TRADE-RELIANT thailand plans to launch a national shipping company to boost its trade capabilities, reduce costs and become a bigger part of global logistics scene as the Malacca bypass opens, reports Bloomberg News.
The shipping company and the Malacca bypass are expected to boost Thailand's exports, which expanded 16.2 per cent in the first seven months from a year earlier.
'With Covid, we're facing container shortages, so a lot of our goods can't be shipped and some products will perish. Losses are incalculable,' said Thai Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob.
'The shipping line can increase security and support the country's ambition to become a logistics hub.' said Mr Chidchob.
Thailand's commercial vessels contribute less than 10 per cent of its international freight. The country earned US$1.7 billion from shipping in 2020, but it had to spend almost 10 times that.
Thailand had a state-owned maritime navigation company from 1940 to 2011, but the government will not revive it.
The new firm will instead be run as a private company to allow more flexibility, with the government owning 49 per cent through the Port Authority of Thailand.
Its first services are expected in June 2022 and will be domestic freight routes linking Bangkok and the highly-industrialised eastern coast to the southern region via the Gulf of Thailand.
SeaNews Turkey
The shipping company and the Malacca bypass are expected to boost Thailand's exports, which expanded 16.2 per cent in the first seven months from a year earlier.
'With Covid, we're facing container shortages, so a lot of our goods can't be shipped and some products will perish. Losses are incalculable,' said Thai Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob.
'The shipping line can increase security and support the country's ambition to become a logistics hub.' said Mr Chidchob.
Thailand's commercial vessels contribute less than 10 per cent of its international freight. The country earned US$1.7 billion from shipping in 2020, but it had to spend almost 10 times that.
Thailand had a state-owned maritime navigation company from 1940 to 2011, but the government will not revive it.
The new firm will instead be run as a private company to allow more flexibility, with the government owning 49 per cent through the Port Authority of Thailand.
Its first services are expected in June 2022 and will be domestic freight routes linking Bangkok and the highly-industrialised eastern coast to the southern region via the Gulf of Thailand.
SeaNews Turkey
