infringements in both physical and onli ne marketplaces, as well as other forms of infringements such 
as online piracy.  To ensure the coordination and integration of relevant enforcement agencies, the 
Sub-Committee on IPR enforcement, led by the Deputy Prime Minister responsible for security and  
crime suppression matters, has been playing a major role in developing appropriate measures and 
overseeing enforcement operations in Thailand.   
3.83.   Enforcement agencies, namely the Royal Thai Police, the Department of Special Investigation  
(DSI), and the Cust oms Department, in cooperation with the DIP and right holders, have continued 
to intensify their efforts in combatting IPR infringements. Statistical data on arrest and seizure cases 
are summari zed in Table 3.2.  
Table 3.2 The arrests and seizures of intellectual property infringing items  
Year Arrest cases Confiscated items  
2019 4,880  1,649,638  
2018 6,938  10,825,5383 
2017 7,548  3,232,486  
2016 7,511  5,546,141  
2015 7,437  3,846,969  
Source:  The Royal Thai Police, DSI, and the Customs Department, Ministry of Finance . 
3.84.   The DIP has carried out various awareness and educational activities on IP. These include 
seminars and workshops designed to educate the public on a variety of IP topics, as well as the 
 
3 This number includes 9,000,000 counterfeit cigarettes seized by the Chiang Saen Customs House in 
April 2018. WT/TPR/G/ 400/Rev.1  • Thailand  
 
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  distribution of public relation materials to convey knowledge about IP, from creation, protection, 
commerciali zation to enforcement.  In addition, the DIP has also utili zed social media platforms  such 
as Facebook and YouTube to reach out to t he wider public, particularly the younger generation.   
Plant varieties  
3.85.   The protection of new varieties of plants (PVP) or Plant Breeder 's Right (PBR) in Thailand has 
been regulated under the Plant Varieties Protection Act B.E. 2542 (1999) by the Department  of 
Agriculture (DOA), Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MOAC) as a competent authority. There 
are 91 plant species/genera, expanding 29 items from 2015, eligible to apply for the protection, as 
of March 2020. Thailand recogni zes the importance of international cooperation to develop and 
strengthen PVP system in the region. The DOA has actively participated to the meetings under the 
East Asia Plant Variety Protection Forum (EAPVPF) with ASEAN Plus Three (Japan, China, and 
the Republic  of Korea) member states, and has continuously engaged in cooperation activities with 
the EAPVPF and also other organi zations, such as the United States Embassy Bangkok and the EUIP 
Key South -East Asia in the areas of raising public awareness, capacity building, and technical 
training.  
3.2.7   SMEs  
3.86.   Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) form a vital pillar of Thai economy. They are the 
primary mechanisms for promoting and strengthening the economic growth by creating incomes and 
employment as approximately 3 million enterprises  of which 99.8% are SMEs, employ around 
12.2 million people or 82% of the country 's total employment, and accounted for 42.4% of national 
GDP. 
3.87.   While the 3rd Thailand SME Promotion Plan (2012 -2016)  was about empowering SMEs to 
globali zation and improving SM Es' productivities, the 4th Thailand SME Promotion Plan (2017 -2021)  
emphasi zes on the industry 4.0 era. The master plan, in accordance with the 20 -year national 
strategic plan, focuses on developing Thailand into a valued -based, innovation -driven economy b y 
creating the ecosystem and developing the capacity of SMEs. Its goal is aiming to increase SMEs ' 
GDP growth to 50% of total GDP.  
3.88.   In this era of digital economy, the reformation of Thai SMEs has been driven by numerous 
projects through cooperation among p ublic and private sectors, universities and academic institutes 
and financial institutions. Some projects carried out by the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises 
Promotion (OSMEP) are the SME ONE: the platform compiling public and private intelligent pro jects, 
the SME Knowledge Center Project via the comprehensive SME One -Stop Service Center (OSS), the 
SME Online Project: the development of e -market format for SMEs.  
