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| Foreign companies in Thailand concern over impact of SARS |
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A survey conducted by the Netherlands-Thai Chamber of Commerce from April 2 to May 5 showed that foreign companies operating in Thailand were very pessimistic about the impact of SARS, the Bangkok Post reported Thursday.
According to the survey, of the 3,500 respondents from European and American corporations in Thailand, 85 percent believed the SARS outbreak would persist longer than two months and 77 percent predicted the Thai economy would be severely damaged by the disease.
Only 17 percent of the respondents thought that the impact would be short-term like "a storm in a teacup."
The gloomy view was shared by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce (JCC) and Thailand's Board of Investment (BoI), whose primary concern is the impact of SARS on Asian economies.
Takashi Kimura, a JCC board member and general manager of Toshiba's Asia-Pacific operations was quoted as saying by the Bangkok Post that if the situation remains out of control until the end of this month, it will seriously affect businesses, not only in Thailand but Asia overall.
He stressed that SARS could affect the economies of Chinese mainland, Singapore and Hong Kong, which are Thailand's major trade partners.
Somphong Wanapha, the BoI secretary-general, said that it was no doubt that the impact of SARS on the Thai economy is inevitable, especially difficulties in terms of business connections.
The poll also indicated that 86 percent of the respondents did not want to take the risk and would stay home, with only 14 percent of the foreign businessmen replying that they could easily travel to Hong Kong, Chinese mainland or Singapore.
Source: Xinhua News Agency
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