According to former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, the country’s economy has slowed down and cannot be saved by just injecting wealth through initiatives like the government’s 500 billion-baht modern money handout plan, which will likely help boost the economy in just one or two quarters.
Mr. Abhisit also cited the urgency of amending laws in a particular meeting with the Bangkok Post as a solution for the country’s economic stagnation.
According to Mr. Abhisit, who rated Mr. Srettha’s effort to entice more foreign firms into Thailand as unsuccessful as it should have been, these legal difficulties are a significant obstacle to Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s efforts to do so.
Mr. Abhisit made reference to Mr. Srettha’s sessions with important businesspeople while traveling abroad.
Purchase problems
Global investors are primarily concerned about Thailand’s lack of laws, rules, and technology, especially now that the government has n’t but demonstrated clearly what fresh business direction Thailand is actually moving in, according to Mr. Abhisit.
Worse still, in wooing purchases from abroad, the Srettha leadership is focusing more on business sectors with little progress, said Mr Abhisit.
This state is attempting to address this key fundamental issue by introducing the online budget handout scheme and raising the minimum everyday wage to 400 baht, according to Mr. Abhisit, along with higher purchasing power only among a select few small groups of Thai consumers and a higher rate of household debt.
He cited Microsoft executives ‘ absence of the precise purchase figures the tech company had in mind when they made the announcement of their investment strategy in Thailand recently as one obvious example.
He claimed that while they have released their purchase plans for Thailand and Indonesia, they have left out their own investment plans.
He claimed that if Microsoft had actually intended to set up a data center in Thailand, it would have made clear what portion of the company’s guaranteed investment’s clean electricity use would need to be met.
According to Mr. Abhisit,” And we still do n’t have the answers to the questions that prospective international investors have raised regarding clean energy policies that will ensure the continuity of business development.”
Every business needs help
According to Mr. Abhisit, Thailand’s economic growth is typically attributed to the rise of large public companies, but in reality only those with concessions from the authorities are expanding, according to Mr. Abhisit.
This plainly shows Thailand’s financial growth happens in just specific firms, not across all business areas as it should be, he said.
He said,” The answer is that we need to start rewriting laws and regulations that have been debated for a while.”
Also Thai businesses find Thai rules difficult due to their complex laws. These regulations are outdated and inconsistent with current businesses, innovative technology and the economic system”, Mr Abhisit said.
According to Mr. Abhisit, yet the government’s plan to raise the minimum daily wage to 400 baht still needs constitutional amendments, adding that any additional delays in passing the laws may probably lead to an even worsening of the economy going into the new year.
” Up until now, we still have n’t seen the government making any real move in implementing those policies it had promised voters]during the election campaign] while pressure is mounting for it to honour its promises”, he said.
According to Mr. Abhisit, the ruling Pheu Thai Party and its precursor, the now-defunct Thai Rak Thai Party, were well known for their propensity to choose a quick repair, such as a signal program to finance an economic system, rather than addressing a root cause.
He predicted that the business will fail once more in one or two quarters once the effects of the short-term monetary stimulus are gone.
According to Mr. Abhisit, the alliance government’s efforts to boost the economy even lack unity.
New financial plans
The ruling party has generally maintained that the nation is experiencing economic slowdown and that the digital wallet freebies are intended to bring the country back from its slumber, according to deputy finance minister Paopoom Rojanasakul’s earlier statement to the Bangkok Post.
Mr. Paopoom attributed the slow economy to three factors: the inaction of the 2024 fiscal budget, ineffective fiscal and monetary measures to stimulate the economy, declining consumer confidence in spending, and a contraction in loans, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises ( SMEs ).
” In brief, the fiscal business lacks weapons, and while the financial market has it, it refuses to use it. Banks are optimistic about extending money as a result of this. With all these factors, the government’s business is sluggish”, he said.
Mr. Srettha stated on Friday that the government would introduce extra steps to boost the economy.
He claimed he had a Thursday evening meeting with Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira about a variety of issues, including property market and economic stimuli.
” A major announcement on quick- term, medium- term and lengthy- term measures may be made on June 24 or 25″, the excellent minister said.
Asked if this would be good news, Mr Srettha said:” Let’s wait and see”.
He also said Mr Pichai will discuss the inflation target with Bank of Thailand ( BoT ) governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput.
Prior to this, Mr. Srettha stated that numerous foreigners were interested in funding projects in Thailand, including the” Land Bridge.”
This one trillion-baht project aims to build a logistics network connecting Chumphon province in the Gulf of Thailand to Ranong province along the Andaman Sea.
Additionally, it has two deep-water ports, a railroad system, and a land-to-air highway connecting the two provinces, with the intention of loading containers onto waiting container ships.