A bridge too far
Re: "Land Bridge to face review", (BP, May 5).
Our prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, called for further review in building or not building the mammoth project of the Land Bridge, Chumpon-Ranong, because of changes in geopolitical dynamics -- the Strait of Hormuz and other issues. Without relying on any studies but nonetheless aware of the pressure on Thailand not to build the Kra Canal, I can still bet with my bottom dollar that most disagree with building this bridge that requires transhipment from one port to rail transport before being transferred to another ship at another port. One would venture to guess that almost all of the logistics experts must be scratching their heads trying to think of any benefits of such a mode of multiple transportation. Those experts must know something we don't.
Songdej Praditsmanont
Variety is the spice
Re: "Stay the distance", (PostBag, April 4) & "Dodgy reform arguments", (PostBag, May 3).
Karl Reichsetter's stance on human rights could be legally correct according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which holds that human rights are universal -- they apply to all people regardless of culture. In practice, however, such as in Unesco's declarations, respect for cultural diversity is itself recognised as a human right.
Yingwai Suchaovanich
Invest legally
Re: "Thais urged not to act as local nominees", (BP, May 5).
Commerce Minister Suphajee Suthumpun can show us how we can give foreign investors the control they rightfully must have without resorting to illegal structures like nominees. Under her as CEO, the Dusit Thani Group has successfully expanded from 27 hotels in eight countries in 2016 to 267 properties across 18 nations today -- a 10-fold expansion in 10 years.
Dusit often cares less about ownership restrictions and more about local partner alignment. For instance, it's used for hotel management agreements, brand standards, operating control over day-to-day hotel management, and specific project structures for joint ventures and real-estate deals. As those non-nominee structures have worked well for Dusit, they should work well for foreign investors coming here.
We should shift our focus from catching nominees to promoting the legal alternatives above. For instance, we should work with the Joint Chambers of Commerce, law schools, and law firms to publicise and guide their efforts for mutual benefit.
We should also stress reforms which the chambers say investors want most and that are in Thailand's interest. This would include: (a) finishing the regulatory guillotine project, starting with asking if the given regulation is needed at all; (b) eliminating our double standards, e.g., we give much lip service to promote SMEs -- then we let one firm control a whopping 80% of the vital convenience store industry; and (c) reserving occupations for Thais way beyond the time needed to make us competitive. Such reservations make Thais lazy by reducing competition. So, inbound tours must bring their own guides and hire Thais as decoration. This boosts tour costs and reduces the number of inbound tourists. Tourism has been restricted to Thais for 34 years now -- but learning a foreign language shouldn't take more than two years.
Burin Kantabutra
