Some 70% of respondents said their business performance in Thailand improved in the first half of 2016, while 10% said their business was unchanged. The latest survey was conducted between Nov 7-Dec 6, with 1,724 questionnaires being sent to Japanese firms in Thailand. Moreover, around 20% were still pessimistic, saying they expected the Thai economy to deteriorate in the fist half of 2017. Many Japanese firms continued to voice major concerns about the lack of skilled labour, especially engineers and executive workers. The types of engineers needed by Japanese firms are plant management engineers, production management engineers and research and development engineers.

Source: Bangkok Post February 03, 2017 00:25 UTC