3.89.   SMEs in Thailand were previously defined according to their assets and employment but und er 
the promulgating of the Ministerial Regulation on the Small and Medium Enterprise Definition 
B.E. 2562 (2019)  SMEs are now defined in accordance with their employment and value of the 
revenue . Manufacturing sector, trade sector and services were also (Table 3.3) recategorized  by 
consider defining SMEs in trade sector and SMEs in services under the same criteria.  In the event 
that the number of employments classify an enterprise into a type of enterprises but the revenue 
classifies such enterprise into an other type, the revenue shall be used to determine which type of 
enterprises it is.  
3.90.   Together with the Announcement of the Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion 2020, 
determined characteristics of micro enterprises are "A micro enterprise means manufacturi ng, 
serviced, whole selling, retailing firms with employees not exceeding five or revenue not exceeding 
one million and eight hundred thousand baht per year. " 
Table 3.3 Deter mine characteristics of micro, small and medium enterprises in Thailand  
 
Micro Enterprises  Small Enterprises  Medium Enterprises  
Employment  Revenue  Employment  Revenue  Employment  Revenue  
Manufacturing  ≤ 5 persons   ≤ THB 1.8  
million  ≤ 50 persons   ≤ THB 100 
million  ≤ 200 
persons  ≤ THB 5 00 
million  
Trade and 
Services  ≤ 5 persons   ≤ THB 1.8  
million  ≤ 30 persons   ≤ THB 50 
million  ≤100 persons   ≤ THB 3 00 
million  
 WT/TPR/G/ 400/Rev.1  • Thailand  
 
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  3.2.8   Government procurement  
3.91.   In 2017 Public Procurement and Supplies Administration Act has been enacted in Thailand. 
The main objective of this Act is to promote transparency, accountability, efficiency, effectiveness, 
and value of money which lead to reliability in Thai public procurement for all sectors in both national 
and international level. According to t he Act, all government agencies must follow the procurement 
procedures, including State -owned Enterprises (SOEs), local administrations, and other Independent 
public organi zations except the procurement by SOEs that directly involving commerce such as 
purchasing oil and gas of Petroleum Authority of Thailand.  
3.92.   The Act will set standard to public procurement procedures, improve transparency and 
fairness in public procurement, reduce corruption, and increase efficiency and effectiveness of public 
spending. Tra nsparency in procurement takes form in a variety of practices, such as publication of 
procurement plans, advertisement of tender notices, and disclosure of evaluation criteria in 
solicitation documents. Furthermore, the Act also encourages public participa tion, as all steps 
involved in procurement process need to be disclosed in the Electronic Government Procurement 
(e-GP) website for public access.  
3.2.9   Competition  
3.93.   The Trade Competition Act B.E. 2560 (2017) is Thailand 's current law which governs 
competition policy framework. Repealing the Trade Competition Act B.E. 2542 (1999), the present 
law has been in force since 5 October 2017. The Act regulates anti -competitive conducts such as 
abuse of market dominant position, m ergers and acquisitions, cartels (vertically and horizontally) 
and unfair trade practices.  
3.94.   Besides provisions regulating anti -competitive conducts, the Act also establishes the new 
Trade Competition Commission which comprises of a Chairperson, a Deputy Ch airperson, and 
five other Commissioners. The Commission has the fundamental powers and duties to:  
(1) Regulate business operations and impose guidelines to maintain free and fair competition.  
(2) Consider complaints and make inquiries regarding offences under th e Act.  
(3) Propose opinions and recommendations to the Minister and the Cabinet with regard to the 
Government 's policies on competition.  
(4) Give recommendations to government agencies on rules, regulations, or orders which are 
obstacles to competition and causi ng obstruction, restriction, or reduction of competition, 
and that may result in unfairness between business operators.  
(5) Make an order in writing to instruct that business operator to suspend, stop, or correct or 
change such conduct in accordance with crit eria, methods, conditions, and the time period 
prescribed by the Commission, provided that the Commission has sufficient evidence to 
believe that a business operator has violated or will violate the provisions under the Act.  
