Meanwhile, labor productivity has been dwarfed by the lack of capital and lagged behind the regional standard. On the overall picture of employment, Thailand has had very low unemployment but room to increase productivity remains in the area of reducing underemployment. Let me discuss an example of the agricultural sector. This sector has seen a steady decline of its share in GDP from 1980 to 2007. In contrast, its share in the country’s employment remained high, though reducing from 65 to just about 40 percent of total labor force during the same period. Meanwhile, yield of major crops per unit area is significantly lower than yields in other agriculture exporting countries. In fact, Foreign Agricultural Service of USDA, estimated that Thailand produces rice yield about 430 kilos per rai compared with the world average rice yield of 653 kilos per rai. There is thus ample room to increase productivity in this sector through better land and water management as well as a more systematic farming. Going forward, the problem of labor scarcity, though not unique to Thailand, will also become more of our concern as we are moving into aging society, while population growth remains low. Increasing productivity is therefore the solution to sustain potential growth as well as competitiveness. And, to do so, it is crucial that we increase investment, such that there is sufficient capital formation to facilitate productivity growth. On this note, I am pleased to say that collective effort to increase the level of investment has already taken place.

The government campaign – “Thailand Investment Year 2008/2009” is a spearhead project to make Thailand stand out as the investment destination for foreign investors. The campaign’s key missions include restoring investor’s confidence with more proactive marketing activities, strengthening infrastructure to accommodate for expansions, channeling investment into strategic industries for the future, as well as improving investment-related services. Recently, a good feedback on the international level has been reported by the media. In the “Doing Business 2009” survey of 181 countries by the World Bank, Thailand just ascends 6 ranks to the 13th place where investors are provided with convenience in doing business. Thailand made key improvements in areas such as protecting investors, ease of paying taxes, and trading across borders. Apart from these efforts to induce external capital, it is also necessary to support investment through domestic saving promotion scheme in an anticipation of narrowing investment-saving gap in the future. Furthermore, the ease and coverage of financial access can also be enhanced further to facilitate efficient flow of funds. Outside the realm of government policy, we stand to gain from a greater role of private sector. In this regard, I would like to commend the BCC’s effort throughout the years. A programme like “Thailand Means Business 2008” which BCC will hold in both Thailand hotspots like Bangkok and Chiang Mai, as well as abroad like England, Hong Kong, and  BIS Review 119/2008  3  Singapore, is a great help for attracting foreign investment into Thailand and enhance the country’s capacity and potential.