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French Version
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Automotive
The Thai automotive market is dominated by the Japanese carmakers which own about 90% of the global market.
Pickup vehicles account for about 59% of the market following by PV (33%). The main global carmakers are based in Thailand through assembly factories. The present production capacity will sharply increase in the years to come in order to match the expected strong expansion of both the local and export markets. About 1,250 auto-parts makers are based in Thailand, 310 of which are first-tier suppliers.
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Electronics & ICT
The second biggest investment category in Thailand after the automobile, the electronics and Information & Communication Technology (ICT) industry is one of the main drivers of the Thai economy. In these industries, computers and peripherals - particularly printers, hard disk drive parts - as well as electronic components and parts (specifically IC, PCBA and transistors) are the biggest export products. Consumer electronics like TVs and stereo equipment are also export stars. Through the creation of the Ministry of ICT, the current government aims to strongly encourage growth in the ICT sector. According to the International Data Corporation, the Thai IT market will grow at an annual rate of 16% with a total value reaching US$ 3.4 billion in 2006. The software market will grow 37% a year thanks to government enforcement of copyright law. Meanwhile, the PC market will continue to grow at 15% per annum.
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Food
Industry
Thailand
is the world's 14th leading exporter of food with a share of 2.3%.
The food industry is an important economic sector of the country. Thailand's
major food exports include fishery products, rice and cereal products,
meat and poultry products, fruit and vegetable products, sugar and
animal feeds. There are about 9,500 food factories in the country, 90% of
which are small and medium-scale and 5% are large scale enterprises.
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Construction
The
construction sector was hit hard by the '97 economic crisis. It
has started its recovery since 2002 with a 6% annual growth rate,
mainly carried by the private sector which represents the main part
of the investments. The construction sector is made up of 18,000
companies, of whom 90% are SMEs.
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Infrastructures
Airports
: Passenger traffic at Don Muang International Airport was 31.8 million
for the year 2005. Suvarnabhumi Airport is the new Bangkok International airport in place of Don Muang.
Once this new airport is developed to its maximum capacity, there
will be four runways and a passenger terminal complex able to accommodate
up to 100 million passengers per year. This airport is operational
since September 2006.
Rail : The State Railway of Thailand is in charge of the national
rail sector. In order to upgrade it network, the SRT is
running a program aiming the construction of new railways and rehabilitation
of the existent one. A program of double tracking and signaling
is also ongoing. The SRT is targetting to rehabilitate several of
its locomotives. Moreover, for the past few years, the Government
has been developing a metro rail system for Bangkok through a mixture
of private and public funding, in order to reduce dependence on
the motor car. Buses remain a cheap alternative and provide much
of the mass transportation within the city.
Harbors : Marine cargo growth continues at between 9 and 10% per
annum at both Bangkok and Laem Chebang ports, forcing the latter
into expansion in the near future especially for container traffic.
The Thai commercial fleet is about 390 vessels.
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Tourism
Thailand
continues to attract tourists mainly due to its image as a stable
and peaceful country with excellent quality of products and services
at good value. Tourism revenue to the country in 2002 had risen
by 11.5 per cent to 360.6 billion Baht ($14.7 billion), accounting
for around 6.7 per cent of the country's gross domestic product.
In 2005, about 12 million tourists visited the country. Although the impact of the December 2004 tsunami, the bird flu recurrence and rising fuel prices were negative factors, the number of foreign tourists have reached 12 millions in 2005.
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Energy
With
about 380 billion cubic meters of proven reserves, natural gas constitutes
the main source of energy for Thailand (600 millions of barrels
for oil and 1,268 billion tons for coal). Nevertheless, with an
independency rate of 45%, Thailand is strongly dependent on exterior
supplying and notably crude oil, of which Thailand imports 87% of
its needs. Widely exploited, natural gas represents 40% of the primary
energy production of the country (renewable energies, 31%, lignite,
13%, crude oil, 7%, condensate, 6% and hydroelectricity, 3%). The
final energy consumption (53,000 tons oil equivalent in 2002), principally
concentrates on the transportation sector (37%) and of industry
(35%) and in a minimal way on the residential sectors & commercial
(22%) and on the one of agriculture (6%).
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Steel industry
Steel
industry. About 9.5 million tons of steel have been produced in
Thailand in 2002 : 4.617 millions tons for the flat products and
3.365 millions tons for the long products. The consumption was set
at about 17 million tons, mostly covered by imports (9 million tons
in 2002). The sector, widely affected by the 1997 economic crisis,
is currently under restructuring.
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Telecommunications
Thailand
counts approximately 10 million fixed telephone lines and as much
cell phones. The fixed telephone sector is composed of four principal
public and private actors: Telephone Organization of Thailand (TOT),
Thai Telephone and Telecommunication (TT&T), Telecom Asia (TA)
& Communication Authority of Thailand (CAT). In strong growth,
the mobile telephone sector shows a very high competing context
with the presence on the market of 4 operators: Advance Information
Service, Total Access Communication (DTAC), Orange and Hutch.
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Environment
Waste management : Production of waste in Thailand is in constant increase. Almost the entirety of this waste is put in rubbish dump and very few projects of incinerators have been considered. Only 11% of waste are currently recycled.
Water treatment : Approximately 65 stations of purification are currently in operation in Thailand for a daily treatment capacity of 10 million m3.
Air pollution : With approximately 25 million automobiles, an industrial sector under development and in parallel, non constraining emissions standards, Thailand (especially Bangkok and its area) are confronted with a serious problem of air pollution.
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