British Embassy hold inaugural conference to courts Thai investors
The UK Embassy in Thailand hosted the inaugural UK-Thailand Financial Conference on Thursday, which was attended by high-level guests such as Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, Lord Dominic Johnson and HM’s Trade Commissioner for Asia-Pacific Martin Kent.
In his opening remarks, British ambassador Mark Gooding spoke about the longstanding relations between Thailand and the UK, and his pleasure at the closer ties between the two countries.
“The Indo-Pacific region is the absolute centre for future economic growth. We have faced and are facing all sorts of turmoil, including with the war in Ukraine, the conflict in the Middle East and a global pandemic, but one thing has not changed, which is that the UK remains committed to its relationships in the Indo-Pacific region, and with Thailand.”
The conference comes a week after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted British Foreign Secretary David Cameron. Among the topics discussed was the launch of a Thai-UK Free Trade Agreement, which would build on the pre-existing enhanced trade partnership (ETP)
“The UK-Thailand relationship is one we care about deeply, and which genuinely matters,” said Martin Kent, Trade Commissioner for Asia-Pacific. “The UK government is working hard to forge new trading relationships, to drive investment, to make doing business easier.”
Lord Dominic Johnson, Minister of State for Investment, also gave a keynote address, touching on further bilateral investment and the UK’s potential as a renewable energy source through its wind farms.
“There is no more important act, no more human endeavour, than allocating capital to the highest point of return,” said Johnson. “The UK government is determined to make our country the most investable country in the world,” he continued, praising the business acumen of members of the British leading political figures.
“Thailand matters hugely to the UK, in terms of our future economic growth and prosperity,” he added, before highlighting opportunities in Northern Ireland, whose unique position puts cities like Belfast on the doorstep of both the UK and EU markets.
The conference also featured a signing ceremony for a Memorandum of Understanding between the Export-Import Bank of Thailand and UK Export Finance.
After the ceremony, the Prime Minister delivered closing remarks, highlighting cashless systems like PromptPay as an example of Thai innovation in the financial services sector, which is pushing Thailand to be one of the leaders of mobile transactions in the world.
Srettha touted the recently passed Ministry of Finance guidelines that would open up opportunities for virtual banks for increased competition. “Firms in other sectors can join up with their banking counterparts to create a more vibrant and more inclusive fundraising process within their industries,” the Prime Minister said.
“Let's work together to ensure Thailand’s economic development remains robust, resilient and reflective of our collective aspirations.”