3.95.   Furthermore, the Act also establishes the new Office of Trade Competition Commission which 
is independent from the Executive branch, unlike the old law in which the Office was under the 
Ministry of Commerce.  
3.96.   The other key characteristic of the Act that aligns with international sta ndard is its application. 
The Act currently applies to all business operators regardless its owners including state -owned 
enterprises with limited exception provided that such enterprises conduct their undertakings 
according to the law or resolutions of th e Cabinet which are necessary for the benefit of maintaining 
national security, public interest, the interests of society, or the provision of public utilities.  
3.2.10   COVID -19 related policies and measures  
3.97.   Due to the COVID -19 outbreak, the Government has elevat ed the implementation of 
measures to the highest level by virtue of Section 5 of the Emergency Decree on Public 
Administration in Emergency Situations B.E. 2548 (2005) on 26 March B.E. 2563 (2020). Since WT/TPR/G/ 400/Rev.1  • Thailand  
 
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  March 2020, the Government has approved three  phases  of COVID -19 Relief Package to mitigate 
the economic impacts from the pandemic, focusing on economic stimulus package and healthcare 
spending.  
3.98.   Additionally, various measures related to trade and investment have been implemented 
temporarily as follows.  
(1) Trade -related measures: (1) Tariff exemption for essential products, such as surgical 
masks , (2) Export prohibition of bird eggs to prevent the critical shortage , (3) Export 
restriction of surgical masks to ensure adequacy of the products , and (4) Exempti on of 
conformity assessment for licensing to import for sale industrial products.  
(2) ICT-related measures: (1) Providing high speed broadband internet for people , 
(2) Offering Special tariff and payment terms for telecommunication services , and 
(3) Establ ishing cloud Infrastructure to support government applications/IT systems 
needed during COVID -19 outbreak.  
(3) Services -related measures: (1) Insurance, such as premium refunds and premium 
discounts , and (2) Security and Exchange, such as notifying the bus iness operators to 
activate Business Continuity Management (BCM) and Business Continuity Plan (BCP), and 
postponement of financial statement submission for companies that are affected by 
COVID -19. 
(4) Investment -related measures: such as : (1) Extension of the application deadline for 
corporate income tax exemption privileges , (2) Launching of online document submission 
service (e -submission) , and (3) Launching of SMART Visa Online Clinic.  
3.3  Regional Trade Arrangement s and Economic Cooperation  
3.3.1   FTAs  
3.99.   At present,  Thailand has 13 regional and bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) successfully 
in effect (see table below). There are two FTAs which have entered into force during 2015 -19, namely 
Thailand -Chile FTA and ASEAN -Hong Kong , China  FTA. 
Table 3.4 Thailand's FTAs with effective date  
Thailand 's FTAs  Date of entry into force  
Regional FTAs    
ASEAN  1 January 1993 (Goods), 30 April 1999 (Services), 21 June 1999 
(Investment)  
ASEAN - China  20 July 2005 (Goods), 1 July 2007 (Services), 15 February 2010 
(Investment)  
ASEAN - Japan  1 June 2009 (Goods)  
ASEAN – Republic of Korea  1 June 2009 (Services), 1 October 2009 (Goods), 
31 October  2009 (Investment)  
ASEAN - India 1 January 2010 (Goods), 1 July 2015 (Services)  
ASEAN - Australia - New Zealand  12 March 2010  
ASEAN - Hong Kong , China  11 June 2019  
Bilateral FTAs   
Thailand - India (Early Harvest Scheme)  1 September 2004 (Goods)  
Thailand - Australia  1 January 2005 (Goods, Services and Investment)  
Thailand - New Zealand  1 July 2005  
Thailand - Japan  1 November 2007  
Thailand - Peru (Early Harvest Scheme)  31 December 2011 (Goods)  
Thailand - Chile 5 November 2015 (Goods and services)  
 
3.100.   Thailand is in the process of negotiating FTAs with Pakistan, Tur key, and Sri Lanka. Since 
2019, Thailand has undertaken internal procedures reform and engaged in consultations with the 
European Union and the European Free Trade Area (EFTA) with a view to complete internal process 
in 2020.  WT/TPR/G/ 400/Rev.1  • Thailand  
 
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  3.3.2   WTO  
3.101.   Thailand has been a strong  supporter of the rules -based multilateral trading system and the 
WTO. Thailand believes that the multilateral trading system is a crucial mechanism for achieving 
fair, transparent, predictable and freer trade that can lead to inclusive and sustainable eco nomic 
growth.  
