Ex-transport minister Arkhom tipped to be new finance minister

[webfact]

Ex-transport minister Arkhom tipped to be new finance minister

By The Nation

 

Arkhom Termpittayapaisith

 

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is expected to pick Arkhom Termpittayapaisith as finance minister, according to a report by Thansettakij newspaper. 

 

Arkhom is expected to fill next month the vacancy created by Predee Daochai, who resigned abruptly after being in office for less than a month. 

 

Predee cited health reasons for resigning but observers believed he had a conflict with his deputy over the promotion of senior officials at the Finance Ministry.

 

Arkhom was the transport minister in the Prayut government formed after the 2014 military coup. Before that, he was secretary-general of the National Economic and Social Development Board, a state think-tank, now known as National Economic and Social Development Council.

 

He is said to be one of many influential people who pushed for upgrading the railway system in order to solve the traffic congestion in big cities and between provinces, and reduce excessive dependence on road transport.

 

Some local media speculated that Prasong Poontaneat, permanent secretary at the Finance Ministry, who retires at the end of this month, would be appointed the new finance minister.

 

Prasong later denied that he had been approached.

 

Prayut refused to reveal his pick, saying on Saturday that only he knew who the next finance minister would be.

 

The new finance minister will face multiple challenges due to conflicts in the coalition government and pressure from youth-led protests against the government.

 

The Thai economy is expected to contract sharply this year, with some research houses projecting contraction of almost 10 per cent while the Bank of Thailand has forecast a 7.8 per cent contraction. Exports and tourism, the main engines of growth for the Thai economy, have been hit hard by the Covid-19 outbreak. The ongoing anti-government protests are also putting high pressure on the local stock market.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30395194

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-09-28

 

- Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you

- Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

[bluesofa]

14 minutes ago, webfact said:

Ex-transport minister Arkhom tipped to be new finance minister

I hope he does a better job than when he was transport minister. In 2018 he said the high-speed railway would be up and running by 2021.

[bangkokfrog]

Interesting they don't seem to be able to have been able to get anyone with real financial markets experience. This one seems to have presided over a state economic "think tank", so he should be good at forming committees. Also, as he has been Transport Minister over the period of the demise of Thai Airways,  he is well suited to guiding the demise of the Thai economy. So seems like a good choice!

Edited September 28, 2020 by bangkokfrog

[hotchilli]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

He is said to be one of many influential people who pushed for upgrading the railway system in order to solve the traffic congestion in big cities and between provinces, and reduce excessive dependence on road transport.

Well that plainly didn't work so I wonder if his economic policies will share the same fate.

[Bangkok Barry]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

Prayut refused to reveal his pick, saying on Saturday that only he knew who the next finance minister would be.

Why does he want to keep it a secret? And what qualifies the secret appointee for the post of controlling the country's finances?

[crazykopite]

What financial expertise does he hold if any , did he graduate from University in financial studies , has he run a major banking organisation at CEO level or above if not then we could be in big trouble .

[crazykopite]

If the PM is the only person in government who knows who the next Financial minister will be whats the point of having government it should not be up to one individual to pick it should be up to the entire cabinet are they puppets who do as I obey.

[PETERTHEEATER]

From one train crash to another.........