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Sustaining Thailand’s Growth, Competitiveness, and Stability |
| Source: |
thailand.prd.go.th |
| Source Date: |
Thursday, March 31, 2011 |
| Focus: |
Electronic and Mobile Government, Citizen Engagement, Internet Governance
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| Country: |
Thailand |
| Created: |
Apr 12, 2011 |
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The Government believes that it has put in place the conditions that are necessary and sufficient for sustaining Thailand’s growth, competitiveness, and stability in the coming years.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva spoke on the topic “Enhancing Thailand’s Competitiveness through the Next Decade,” in his keynote address at the Thailand Focus 2011 Conference.
Attending the conference, held in Bangkok on March 28, were Thai and foreign fund managers, as well as executives and officials from various agencies. Referring to the global financial meltdown in October 2008, the Prime Minister said that the Thai government enacted counter-cyclical policies in a timely manner, thus enabling it to stabilize the Thai economy and quickly restore confidence.
He explained that the Government’s policies helped put Thailand in a position to make the best of the global economic recovery in 2010. The country’s GDP grew nearly 8 percent last year, while the surplus in the current account and the continued strengthening of the baht confirmed Thailand’s competitiveness and economic resilience. Thai households have also maintained a low debt level of about 55 percent of their annual income. Farm incomes are generally rising quickly. This growth in income and consumer purchasing power is a result of the stimulus packages the Government has put in place, especially the current second package, the "Thailand: Investing from Strength to Strength 2012" program.
Prime Minister Abhisit pointed out that the political turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa has had an important bearing on Thailand's economic prospects. The country’s rapidly industrializing economy has become ever more dependent on oil imports and constrained by skilled labor scarcity. High commodity prices have benefited Thai farmers, but they are adding to domestic inflationary pressures. This is fast becoming the major challenge for the Thai economy this year. The Government has introduced short-term measures to restrain the rise in the prices of certain fuels to help ensure that inflation can be contained.
The Prime Minister is confident that Thailand's labor cost and productivity will remain internationally competitive. Its diversified manufacturing base and continuing success in turning Thailand into a major production and export base for automobiles and parts in particular, is a reflection of Thailand's competitiveness and the quality of its industrial labor force.
He said that many large infrastructure projects would be launched in the coming years, especially several involving rail transportation. Progress continues to be made on expanding the network of the mass transit system in and around Bangkok. Negotiations are underway to construct a railway network that would link up mainland Southeast Asia, in which Thailand is an important hub. The country’s ability to sustain double-digit growth in private investment over the medium term would also help guarantee that Thailand's annual economic growth will not be less than 5 percent in the current decade.
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Sustaining Thailand’s Growth, Competitiveness, and Stability The Government believes that it has put in place the conditions that are necessary and sufficient for sustaining Thailand’s growth competitiveness and stability in the coming years
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