Finance Minister aims to revitalize Thai economy

[webfact]

 

Newly named Thai Finance Minister, Pichai Chunhavajira, vows to boost Thailand's struggling economy, particularly focusing on issues of household debt and low personal income.

 

Previously serving as chairman of Thailand's Stock Exchange and advisor to the prime minister, Pichai identifies a steadily decreasing economic growth rate over the past twenty years.

 

Noticing a concerning drop in economic expansion from rates of 4%-5%, down to current rates of 1%-3%, Pichai addresses the subsequent decline in citizen's income in relation to GDP reduction. He also raises concerns over substantial household debt, exceeding 90% of the country's GDP, restricting individual's capacity to borrow.

 

Pichai recommends an economic injection to combat household debt, but maintains that it should not be interpreted as the favoring of wealthy business owners due to the interconnectivity of economic sectors.

 

Additionally, he analyzes a downward trend in economic growth due to heavy reliance on goods production for export, suggesting a need to adopt new technologies and products.

 

To improve national competitiveness, Pichai proposes either enhancing existing product competition or encouraging the development of new domestic technologies.

 

He emphasizes the incentive to attract new tech producers to invest in Thailand, specifically in clean energy production capabilities.

 

Pichai also notes Thailand's geographical advantage, strategically located between the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, establishing it as an accessible middleman or transport option for goods produced elsewhere, like China.

 

Top: File photo

 

-- 2024-05-08

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[bob smith]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

He emphasizes the incentive to attract new tech producers to invest in Thailand, specifically in clean energy production capabilities.

roughly translated to 'give us yer money, foreigners. we are broke!'

 

bob.

[bamnutsak]

So he's been an advisor to the Finance Minister (Srettha, PM also) for seven months and he's now just getting around to "revitalizing" the economy?

 

What's the rush?

 

This government is part train wreck, part dumpster fire. 

 

Thaksin better have a magic wand.

 

 

[spidermike007]

I guess they decided that an incompetent PM who was also finance minister, while the economy was sputtering, was a bit of a mistake. 

 

Will this goon be able to implement any policy that will kickstart things? 

 

The Chinese are dumping massive amounts of steel onto the Thai market, and 67 Thai steel manufacturers have closed shop in the past year alone. The economy is still reeling from 9 sorry years of the Prayuth Decimation. Tourism numbers are up, but the quality of tourists is way, way down. People are spending alot less. What else can go wrong? 

[BritScot]

1 hour ago, bamnutsak said:

So he's been an advisor to the Finance Minister (Srettha, PM also) for seven months and he's now just getting around to "revitalizing" the economy?

 

What's the rush?

 

This government is part train wreck, part dumpster fire. 

 

Thaksin better have a magic wand.

 

 

He did last time, I think GDP was 12 ~14%.

[Guderian]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Pichai recommends an economic injection to combat household debt, but maintains that it should not be interpreted as the favoring of wealthy business owners due to the interconnectivity of economic sectors.

 

I thought that was supposed to be the nominal idea behind the digital wallet, so that it doesn't appear as nothing more than a vote-buying scheme, which is of course what it is. If Thailand is struggling desperately to find the money to afford a 10K Baht giveaway, I doubt that this "economic injection to combat household debt" is going to amount to much. Still, if they really want to write-off the TGF's 150K Baht in debts, please feel free to do so, lol.

[hotchilli]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Newly named Thai Finance Minister, Pichai Chunhavajira, vows to boost Thailand's struggling economy, particularly focusing on issues of household debt and low personal income.

Best of luck with that.

[hotchilli]

38 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

I guess they decided that an incompetent PM who was also finance minister, while the economy was sputtering, was a bit of a mistake. 

 

Will this goon be able to implement any policy that will kickstart things? 

 

The Chinese are dumping massive amounts of steel onto the Thai market, and 67 Thai steel manufacturers have closed shop in the past year alone. The economy is still reeling from 9 sorry years of the Prayuth Decimation. Tourism numbers are up, but the quality of tourists is way, way down. People are spending alot less. What else can go wrong? 

STD outbreak....  ?

[dinsdale]

Interesting to see that inflation is not mentioned. Mmmmm? I wonder why people have less spending power? Nevermind the 100's of billions baht that needs to be taken from the coffers and borrowed for the populist PTP 10k card should fix that.

[ozz1]

How about letting people pay of their debts with the 10thousand baht handout but they can't do that just spend it in our stores of owned by our friends

[sherwood]

OH how I laughed.

