China’s new commerce minister vows to relax FDI restrictions
China’s new commerce minister, Zhong Shan, has put increasing foreign direct investment (FDI) attractiveness high up on his agenda, since he was named for the post on February 24 by president Xi Jinping.
Mr Zhong declared his intentions to remove restrictions against foreign companies and expand free trade zones (FTZs) as a way to attract further FDI, at a meeting with policymakers in Beijing in late February, just before the National People’s Congress, according to a report on the People’s Republic of China (PRC) State Council website.
Reforms suggested
Specifically, Mr Zhong has argued for further supply-side reform. This includes reducing restrictions against previously banned foreign enterprises, such as healthcare and educational businesses, which are referred to as “experiments” by the PRC.
“A total of 114 innovative ways to get things done have been duplicated as a result of experiments that have taken place in the country’s four FTZs, including Shanghai and Guangdong,” said Mr Zhong in the State Council report.
Regardless of a slowing economy, China remains a hotspot for FDI. In 2016, foreign investors poured a record $139bn into the economy, up by 2.3% from a year earlier, according to figures from UN trade and development body Unctad. However, despite…
Bangkok, 23 November, 2021 – The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) would like to advise that tourists can now preregister for visiting national parks in Thailand up to 60 days in advance via the mobile application QueQ, from the previous 15-day advance limit.
The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) instigated the change as of 22 November, 2021, to better facilitate visitors in their travel planning. For those who want to book accommodation in the parks, there is already advance preregistration required of up to 60 days.
The QueQ app can be downloaded from Play Store or App Store.
As well as helping visitors plan their travels, the advance booking system allows park officials to limit the number of visitors to each park.
There is a total of 155 national parks nationwide. At present, nearly all of Thailand’s national parks have reopened in the Central, Eastern, Northern, Northeastern and Southern regions, following temporary closure due to COVID-19 measures and the annual rainy season closure.
The latest to reopen was Doi Inthanon National Park in Chiang Mai on 10 November, 2021; home to the country’s highest peak the 2,565-metre Doi Inthanon, this park 90 minutes’ drive from Chiang Mai city is a popular place for viewing the so-called ‘sea of mist’ foggy morning weather of the current cooler months.
A list of the opening status of national parks can be seen at the National Park’s Office via this link, or its Facebook page: National Parks of Thailand. The TAT Newsroom (www.tatnews.org) is also providing a regular update on the latest opening and closing status of Thailand’s national parks.
When visiting national parks, tourists are advised to arrive at the park ahead of their preregistered schedule for screening and checking in with the government’s Thai Chana app. It is also important they observe social distancing rules and wear a face mask at all times while in national parks.
They are also advised to abide by the D-M-H-T-T-A precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19: D – Distancing, M – Mask wearing, H – Handwashing, T – Temperature check, T – Testing for COVID-19, and A – alert application.
Visitors to national parks are also asked to respect the natural environment and not litter, and to bear in mind that there is a ban on single-use plastic; such as, cups and eating utensils in national parks nationwide.
The post Advance booking for Thailand national park visits extended to 60 days appeared first on TAT Newsroom.
Asean
China Sustains Huge Ecommerce Development Investment Flows into ASEAN
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ASEAN Inbound Investments from China show strong trends in developing digital trade infrastructure.
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