The Minister for the Prime Minister’s Office, Kobsak Pootrakool, said yesterday that his office had written to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha seeking his approval for the move.

The committee is expected to get off the ground next month. It will be chaired by the premier with the Board of Investment’s secretary general as its secretary. It will be made up of 10 members, including Korbsak and Kanit Sangsubhan, Secretary-General of the EEC Office.

Kobsak said the EEC has drawn wide interest from investors in Asia and Europe. Some companies, although keen to invest billion of baht in the zone, want the government to clear up some regulatory and legal hurdles first.

“The new committee will solve the problems to pave the way for big investments,” he said.

He added that the government would kick off the “Thailand : Simple & Smart Licence” project on October 1, with the objective of revising or scraping outdated laws, as well as those deemed obstructive to foreign business in Thailand. It will also cut red tape in the granting of foreign business permits. These measures are expected to cut business costs by between Bt50 billion to Bt100 billion.

In the initial stage, the project will focus on the process of granting work permits and visa applications to foreigners who will stay and work in Thailand.

It will revise some regulations and may cancel the requirement for them to report to the authority every 90 days, as well as reducing the number of documents needed for visa application. 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/Economy/30355278