The baht looks to sinking faster than a RTN Figate.

[Purdey]

Always looking at the symptoms not the cause. The finance minister cannot raise the education standards in a year or two and an educated workforce  is essential to economic growth. Factory workers and rice growers will not help the economy to rise 

[0ffshore360]

4 hours ago, ozz1 said:

How about letting people pay of their debts with the 10thousand baht handout but they can't do that just spend it in our stores of owned by our friends

In effect same same and not so different.

 

[SingAPorn]

1 euro given at the exchange booth at the airport., should give no less then 45 Bhat. That's the first rule.

 

Second magic mantra, stop harassing the quality retirees and pensionners who make LTR P visa submissions with absurd requests asking for multiple tax forms or detailes healt insurance documents. Such absurdity will only motivate the rich to go to another country to spend and live Thailand in the hands of the unwanted.

[Middle Aged Grouch]

As long as those fellows at immigration are involved in the visa handling process, no chance for the economy in Thailand to recover.

[0ffshore360]

9 minutes ago, Purdey said:

Always looking at the symptoms not the cause. The finance minister cannot raise the education standards in a year or two and an educated workforce  is essential to economic growth. Factory workers and rice growers will not help the economy to rise 

What percentage of a population is required to be educated  for economic growth in an aspiring economy increasingly reliant on industrial output with  heavy invested  adoption of AI to the detriment of workers educated or not?

The spiraling down of any previous egalitarian promises for even the slightest chances of  human social utopia is accelerating at approximately the same rate as the reduction of democratic principles .

 

 

[0ffshore360]

"Human rights" are the carrot to the donkey of subjugated humans.

Work for them ! Suffer  against the  oppression ! Raise your voices !  You too  can  rise above and lead  humanity to Freeedom and prosperity ! Etc etc etc.

No you flockin will never defeat the established rich kunts!

Sorry. Reality is a bitch and I know more than one.

 

[connda]

I know - inject lot more money into the economy, debase the THB further - and the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.  In the meantime, in-between time, ain't we got fun!

[mfd101]

6 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

67 Thai steel manufacturers have closed shop in the past year alone

If that figure is correct (source?), then even the 'almost modern' bits of the economy are rat/sht.

 

Why on earth would Thailand need 67 of them? Or perhaps backyard furnaces for all are the answer, and Mao can ride again.

Edited May 8 by mfd101

[itsari]

6 hours ago, sherwood said:

OH how I laughed.

The baht looks to sinking faster than a RTN Figate.

The Chinese will salvage both the frigate and the baht

[spidermike007]

10 hours ago, mfd101 said:

If that figure is correct (source?), then even the 'almost modern' bits of the economy are rat/sht.

 

Why on earth would Thailand need 67 of them? Or perhaps backyard furnaces for all are the answer, and Mao can ride again.

The Commerce Ministry revealed that up to 75 local steel companies ceased operations last year, and the association fears that this figure may increase in the current year.

 

https://thethaiger.com/news/business/thailands-steel-industry-threatened-by-surge-in-chinese-imports

[bamnutsak]

12 hours ago, Purdey said:

Always looking at the symptoms not the cause. The finance minister cannot raise the education standards in a year or two and an educated workforce  is essential to economic growth. Factory workers and rice growers will not help the economy to rise 

 

The absolute last thing the powers-that-be want is an educated populace.

 

The Thai education system is working just fine, thank you. 

 

 

[mikebell]

18 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

What else can go wrong? 

Cannabis flip-flop will dissuade further foreign investment after being stung in this sector.

[jonclark]

11 hours ago, itsari said:

The Chinese will salvage both the frigate and the baht

And what will they ask for in return?? A 100 year concession on the deep ports Thailand may build for its land bridge project. Perfect for Chinese warships....and the colonisation of Thailand by China will be complete.

[Srikcir]

"Pichai identifies a steadily decreasing economic growth rate over the past twenty years."

Genius! 

And what was the common political influencer over most of that time span? Authoritarian hardliners. 

[itsari]

16 minutes ago, jonclark said:

And what will they ask for in return?? A 100 year concession on the deep ports Thailand may build for its land bridge project. Perfect for Chinese warships....and the colonisation of Thailand by China will be complete.

China is not known for colonising there neighbours over history. 

I think Thailand has been smart in not borrowing money from China unlike so many other countries have as that is a form of colonisation when the loans are not repaid.