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BURNING ISSUE
All onus on Somkid to shepherd the Thai economy
SASITHORN ONGDEE

BANGKOK: -- IF THE RECENT rejection of the charter draft means the Prayut Chan-o-cha administration can stay in power for at least another six months, it should also give enough time to the economic team led by Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak to fix the economy and pave the way for a recovery.

When there is a slowdown in investments from large companies, grass-roots and small and medium-sized enterprises hold the key. When exports cannot be relied on as an engine of growth because of the global economic slowdown, domestic consumption and government spending are the answer.

A few weeks into his term, Somkid announced a series of stimulus packages, starting with financial assistance of about Bt60 billion focused on low-income earners via the Village Funds and the One Tambon One Product (Otop) scheme.

This week, he came up with the second phase of the economic stimulus package, focusing on SMEs by injecting money into the lending system with a target of Bt100 billion. This is aimed at helping them with soft loans at an interest rate of 4 per cent per annum via state-owned banks, with the government subsidising the interest rate and also the loan-guarantee fee.

Though Prayut denied that this measure was a populist policy, many businesspeople seem to be happy with "quick" packages and "getting to the point" policies that would not be like a dog chasing its tail.

This measure is because SMEs cannot access capital as cheaply as large firms can. Their requests for bank loans are often rejected.

Meanwhile, SMEs are also being given corporate-tax cuts for two fiscal years. In addition, venture-capital funds worth Bt6 billion in total will be established to help strengthen them.

Like a superman, Somkid, who is in charge of overseeing economic affairs, is fully empowered by National Council for Peace and Order chief Prayut. He was recently appointed as chairman and director of 20 important committees, which are established by laws and regulations of the Prime Minister's Office covering all of the country's key policies.

The committees are related to support and promotion of farmers and villagers, small and large enterprises, social enterprises, infrastructure development, industrial development, energy procurement, merchant marine, and road traffic towards international economic policy.

Recently, Somkid egged on the Transport Ministry to speed up work on pending infrastructure projects, especially the railway system, and pushed a plan to seek wider private participation in the state's investments. Two out of four pending mass-transit-line projects are expected to be on the table of the Cabinet within this month.

The seventh meeting of the committee overseeing the Bt400-billion Thai-Chinese medium-speed railway project took place in Bangkok yesterday, which indicates the process is on.

Though the measures announced by Somkid are not brand new, they look better, more powerful, and more integrated as he is backed by Article 44 of the interim charter that empowers him to sweep away any obstacles.

It's quite clear what shape the economy under Somkid's management will take.

Thailand now has 2.7 million SMEs nationwide, representing about 97 per cent of all companies. They account for about 37 per cent of gross domestic product.

If the short-term economic stimulus plan is successful, a multiplier effect on the economy will see an increase of Bt1.94 trillion in money circulation as per the government's expectation.

What if the economy does not recover over the next two years as expected?

Amid the new normal for the Thai economy, of growth but at a low level, Somkid must try hard to penetrate this situation.

Let's wait to hear more on what the third phase of the package will be about.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/All-onus-on-Somkid-to-shepherd-the-Thai-economy-30268573.html


-- The Nation 2015-09-11

[maewang99]

I just love this idea that a super man will fix everything. what if unskilled labor, and an even cheaper Baht, won't work so hot anymore as the core economies continue to discover how to employ AI in things such as autonomous vehicles and where 3D printers can manufacture things such as aircraft parts or human hearts someday not so far off, in just 1 day or so?

Edited September 11, 2015 by maewang99

[Don Mega]

3D printers cannot instantly manufacture anything, they can speed up the process but it is far from instant.

[soalbundy]

He's Shaun the sheep

[waldroj]

..."He was recently appointed as chairman and director of 20 important committees, which are established by laws and regulations of the Prime Minister's Office covering all of the country's key policies."

Well, this really crys out for a response to this forum!

As much as I would love to offer a cynical response, on this occassion I will instead share a quote that "succinctly" says it better than I could have twenty times over:

"...It is characteristic of all committee discussions and decisions that every member has a vivid recollection of them and that every member’s recollection of them differs violently from every other member’s recollection. Consequently, we accept the convention that the official decisions are those and only those which have been officially recorded in the minutes by the officials, from which it emerges with an elegant inevitability that any decision which has been officially reached will have been officially recorded in the minutes by the officials and any decision which is not recorded in the minutes has not been officially reached even if one or more members believe they can recollect it, so in this particular case, if the decision had been officially reached it would have been officially recorded in the minutes by the officials, and it isn’t so it wasn’t..."

Sir Humphrey Appleby

Yes, Prime Minister

Series Two (1987-88), Episode One: Man Overboard.

More gems for later TV forum contributions can be found at (https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Yes,_Minister)

[waldroj]

I just love this idea that a super man will fix everything. what if unskilled labor, and an even cheaper Baht, won't work so hot anymore as the core economies continue to discover how to employ AI in things such as autonomous vehicles and where 3D printers can manufacture things such as aircraft parts or human hearts someday not so far off, in just 1 day or so?

3D printers cannot instantly manufacture anything, they can speed up the process but it is far from instant.

Gentlemen

You have actually identified a very important issue that I can not be cynical about!

3D printers in Industry (known as Additive Manufacturing), is actually a big future challenge for countries such as Thailand.

Thailand previously enjoyed an advantage by providing cheap manufacturing costs for foreign companies. Even factoring in shipping and customs charges, it was still in Thailand’s favour to have special items manufactured here rather than in their host country.

With AM, a growing number of these foreign companies (in Europe and the US especially) are now choosing to do their own work in-house rather than wait for the product to be made in Thailand and shipped to them

[Jon Wetherall]

Somkid is an ex-Thaksin man distinguishable only by his eye for the main chance. It was an act of sheer desperation for Mr P to have given him the nod, but I fully believe the parrot is now sleeping. Or stunned.

[Srikcir]

Somkid - like a superman?

"The government's financial stimulus package is a drop in the ocean compared to Thailand's massive loss of export muscle ...The unavoidable conclusion is that "Somkidnomics" is highly unlikely to restore even a semblance of Thailand's former prosperity. The government is wasting time with wishful thinking. - The Nation 2015-09-05

[NOC]

All onus anus on Some Kid to sheperd the Thai economy.

Edited for clarification.