You learn, living in Thailand, what members of the Thai government say often has very little basis in fact. In fact, they often use opinion to spout off what they think the public wants to hear, only to found categorically wrong weeks later. Case in point this week, the fact that 1 in 10 Japanese firms will leave Thailand because of last year’s floods. A point several government officials said would not happen only weeks ago.
The news comes from the Japanese Chamber of Commerce Bangkok (JCCB), whose recent survey discovered 1 in 10 Japanese firms will leave Thailand as a direct result of the 2011 Thai floods. Loss of revenue and worries about future flooding are part of the reasons why.
On the BBC this morning, the Japanese Economic Minister in Bangkok said that, although the Thai government has done a lot already to try to prevent more flooding this year, more still needs to be done to make Japanese businesses in Thailand feel more secure. Many are still worrying about what will happen if Thailand sees floods on the same scale again this year.
