Recovering from the aftermath of the Asian economic crisis, Thailand’s economic growth in 2003 registered an increase of 6.8% from the previous year. Despite such obstacles as the bird flu outbreak and higher crude oil prices, Thailand’s economy in 2004 continued to grow steadily, still marking a 6% plus/minus expansion. Among the elements that supported this growth were higher consumer product consumption, aggressive economic measures being taken by the government for domestic market expansion, and bigger direct investment by foreign businesses.

About 40 to 50% of the direct investment in Thailand comes from Japan. In fact, there are over 7.000 Japanese business firms that include small to medium size companies in Thailand. This is one of the largest concentrations of Japanese businesses outside of the homeland. In recent years, especially, production and R&D facilities for automobiles and automobile parts (mainly for pickup trucks), as well as hard disc drives and electronics product parts, are being increased. In order to meet the needs for this type of assemblyline style industries, the development of supporting industries and fostering human resources are indispensable. The government of Thailand together with private sectors are promoting these fields hand in hand.

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