3.102.   Filling Vacancies in the Appellate Body is a top priority for Thailand as it will retain the 
tried-and-tested two -tier system of dispute settlement which is a central element in providing 
security and predictability to the multilateral tradin g system. To this end, Thailand presented to the 
General Council meeting in May  2019 a proposal on the Dispute Settlement System of the WTO 
(WT/GC/W/769) as well as actively participated in discussions with other members with a view to 
resolving the Appell ate Body Impasse. Thailand has also co -sponsored Mexico 's proposal to launch 
the selection process of the Appellate Body members as soon as possible.  
3.103.   Thailand supports all efforts to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the WTO and 
make it more relevant to current trading landscape. In this regard, Thailand has actively engaged in 
WTO reform discussions in order to improve the functioning of the WTO in various areas, including 
improving transparency and notification records, enhancing the work of  WTO regular bodies, as well 
as revitali zing negotiations to update WTO rules while recogni zing the core principles and objectives 
of the WTO.  
3.104.   Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Thailand to the WTO and the World Intellectual 
Property Organization (H. E. Ms. Sunanta Kangvalkulkij) had the honour  to be appointed by the 
membership as the Chair the Disputes Settlement Body (DSB) in 2018 and as the Chair of the 
General Council in 2019 which is the highest -level decision -making body of the WTO between the 
Ministerial Conferences. During her chairpersonship of the General Council, the Ambassador put in 
utmost efforts that have resulted in the smooth functioning of the WTO during a challenging time 
and unprecedented circumstances, including facilitating the mem bership to the decision on the 
extension of the Customs Duties on Electronic Transmissions and TRIPS moratoria until MC12 and 
revitali zation of the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce at the General Council meeting in 
December 2019.   
3.105.   During Thailand 's ASEAN Chairmanship year in 2019, Thailand also chaired the ASEAN 
Committee in Geneva (ACG), where Thailand facilitated discussions and the sharing of information 
between ASEAN Member States on important WTO matters through weekly ACG Meetings and 
fostered th e active role and participation of ASEAN in the WTO, including through numerous joint 
statements at the Trade Negotiations Committee meetings, the General Council meetings, and Trade 
Policy Review meetings.   
3.106.   Thailand supports existing negotiations under th e WTO with a view to update and refresh 
WTO rulebook and making it more relevant to the trading landscape in the 21st century. On Fisheries 
Subsidies, Thailand recogni zes the importance of establishing effective and proportionate subsidy 
disciplines and has actively engaged in discussions to maintain marine sustainability. On Agriculture, 
Thailand has worked collectively with members of Cairns Group to move forward the n egotiations 
with a view to updating disciplines on agriculture including trade -distorting domestic support taking 
into account of developing needs of WTO members.  
3.107.   On Electronic Commerce, Thailand has participated in discussions under the Work 
Programme on  Electronic Commerce and co -sponsored the Joint Statement on E -commerce Initiative 
launched in January 2019 during the Informal WTO Ministerial Gathering (IMG) in order to strongly 
support negotiations on trade -related aspects of e -commerce.  
