New Development in An Old Business

Founded in 1910， the Thai-Chinese Chamber of Commerce （TCCC） is known to be one of the most influential social organizations in Thailand. After years of hard work， it has become a model for facilitating overseas Chinese doing business in Thailand and made remarkable achievements in promoting Sino-Thai friendship.

Speaking on the 107-year development of the organization， Jitti Tangsithphakdi， the TCCC’s 25th president， remarked that it is very encouraging that every time Chinese leaders visited Thailand， they paid a visit to the TCCC. Tangsithphakdi said that in order to advance with the times and achieve even more with his organization， the TCCC needs to explore innovative ways to promote and support business activities with a pioneering spirit.

Known as the “gold tycoon” of Thailand， Tangsithphakdi is the owner of Chin Hua Heng Goldsmith gold shops， gold processing plants and gold futures agencies. He has served as chairman of the Gold Traders Association of Thailand for 30 years and is the announcer of Thai gold prices. After assuming the position of TCCC president in 2016， Tangsithphakdi has given great thought to the innovative development of the TCCC and taken effective measures.

Action One： Fiscal Decentralization

The first important measure taken after Tangsithphakdi took office as president of the TCCC was to put limits on his own power. According to new rules， expenses that can be authorized by the president alone are limited to 1 million baht （US$28，580）， whereas billions of baht could be authorized with the president’s signature in the past. Now， any expenditure over 1 million baht must be jointly approved by the president， vice president， secretary general as well as executive director， in the interest of avoiding abuses of power.

Tangsithphakdi believes that the use of financial power is so sensitive that only when it is restrained will the group cohesiveness endure. His decision to decentralize the TCCC president’s power has won him great acclaim.

Action Two： Endeavors in Innovation

After assuming his role as TCCC president， Tangsithphakdi was determined to break new grounds in business consulting and create a bright future for the TCCC. He carried out a restructuring plan and set up 12 functional departments with specific responsibilities， among which the TCCC Business Research Center is the most important.

The Center aims to provide Chinese and Thai businessmen with specialized consulting and legal services by collecting comprehensive and professional information on economic policy， trade cooperation， investment and business laws in partnership with Chulalongkorn University of Thailand. In addition to business consulting， the Center also maintains close communication with agencies like the Thai Ministry of Industry， the Ministry of Commerce and the Board of Investment of Thailand， for the purposes of facilitating business and trade activities of Chinese enterprises in Thailand.

There are 28 industry associations under the leadership of the TCCC. To enhance their managerial expertise， Thai government officials are invited to a group dinner organized by the TCCC every other month to give speeches on economic policies.

“People always pay a lot of attention to the TCCC’s role in promoting fellowship，” Tangsithphakdi said. “In fact， we should also focus on how to do business. That’s what we were originally supposed to do.”

Tangsithphakdi has the foresight to keep up with the pace of the media. He set up a Thai-language business website in cooperation with the Bangkok Bureau of Xinhua News Agency to further promote the TCCC.

At the same time， Tangsithphakdi also attaches great importance to talent training. The TCCC School of Business and Language was originally established for Chinese language training. Thanks to financial support from the TCCC， the School has been fully upgraded. Now， more Chinese teachers have been hired and courses on international trade and commerce have been added. In addition to providing business courses to the children of the TCCC directors， the School also provides Chinese training programs for banks and Thai government departments.

“Education is a fundamental undertaking， and we must develop qualified successors with a global vision，” Tangsithphakdi said.

Action Three： Following the Belt and Road Initiative

“The Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China creates plenty of opportunities for the TCCC and Thai businessmen，” Tangsithphakdi said. “We must make good use of this project and seek new paths for development.”

Tangsithphakdi believes that the TCCC has a significant role to play as the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative accelerates. He accompanied senior government officials from the Thai Ministry of Commerce on visits to China， and made unique contributions in fostering Sino-Thai cooperation on agricultural products and high-speed rail.

The 14th China-ASEAN Expo will be held in Nanning， China， in this September. As an effort to deepen Sino-Thai economic and trade relations， the TCCC will organize a large group of Thai enterprises to participate in the event.

“Trade volume between China and Thailand is growing fast and is expected to exceed that between Thailand and Japan before long，” Tangsithphakdi added. “I hope that more and more Chinese companies will come to Thailand to invest in industrial projects， since there is huge market potential here.”