The Nation | July 21, 2009

ASEAN COMMUNITY
Service-sector liberalisation to be speeded up ahead of AEC

Liberalisation in air transport, tourism, telecommunications and healthcare will deepen further next year, when Asean members will be allowed to own 70 per cent of such companies in the region.

The move is part of an Asean Economic Community (AEC) plan for the free flow of trade and investment by 2015.

Asean plans to open these four service sectors wider for members by next year, before moving on to logistics by 2013.

Kejpiroon Kohsuwan, acting assistant director-general of the Trade Negotiations Department, said Asean investors would be allowed to hold a maximum 70-per-cent stake in each of these service businesses within the grouping by 2015.

Asean has also reached a mutual-recognition agreement on standards in a variety of service professions: doctors, nurses, engineers, computer services, research and development, property and property leasing. However, professionals must pass a standard qualified assessment focusing on safety under the specific laws of each country.

So far, Thailand has opened its services market under the World Trade Organisation by allowing foreign investors to own 49 per cent of joint ventures in hotels and hotel-management firms, restaurants and tour agencies.

The acceleration of the AEC is prompting Thailand to open its market to those four sectors ahead of schedule.

Moreover, the Thailand-Australia Free Trade Agreement (Tafta) allows Thai investors full ownership of hotels, restaurants and tour agencies in Australia.

Under the Japan-Thailand Economic Partnership Agreement, Tokyo now allows Thai investors to own 100 per cent of those same three businesses under Tafta. However, Japanese investors can own only 60 per cent of luxury hotels and restaurants here.

Thailand also now offers other trading partners opportunities for service-sector investment.

For instance, Thailand allows Chinese investors to own 49 per cent of hotels, restaurants and business-management firms, in accordance with the Asean-China FTA, while China allows full ownership there.

In addition, under the Asean-South Korean FTA, investors from that country can own 49 per cent of Thai tour agencies and tour brokers, while Thai investors are free to open hotels, restaurants, banquet firms and tour agencies there.