FTI Sets Up War Room to Handle Flooding, Advances Respond–Rescue–Recover Plan
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The Federation of Thai Industries, or FTI, has set up a War Room as a central hub to monitor the flood situation and coordinate assistance for entrepreneurs, linking data from provincial industry federations, industry groups, and regional networks, and holding joint meetings with each province and region. FTI President Pimjai Leesaksaranukul said the response must cover both the urgent phase and the recovery phase. The War Room will gather and compile conclusions on three key issues: the problems that have arisen, the impact on entrepreneurs, and the needs or proposals from affected areas, in order to set assistance guidelines that match the real situation. FTI has set out three lines of action: Respond, Rescue, and Recover, covering prevention before an incident, assistance in affected areas, and recovery after the situation eases. On recovery, it will coordinate with relevant agencies on issues affecting liquidity and costs, such as proposing low-interest loan guidelines and debt moratorium measures, tax and fee relief including land and building tax, and expenses from repairing business premises, as well as logistics relief for operators unable to transport or deliver goods on schedule, and consideration of waiving or reducing penalties for delayed deliveries caused by force majeure. Pimjai added that recovering the industrial sector after the waters recede does not mean only getting factories back open, but also getting machinery back in use, workers back into the system, transport moving again, and the supply chain reconnected. FTI will continue to monitor the flood situation and its impact on the industrial sector, and coordinate with provincial industry federations, industry groups, government agencies, and network partners to reduce the impact on the country's industrial sector and production chain.