3.108.   For the imple mentation of Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), Thailand is at a rate of more 
than 94.1%. Thailand notified all definitive dates for the implementation of Category B commitments 
on 22 February 2018 and continues working tirelessly to complete remaining co mmitments by 
deadlines in 2024.  WT/TPR/G/ 400/Rev.1  • Thailand  
 
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  3.3.3   APEC  
3.109.   Supporting the final review of the Bogor Goals in 2020, Thailand supports the final 
assessment of the Bogor Goals which could be served as a guideline to improve the narrative of 
trade and investment in our region and provide recommendation on APEC 's regional economic 
integration in the future. Hence, Thailand joined APEC Member Economies to undertake Individual 
Action Plan Update for 2019 -2020 to provide improvements made since 2018 and future works 
planned for 2020 an d beyond.  
3.110.   Thailand recogni zes significant progress on advancing Regional Economic Integration (REI) 
through the endorsed initiatives and activities as an integral part of implementing Lima Declaration 
for the reali zation of Free Trade Area of the Asia -Pacific (FTAAP). Coordinating on sharing best 
practices and information, Thailand places importance on views and recommendations from 
multi-stakeholders, business and academic perspectives through Public -Private Dialogue (PPD) to 
strengthen APEC readiness and pathway to achieve the FTAAP.  
3.111.   In response to different levels of economic development, Thailand supports capacity building 
mechanism that aims to promote MSMEs ' competitiveness to integrate into Global Value Chains 
(GVCs ) to reali ze an inclusive and susta inable development. This also includes initiatives to promote 
regional economic integration to reduce trade barriers and to enhance trade facilitation.  
3.112.   In 2018, Thailand particularly achieved the work on "Brainstorming Workshop towards an 
APEC Green Road: Promoting Responsible and Sustainable Tourism in MSMEs " in enhancing 
competitiveness of MSMEs in tourism sector, which is one of the pilot sectors in the APEC Strategy 
for Green, Sustainable and Innovative MSMEs.  
3.113.   As Bogor Goals ' expiration date is in 2020,  APEC Member Economies have agreed on drafting 
APEC Post -2020 Vision with the assistance from Malaysia as current host in coordination with 
New Zealand and Thailand as future hosting economies in developing the draft on APEC Post -2020 
Vision.  
3.114.   Thailand supp orts APEC cooperation in responding to impacts from COVID -19 pandemic and 
in exploring ways and means to pursue economic recovery in APEC region in accordance with 
operationali zing APEC MRT Statement on COVID -19 endorsed on 5 May 2020 and Ministers 
Respons ible for Trade Virtual Meeting Joint Statement 2020 attached with Declaration on Facilitating 
the Movement of Essential Goods by the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) endorsed on 
25 July 2020.  
3.3.4   ASEAN  
3.115.   Driven by the theme of "Advancing Partnership fo r Sustainability ", Thailand as a chair of 
ASEAN in 2019 had pursued 13 priority economic deliverables (PEDs) under the following 
three  strategic drivers : (1) Future -Orientation such as ASEAN Digital Integration Framework Action 
Plan (or DIFAP) 2019 -2025, A SEAN Innovation Roadmap 2019 -2025, Guideline on Skilled 
Labour/Professional Services Development in Response to the 4IR , (2) Enhanced Connectivity such 
as ASEAN Single Window, Local Currency Settlement Framework, The Conclusion of RCEP , 
(3) Sustainable in all dimensions such as Promoting Sustainable Fisheries through ASEAN 
Cooperation, Conclude the MOU between the ASEAN Centre for Energy and an ASEAN partner 
university/institution to support the work towards the establishment of an ASEAN Biofuels and 
Bioene rgy R&D Network Center, Roadmap for ASEAN Sustainable Capital Markets.  
3.116.   In addition, Thailand has successfully driven a number of key achievements, for example, 
signing the ASEAN Protocol on the Enhanced Dispute Settlement Mechanism (EDSM), finali zation of 
the ASEAN Mutual Recognition Arrangement on Type Approval for Automotive Products (AP MRA), 
signing the ASEAN Trade in Services Agreement (ATISA) and the fourth protocol to amend the 
ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement (ACIA) as well as the signing of  the first protocol to 
amend the agreement on comprehensive economic partnership among Japan and member states of 
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (AJCEP) which extends the agreement applied since 
late 2008 to cover trade in services, investment and the movement of citizens, in addition to market 
access for goods.  WT/TPR/G/ 400/Rev.1  • Thailand  
 
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  3.117.   Considerable progress has been made in ASEAN trade liberali zation with tariffs on 98.64%  
of goods fully eliminated under the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA). The ASEAN -6 
(Brunei  Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand) has eliminated 
99.29% of their tariffs lines, while the CLMV has eliminated 97.67% of their tariffs lines.  
