A trade war is looming over the European Union’s move to impose charges on airlines based on the greenhouse gases emitted during a flight into and out of European airports.
Beyond a certain level of free allowances, the airlines have to buy emission permits depending on the emissions produced by their flights. As the free allowances will be reduced in futureyears, the charge to be paid will rise, thus increasingly raising the price of passenger ticketsand the cost of transporting goods, and affecting the profitability and viability of airlines.
The China Air Transport Association has estimated that Chinese airlines will have to pay 800 million yuan ($127 million) for 2012, the first year of the EU scheme, and that this will treble by2020. According to Reuter Thomsom Carbon Point, the total cost to all airlines in 2012 is estimated at 505 million euros ($664 million), at the carbon price of 5.84 euro per tonne last week. LastSeptember, when the carbon price was 12 euro per tonne, Carbon Point estimated the cost would be 1.1 billion euros in 2012, rising to 10.4 billion euros in 2020.
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Trade war looms over EU’s airline tax
Thailand enjoys a strategic location and serves as a gateway into the heart of Asia – home to what is today the largest growing economic market.
The country also offers convenient trade with China, India and the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and easy access into the Greater Mekong sub-region, where newly emerging markets offer great business potential.
Hub of ASEAN
Thailand was one of the founding members of ASEAN and has been instrumental in the formation and development of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA).
AFTA entered into force on 1 January 2010 for the six original ASEAN (ASEAN-6) members (Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, and Brunei), thereby reducing import duties to zero; the so-called CLMV countries (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) will follow suit in 2015.
Thailand has forged close economic cooperation with other ASEAN member nations, and Thai manufactured products and services have access to their markets, which includes all 10 ASEAN countries. ASEAN is home to more than half a billion people, GDP in excess of US$1.5 trillion and total trade of well more than US$1 trillion per year.
Social and political stability
Thailand is a foreigner friendly and welcoming Buddhist country. The country’s form of government is a constitutional monarchy, with a high reverence for the Thai Monarchy, and devotion to the teachings of Buddhism. And although the vast majority of the people in Thailand are Buddhist, all religions are welcome, and His Majesty the King is the patron of all religions.
Thailand continues to reform its financial and corporate sectors in order to be better prepared in the greater competitive market.
There are laws that were enacted and effective in the second half of 2008. The Demutualization of the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) was approved for implementation in 2009 and aims to restructure the SET organization by 2013. The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET)’s Board of Governors approved the Demutualization of the SET group in principal. The demutualization will encourage customer’s satisfaction by promoting effective resource management, cost efficiency and maximize returns from fund-raising in the capital market. Under this plan, the SET will become a listed company on the Exchange by 2011, by which time it will have achieved its 5-year strategic targets including doubling capitalization of the cash equity market and its revenue by 2013 – with 25 percent of this income coming from new products.
About the author
Zhong Li is a tech journalist who covers the latest developments in artificial intelligence, robotics, and biotechnology. Zhong Li is passionate about exploring the ethical and social implications of emerging technologies.
