ASEAN chief calls on more R&D in Thailand

BANGKOK, June 16 (TNA) - ASEAN Secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan has recommended that Thailand, a key member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), invest more on research and development or R&D to boost local businesses' competitiveness, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises or SMEs. Speaking at a business seminar in Bangkok on Friday, Surin, who is a former Thai foreign minister, pointed out that the key for Thai SME’s capability in overseas investment is R&D; so, Thailand needs to increase its R&D budget from the current 0.24 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP). Surin said Thai SMEs, which have created about 80 per cent of jobs in the country, should also be supported with tax incentives. The ASEAN chief called on the Thai SMEs to also explore their investment opportunities in other countries. According to the ASEAN chief, ASEAN has a new high-level office, called the ASEAN Integration Monitoring Office (AIMO), now to enhance its monitoring capacity of its Secretariat in tracking the progress of regional economic integration, as the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is scheduled to be formed by 2015. Giving his comments on the ongoing Eurozone debt crisis, the ASEAN chief acknowledged the 10-member bloc has gained confidence that it should not be severely affected by the European debt woe. (TNA)