3.118.   Regarding the Non -tariff measures (NTMs), improvements have been made in popul ating 
the NTM section in the National Trade Repositories (NTR) of ASEAN Member States (AMS) which 
would be linked to the ASEAN Trade Repository (ATR), which is an ASEAN -level web -based interface 
that provides and maintains national -level trade and customs -related information. Through the 
ASEAN Guidelines on NTM, work to enhance the availability and quality of information provided 
through the links is being intensified for the full operationali zation of the ATR.  
3.3.4.1   Trade in services  
3.119.   AMS have also worked toward s achieving free flow of services through the implementation 
of the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services (AFAS). The Protocol to implement the 10th package 
of commitments under AFAS was signed on 11 November 2018 in Singapore. Thailand 's schedule of 
specific commitments covered 106 sub -sectors with foreign equity participation capped at 70%.  The 
number of commitments has increased from the 9th package by six subsectors under communication 
services and transport services.  
3.120.   Since 2012, Thailand has part icipated in the negotiation of ASEAN Trade in Services 
Agreement (ATISA). ATISA was signed by nine AMS in April 2019, at the 25th AEM Retreat Meeting 
in Thailand. The ATISA 's main objectives are to upgrade and replace ASEAN Framework Agreement 
on Services (AFAS) and to provide greater opportunities for economic development by reducing 
barriers to trade in services.  
3.121.   To date, ASEAN has concluded the seven following Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRAs) 
aiming to facilitate mobility of professionals/skilled labour in ASEAN through recognition of their 
qualifications namely : (1) MRA on Medical Practitioners , (2) MRA on Nursing Services , (3) MRA on 
Dental Practitioners (4)  MRA on Architectural Services (5)  MRA on Engineering Services (6)  MRA on 
Accountancy Serv ices, and (7)  Framework Arrangements for the Mutual Recognition of Surveying 
Qualifications. ASEAN is also undergoing the implementation process for the MRA on Tourism 
Professionals which aims to facilitate mobility of tourism professionals within ASEAN, a nd at the 
same time, improve the quality of services delivered by tourism professionals.  
3.122.   In the area of electronic and digital integration, the ASEAN Agreement on Electronic 
Commerce, signed in 2019, aims to facilitate cross -border e -commerce transactions , contribute to 
creating an environment of trust and confidence in the use of e -commerce, and intensify e -commerce 
to drive inclusive growth. Also, the ASEAN Digital Integration Framework was developed in 2018, 
followed by the ASEAN Digital Integration Fra mework Action Plan 2019 -2025.  The Action Plan focuses 
on facilitating seamless trade, protecting data while supporting innovation, enabling seamless digital 
payments, broadening digital talent base, and fostering entrepreneurship.  
3.3.4.2   Free Trade Agreements (FT As) with dialogue partners  
3.123.   Recently, major developments in ASEAN existing FTAs are as follows: the entry into force of 
the ASEAN -Hong Kong , China  Free Trade Agreement and the ASEAN -Hong Kong , China  Investment 
Agreement. There are also numbers of upgrading or reviewing of existing ASEAN Plus 
One agreements namely : (1) the ongoing implementation of the ASEAN -China Free Trade 
Agreement Upgrading Protocol , (2) the completion of the general review of the  ASEAN -Australia -
New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA) , and (3)  the endorsement of a Work Plan for 
AANZFTA Upgrade Negotiations, as well as (4)  the entry into force of the First Protocol to amend the 
ASEAN -Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership to i ncorporate the chapters on services, 
investment and movement of natural persons.  
