Thailand tries to help companies, as floods spread-razor barbed wire

On top of Thailand’s political instability in recent years, the floods have raised the possibility foreign investment projects may relocate elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

Especially hard hit by the flooding have been Japanese companies, led byHondaandToyota, that were forced to close assembly plants in flooded areas. Some have complained they were not given timely and accurate information that would have allowed them to prepare for flooding.

BANGKOKThailand on Thursday offered more help to businesses affected by a national flood crisis as the waters spread deeper into Bangkok and risked cutting off a major highway.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has tried reaching out to Japanese businesses. Japan’s ambassador accompanied Yingluck on an inspection this week in Ayutthaya,razor barbed wire,Thailand tries to help companies as floods spread-cattle fence, just north of Bangkok, where several flooded industrial estates have begun cleanups.

The floodwaters are trickling onto the main route south from the city, Rama II Road. If the water gets deeper,Thailand tries to help companies, as floods spread-Expanded Metal Mesh, it will cut off the last dry highway to Thailand’s south and likely swamp so-far unflooded areas of southwestern Bangkok.

Thailand’s Board of Investment, which grants tax holidays and other privileges to investment projects, already has taken steps to mitigate flood damage, such as giving tax write-offs for damaged raw materials and easing rules on bringing in foreign nationals to help with recovery.

The flooding since late July has killed 533 people and caused billions of dollars in damage, closing hundreds of inundated factories north of the capital. The water has nearly surrounded Bangkok, flooding a dozen of its outer districts and threatening chaos in the crowded city of more than 9 million people.

New measures announced Thursday include allowing companies to temporarily outsource all manufacturing in order to maintain customer deliveries and extending by six months import tax exemptions on replacements for damaged machinery.