BANGKOK, 23 July 2015 – Diminished competitiveness, over-reliance on export and the lack of infrastructural upgrades have been cited as Thailand’s outstanding problems by economists at a seminar hosted by the National Legislative Assembly (NLA).
Wirathai Santiprapob, advisor to Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI), explained at the seminar held on Wednesday that Thailand’s economy has structural problems related to investment, income-generation, and education, which consequently result in the country’s diminished competitiveness. Low business confidence has resulted in low levels of investment, whereas public sector investment has not been increasing as much as desired. To achieve sustained expansion of the economy, Mr. Wirathai suggested promoting private sector investment and lifting the income base of people without resorting to populist policies.
Meanwhile, Ekniti Nitithanpraphat, advisor to the Fiscal Policy Office, viewed that Thailand’s over-reliance on exports meant it has inevitably been affected by the global economic slowdown. At the same time, the industrial sector has yet to improve its manufacturing technology. Thailand also has not seen infrastructure investments in a long time because of unfavorable politics. These factors meant the economy has not been able to expand as much as it could have.
Kirida Bhaopichitr, a Senior Economist at the World Bank, explained that Thailand’s economy might be able to expand only 2-3% this year due to the fallout from the situation of the global economy and the lower-than-expected expansion of the Chinese economy. However, Thailand still has supporting factors such as the reduced oil price, the flow of capital into eastern Asia, regional economic pacts, greater prevalence of free trade, and the heightened purchasing power attributable to the growth of the middle class, she added.