3.3.5   RCEP  
3.124.   Through ASEAN, Thailand is actively pursuing regional trade liberali zation. During the 
21st ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on 20  November 2012, the 
leaders of ASEAN member countries and Australia, China, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and WT/TPR/G/ 400/Rev.1  • Thailand  
 
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  New Zealand through "Joint Declaration on the Launch of Negotiations for the Regional 
Comprehensive Economic Partnership ", officially launch ed negotiations for Regional Comprehensive 
Economic Partnership or RCEP. The RCEP is expected to be a modern, comprehensive, high -quality, 
and mutually beneficial economic partnership agreement.  
3.125.   At the 3rd RCEP Summit on 4  November 2019  in Bangkok, the Le aders announced through 
the Joint Leaders ' Statement stating that 15  RCEP Participating Countries have concluded text -based 
negotiations for all 20  chapters and essentially all the market access issues. They also tasked legal 
scrubbing to commence for sign ing in 2020.  However, India has significant outstanding issues, which 
remain unresolved. In this connection, all RCEP Participating Countries will work together to resolve 
these outstanding issues in a mutually satisfactory way. India 's final decision will  depend on 
satisfactory resolution of these issues. Currently, the RCEP members are in the process of legal 
scrubbing the agreement so that the members can start their internal process for the signing of the 
agreement by the end of the year.  
3.3.6   ACMECS  
3.126.   Recogni zing the importance of the aim and future direction of the Ayeyawady -Chao Phraya -
Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy ( ACMECS ) in moving towards an Integrated and Connected 
Mekong Community, ACMECS leaders agreed that it is timely to reform ACMECS and its operational 
structure to effectively respond to the current geopolitical environment in the region and the world.  
3.127.   The 8th ACMECS Summit was held in Bangkok on 16  June 2018, where leaders of the member 
countries agreed to adopt the ACMECS Master Plan 2019 -2023  under the vision of "Building ACMECS 
Connect by 2023 ". The main goals are to promote : (1) Seamless Connectivity , (2) Synchronised 
ACMECS Economies , and (3)  Smart and Sustainable ACMECS. The ACMECS leaders also adopted the 
Bangkok Declaration, which un derlines the strong commitment of all member countries as a strategic 
partnership, to enhance ACMECS cooperation in order to obtain mutual benefits and to become a 
centre of prosperity in the region. Thailand, an active partner in promoting inclusive growt h and 
development within the sub -region, additionally proposed the establishment of an ACMECS Fund as 
a financing mechanism for upcoming  cooperation projects under the ACMECS Master Plan.  
3.3.7   ASEAN Capital Markets Forum  
3.128.   The ASEAN Capital Markets Forum (ACMF) c omprising capital market regulators from all 
10 ASEAN jurisdictions was established in 2004. Its initial goal was to integrate regional capital 
market in order to allow cross border a ctivities and help broaden investor base and range of 
products, thereby s trengthening domestic capital markets and increasing visibility of ASEAN as an 
asset class. To guide its work on the next five years, the ACMF has been assessing key achievements 
under the ACMF Action Plan 2016 -2020 in order to develop the Action Plan for 2021-2025 which is 
expected to be finali zed this year. Additionally, to deepen capital markets connectivity, ACMF has 
initiated key frameworks that have substantial progress in 2019, including:  
• ASEAN Framework for Cross -Border Offering of Collective Investment Schemes 
(CIS) to foster cross -border fund distribution and shorten time to market for funds. As of 
December 2019, the MoU on this framework had three signatories - Malaysia, Thailand, 
and S ingapore (Philippines is in the process of joining this framework and the MoU is 
expected to be signed in Q2/2020) and 15 funds were approved.  
• Professional Mobility Framework  dividing into two schemes, namely the ACMF Pass to 
foster greater mobility of cap ital market professionals and the Cross -Border Publication of 
the Research Report to allow greater and easier access to reliable information on ASEAN 
capital market products, including listed share, bond, CIS and sukuk. As of 
December  2019, the MoU on this  framework had four signatories - Philippines, Malaysia, 
Thailand, and Singapore, and 10 Singaporean analysts utili zed this framework to register 
in Thailand.  
