Thailand targets high-income status by 2037

Thailand has unveiled an action plan aimed at reaching high-income nation status by 2037, focusing investment on advanced manufacturing, digital ecosystems and green infrastructure.

The programme was outlined at the Bangkok Business Summit 2026, where policymakers, state agencies, industry leaders and the World Bank discussed how Thailand could move beyond low-cost assembly and overcome its long-running "middle-income trap".

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas said investment must become the main driver of economic growth after a prolonged period of domestic underinvestment.

"The most important reform agenda in Thailand is to use investment to lead economic growth," Mr Ekniti said. He said investment could stimulate the economy in the short term while improving productivity over the longer term.

Seven industries identified for growth

Thailand wants to channel capital towards smart electronics, electric vehicles, agribusiness, medicine and wellness, tourism, digital services and the creative economy.

Mr Ekniti said shifting global supply chains and geopolitical tensions were prompting multinational companies to seek not only efficient production locations, but secure ones. He said Thailand was regarded by foreign investors as an attractive and secure destination for foreign direct investment.

Payong Srivanich, chairman of the Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking and president of Krungthai Bank, said Thailand's reform progress was around "five out of 10". He said capital needed to be redirected from stagnant legacy industries into future growth sectors across entire supply chains.

Mr Payong said the private sector had worked with the Bank of Thailand, Fiscal Policy Office and National Economic and Social Development Council on the Reinvent Thailand White Paper following global tariff shocks. That work has been aligned with the World Bank's growth programme, International Standard Industrial Classification categories and Board of Investment incentives.

Faster growth needed to meet target

Carlos Felipe Jaramillo, World Bank vice-president for East Asia and Pacific, said Thailand's 2037 ambition was possible, but only if structural reforms were implemented decisively.

World Bank calculations indicate GDP per capita would need to grow by an average 5.4% a year over the next decade, compared with an average 2.2% since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mr Jaramillo said Thailand had made considerable progress since 1990 but had slowed after Covid. He urged economies in the region to use artificial intelligence productively in health, education and improving living standards.

He also said sustainable expansion depended on climate-resilient investment in the flood-prone Chao Phraya river basin, which produces 66% of national GDP, and on reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels through solar and other clean energy.

Bangkok to host global economic meetings

The summit was a lead-in to the IMF-World Bank Group Annual Meetings, being held in Bangkok from October 12-18, the first time Thailand has hosted them since 1991. Finance ministers, central bank governors and business leaders from more than 180 countries are expected.

Thailand and the World Bank are due to adopt a Digital and Artificial Intelligence Compact covering digital infrastructure, STEM and AI skills, and barriers to digital services trade. The Bank of Thailand, World Bank and IMF will also launch the Bangkok Blueprint to address cyberfraud and illegal financial flows.

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30 September 2026