On March 10, 2022, the Belt and Road Prospecting course, Tsinghua PBCSF’s newest innovative attempt to continue our EMBA program delivery in the post-pandemic era, commenced its first session - Thailand - online. More than 50 students from the Tsinghua PBCSF BRI EMBA Program joined the session.

 Students from the Tsinghua PBCSF BRI EMBA Program greeting one another during the Belt and Road Prospecting online course of Tsinghua PBCSF.

The session opened with Ms. Chiyawan Chongvatana, Minister-Commercial of the Royal Thai Embassy in Beijing. She began with a tour d’horizon of the Sino-Thai relationship and a brief history of RCEP and finished with a good wish for the BRI EMBA students to have a better understanding of Thailand. “Now, the world economy is still adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Free Trade Agreements such as the RCEP will play an important role in building the region’s resilience through inclusive and sustainable post-pandemic economic recovery process,” Ms. Chongvatana said.

Mr. Surinthorn Sunthornsanan, Executive Director of Bureau of Trade in Goods from the Department of Trade Negotiations, Ministry of Commerce of Thailand, followed with a presentation on the topic of “Trade and Investment Opportunities in Thailand Under RCEP.”

 Mr. Surinthorn Sunthornsanan addressing the students on trade and investment opportunities in Thailand under RCEP.

Briefly introducing the history of RCEP, Mr. Surinthorn Sunthornsanan delved into Thailand’s benefits from RCEP and listed many market access opportunities in goods, services and investment. He also discussed Thailand’s business-friendly environment from four angles of e-commerce, intellectual property, competition, and government procurement.

Mr. Thanakorn Seriburi (李绍祝), a Thai-Chinese who is Senior Vice Chairman of Charoen Pokphand Group (also known as CP Group), addressed the students on the sustainable development journey of CP Group. As a Citizen of Honor of the City of Shanghai, and Chairman of Thai-Chinese Promotion of Investment and Trade Association, his great achievements are reflected by the many titles and positions he holds.

 Mr. Thanakorn Seriburi, Senior Vice Chairman of Charoen Pokphand Group talking about the sustainable development journey of Charoen Pokphand Group.

Mr. Thanakorn Seriburi spoke about the history and development of CP Group. “The logo of CP Group had originally been an airplane,” he shared, “because at the time, about 100 years ago, airplanes were like space rockets now – it shows that we have always cared about technology and innovation.” He discussed the company’s business development footprints in Shenzhen, Jilin, Henan, and Shanghai. Based on CP Group’s success in livestock, the company further diversified, becoming a vertically integrated agribusiness.

Dr. Kobsak Pootrakool, Senior Executive Vice President of Bangkok Bank Public Company Limited, gave a talk on RCEP from a Thai banker’s perspective. Since 2017, Dr. Pootrakool has served as Minister attached to the Prime Minister’s Office of Thailand.

 Dr. Kobsak Pootrakool, Senior Executive Vice President of Bangkok Bank Public Company Limited, discussing RCEP from a Thai banker’s perspective.

Dr. Kobsak Pootrakool first provided an overview of Bangkok Bank. A number of new CBDs and new subways appeared in Bangkok, which has become a new logistic hub for Indochina, AEC and Asia. “The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is officially the biggest trading bloc in history,” he continued, “and it is Asia’s turn to be on the stage.”

Driven by increasing connectivity in Asia, many exciting opportunities have emerged in the SEA region. Dr. Pootrakool expressed that Bangkok Bank can help Chinese companies in making informed decisions in the region in terms of local business practices and laws and regulations. He also emphasized the significance of the EEC (Eastern Economic Corridor) as well as the Southern Economic Corridor.

Finishing the session, Ms. Mukaya Panich, Chief Venture and Investment Officer of SCB 10X company, discussed the Ecosystem for startups and tech entrepreneurs in Thailand. She joined the Company in 2020, and has over 20 years of experience working in the technology investment sector in Silicon Valley, New York, and Singapore.

 Ms. Mukaya Panich, Chief Venture and Investment Officer of SCB 10X company, talking abuot the Ecosystem for startups and tech entrepreneurs in Thailand.

Opening with an overview of the Thai startup ecosystem, Ms. Mukaya Panich presented on topics including startup funding in Thailand, VC landscapes, challenges and opportunities for Thailand, and her own company SCB 10X. In Thailand’s startup ecosystem, the cumulative funding is still relatively low but has grown steadily, and the majority of funding volume is still into seed and series A startups. However, it is showing deteriorating signals, so key challenges need to be addressed in order to foster a rich and resilient startup ecosystem. SCB 10X is incubating and building the next generation of blockchain & DeFi entrepreneurs in Thailand.

The Belt and Road Prospecting course, co-developed with the Global Family Business Research Center of Tsinghua National Institute of Financial Research, aims to invite relevant experts to participate in all aspects of the course by a BRI country's economic policy makers, embassy/government officials, business leaders and senior scholars, to illustrate to the students the country's social and economic environment, its unique economic and financial as well as sustainable development, and its latest progress, helping the students deepen the understanding of the country's investment environment and business opportunities, so as to construct a better understanding of the Belt and Road Initiative and countries along the route.

The course will continue with Session II on Saudi Arabia on March 22, Session III on Singapore on March 24, and Session IV on UAE on March 25.

Since its inception in May 2017, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) EMBA Program has attracted more than 200 high-level enterprise decision-makers from 23 countries and regions, including Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the United States, Canada, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan. A number of students from Southeast Asian Countries hold Tan Sri, Dato' Sri, Dato’, Tengku and other honorary titles. Nearly 40% of the students graduated from world-renowned universities such as MIT, Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Oxford, Cambridge and Imperial College London.