The Southern Region Industrial Estate in Songkhla province of Thailand is unusually quiet. Long winding roads, usually bustling with heavy vehicles, are mostly empty. There are only two industrial estates in southern Thailand, the other being the Songkla Industrial Estate. In total, there are 67 industrial estates across the country. Sirianya Pornsuwankun, tenant of the Southern Region Industrial Estate and owner of waste recycling company Nano Recycle, said doing business in southern Thailand is different from other parts of the country.
Some experts believe that southern Thailand struggles to attract foreign investors compared to the Greater Bangkok area and the eastern side, where the majority of the industrial estates are located. The perception of southern Thailand as unsafe due to ongoing insurgencies in the provinces of Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat may…