• ASEAN Disclosure Standards Framework  to facilitate cross -border offerings of 
securities, support fund-raising activity and enhance the investment opportunities in the 
region. As of December 2019, the MoU on this framework had three  signatories - Malaysia, 
Thailand, and Singapore.  WT/TPR/G/ 400/Rev.1  • Thailand  
 
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  3.129.   Apart from strengthening connectivity, ACMF has also introduced several frameworks, 
including the ASEAN CG Scorecard to promote CG practice in ASEAN, the Market Development 
Program to build capacity of securities regulators, and Digital Asset Oversight Networking to share 
views, experience and information on regulatory develop ment and recent initiatives related to digital 
assets.   
3.130.   Recogni zing the importance of promote sustainable development of ASEAN capital markets, 
since 2017, ACMF had developed the ASEAN Green Bond Standards (GBS), ASEAN Social Bond 
Standards (SBS), and ASEA N Sustainability Bond Standards (SUS). As of 29 February 2020, there 
were 25 issuances of bonds using GBS, SBS and SUS in ASEAN while 5 of these bonds were issued 
in Thailand (3 GBS, 1 SBS and 1 SUS).  
3.131.   To align with the theme of 2019 Thailand 's ASEAN Chair manship on "Advancing Partnership 
for Sustainability ", SEC Thailand as the Chair of the ACMF underlined the importance of fostering 
sustainable capital market and played the active role in jointly developing the Roadmap for ASEAN 
Sustainable Capital Market s (Roadmap) with ACMF members to promote ASEAN asset classes for 
sustainable investment. In April 2019, concept of the Roadmap was endorsed in the ASEAN Finance 
Ministers ' Meeting (AFMM). Further reinforcing through the 2020 Vietnam ASEAN Chairmanship, the  
Roadmap has fully developed to provide broad strategic direction and guide ACMF in developing 
necessary action plans and initiatives across the region. The finali zed actionable recommendations 
under the Roadmap is expected to be reported to the AFMM in Oc tober 2020  and its priority areas 
will subsequently be integrated into the next phase of the ACMF Action Plan for 2021 -2025 in order 
to push forward the agenda on fostering sustainable development in ASEAN capital markets.  
4  FUTURE ECONOMIC AND TRADE POLICY DIRECTIONS  
4.1.  Despite the global economic uncertainties and challenges, Thailand views that free, predictable 
and transparent international trade relies on rules -based multilateral trading system and the WTO 
will contribute to the sustainable growth of global  economy. In this regard, Thailand remains 
committed to work closely with WTO members towards further trade and investment liberali zation 
as well as improvement of the WTO 's effectiveness.  
4.2.  Moreover, Thailand hopes to see the positive results from the stru ctural reform policies in the 
next review period. Since Thai economy was hit hard by the coronavirus, our economic policy 
direction in the near future will focus on economic recovery to alleviate the economic impacts caused 
by the pandemic, bringing busine sses, people, and communities back to their normal life. More fiscal 
and monetary measures will be implemented.   
4.3.  Thailand also aims to make its economy more inclusive and sustainable. Our priorities under 
the sustainable and inclusive development include M SMEs development, digital economy, and BCG 
economy. Furthermore, the COVID -19 outbreak has highlighted Thailand the importance of 
economic resilience and emergency preparedness against future shocks or disruptions to ensure that 
the businesses and supply c hain can continue their operation.  
4.4.  In conclusion, Thailand remains supportive of the rules -based multilateral trading system and 
the WTO as crucial mechanism for Thailand and WTO Members to address economic challenges 
resulting from COVID -19 crisis and pre pare for the post -pandemic recovery. Thailand will also strive 
to become a value -based economy with a full of resilience, while emphasi zing on inclusiveness and 
sustainability.  
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