Thailand and New Zealand deepen cooperation across three sectors

Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas said he and New Zealand Trade Minister Todd McClay co-chaired a business meeting in Auckland, New Zealand, organised with executives from Invest New Zealand, the country’s investment promotion agency, on August 21.

Around 50 people attended, including Thai businesspeople and public-sector representatives from Thailand and New Zealand, comprising 20 participants from Thailand and 30 from New Zealand.

Ekniti said discussions with Thai businesspeople travelling with the government delegation highlighted opportunities and areas of cooperation between the two countries, including upgrading Thailand’s agricultural sector through smart agriculture.

The aim was to shift the sector from traditional farming to smart agriculture, with priority given to research and development to add greater value to agricultural products.

New Zealand investors had also expressed interest in investing in agricultural technology and smart agriculture in Thailand, an area of strength in which the two countries could cooperate.

He said Thailand’s future agricultural development must emphasise research and development to advance smart agriculture.

He cited CP Group, through CPF, which is conducting research in New Zealand on chicken-derived protein.

The initiative builds on conventional chicken exports by moving towards extracting protein from chicken bones, illustrating the direction Thailand must take to develop higher-value smart-agriculture industries.

The two countries also discussed cooperation on clean energy and the energy transition, a shared goal.

New Zealand had faced the problems of having no oil refinery and very high imported oil prices during tensions in the Middle East.

It therefore wanted to focus investment on renewable energy, with a target of 50% clean-energy use.

This was consistent with Thailand’s vision, as the country was also undergoing an energy transition.

“New Zealand’s investment minister expressed a shared commitment to the energy transition. New Zealand has no oil resources of its own and, like Thailand, has been affected by high imported oil prices. Both sides therefore regard renewable energy as the main way forward,” Ekniti said.

Following the private-sector discussions, Thai companies had already begun business matching. B.Grimm and PTT, for example, were set to join forces with New Zealand business partners to put joint clean-energy projects into practice.

For Thai investors seeking to invest in New Zealand, Invest New Zealand offered incentives to attract them.

It also introduced a Fast Track system to facilitate investment and reduce cumbersome procedures.

The system was described as similar to Thailand’s “BOI Fast” scheme and was intended to speed up cross-border investment.

“The talks mark an important step in expanding new areas of cooperation beyond traditional trade, with technology and innovation leading the way towards future economic security for both Thailand and New Zealand,” Ekniti said.

Narit Therdsteerasukdi, secretary-general of the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI), said the event included business networking activities connecting Thai and New Zealand private-sector leaders, alongside exchanges on policies to develop strategic industries in food, clean energy and advanced technology.

Ekniti stressed that Thailand and New Zealand had a strong foundation for economic relations through three free-trade agreements: the Thailand–New Zealand Closer Economic Partnership (TNZCEP), the ASEAN–Australia–New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

These frameworks could be built on to generate more tangible trade and investment in both directions: attracting New Zealand investors with technology to invest in Thailand, and helping capable Thai businesses seek opportunities to expand in New Zealand.

He identified three sectors in which the countries’ capabilities complemented each other.

These were food and bio-based industries, combining New Zealand’s strengths in agricultural technology with Thailand’s food-production base; energy, opening the way for cooperation on clean energy, energy-storage systems and power-grid technology to support steadily rising demand for clean energy from Thailand’s industrial sector; and technology and advanced industries, linking New Zealand’s innovative companies with Thailand’s industrial base.

Ekniti also assured New Zealand investors and the delegation of leading Thai investors that the government was accelerating the restructuring of Thailand’s economy, particularly the business environment, through Thailand FastPass, which helps strategic investments move ahead more quickly.

The government was also prepared to upgrade infrastructure, energy and workforce skills to meet investors’ needs.

He invited New Zealand investors to view Thailand as a manufacturing and services base linked to supply chains across ASEAN and serving a consumer market of nearly 700 million people, underscoring the country’s potential as a regional trade and investment hub.

Thai businesspeople from nine companies attended.

They included Nopadej Karnasuta, president for Thailand, Malaysia and energy and industrial solutions business at B.Grimm Power Public Company Limited; Thanarat Chaisiri, executive director of Banpu Public Company Limited; Suparat Chirathivat, chief group corporate development officer at Central Group; and Ekpiya Ua-wutthikrerk, managing director of international trade business, and Lester (Ming Liang) Koo, director of international corporate affairs, at Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company Limited.

The delegation also included Craig Hooley, chief operating officer of Minor Hotels Australasia, from Minor International Public Company Limited, or Minor Group; and Vaitayang Kullavanijaya, executive vice-president for international trading in upstream petroleum products and overseas operations at PTT Public Company Limited.

Others were Anchalee Chavanalikikorn and Chin Phuengsabchaikul, both managing directors of SCG International Corporation Co., Ltd.; Dr Prasas Tangmatitam, a director of Supalai Public Company Limited; and Sopon Racharaksa, executive vice-president of Thai Beverage Public Company Limited, part of TCC Group.

The New Zealand side was led by Robert Wall, chief executive of Invest New Zealand, along with executives from New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC).

This reflected the considerable importance the New Zealand side placed on Thai investors.

“The success of this investment-promotion event and of bringing a delegation of Thai investors to New Zealand is not measured solely by investment figures, but by elevating the relationship to a strategic partnership and identifying strengths on which the two countries can cooperate and build together. New Zealand has world-class companies with highly specialised expertise in areas ranging from high-value agriculture and bio-based industries to tourism. The BOI sees opportunities to match these strengths with Thailand’s capabilities to generate tangible long-term economic value,” Narit said.