Abstract

The ASEAN Economic Community’s (AEC) road map targets implementation by December 2015. It promotes asingle market and production base by supporting the free flow of goods, services, investment, capital, and skilledlabor. Although there are a number of studies related to the AEC, few studies, if any, address this issue from theperspective of private companies, especially in Thailand. In this study, a survey was conducted onexecutives inlarge Thai corporations listed on theStock Exchange of Thailand (SET), covering eight industries including retail,property, banking, telecommunications, oil and gas,chemicals, transportation, and food.Results showed that largeThai firms are aware of the AEC, but most of them do not have specific strategies for the AEC. Some of thesefirms have already entered other ASEAN markets, while others look further beyond. It seems that most executivesin large Thai firms perceive the AEC as an opportunity for companies rather than a threat. However, they alsobelieve that more in-depth AEC integration is required in order to fully utilize its benefits.

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