The Bank of Thailand (BoT) today urged the government to elevate Thailand’s infrastructure so as to improve the country’s cost of living standard and competitive edge.
BoT Governor Prasarn Trairatvorakul said Thailand’s economic infrastructure, the contributing element to sustainable economic growth, is volatile in light of weakened economic growth which has fallen from 9 per cent before the 1997 economic crisis to 4 per cent at present.
Per capita income is at 15-20 per cent, representing an unimproved cost of living standard compared to that of neighbouring countries like Malaysia, South Korea and Taiwan, he said, indicating that the problems were due to wide income gaps and diminishing competitiveness.
He quoted a World Economic Forum survey in the last five years in which Thailand’s 28th rank dropped to 37th while Indonesia improved from 54th to 38th and the Philippines climbed up 12 ranks.
Thailand’s major challenges are political instability, corruption, a lack of preparedness in technology and education while monetary and financial policies were too restrictive to boost the country’s economy, he said.
The government must improve production capability and efficiency to cope with negative factors and sporadic volatile impact if it wants to boost Thailand’s economy, said Mr Prasarn.
The BoT governor said Thailand describes itself as the hub of Southeast Asia given its role as the manufacturing base for significant industries and good trading partners, but it has not made full use of the strength for economic expansion.
Thailand needs a major change, especially the private sector which much boost its manufacturing capability, while the Thai work force must adjust itself to new production technology with the government’s support, he said.
He called on Thai people to be open to diverse attitudes and create a value standard that excludes corruption and is in favour of good governance.
