Thai economy will buck the global trend and fully recover next year: seminar

They were speaking at the "Go Thailand: Recession or Resurrection" seminar on Wednesday, which was sponsored by Nation Group’s Thansettakij.

The opening speech was delivered by Fabrizio Zarcone, World Bank country manager for Thailand. The outlooks for the global economy and Thailand are moving in opposite directions, he said.

The global economy is expected to enter a recession next year, particularly in major economies such as the United States, Europe, and Japan, but East Asia and the Pacific, including Thailand, are showing signs of recovery.

The recovery of Thailand’s tourism sector and strong private spending are driving this expansion, Zarcone said.

In order to sustain the country's growth and resilience, Zarcone said four initiatives are necessary: fiscal consolidation, increasing social assistance to the most vulnerable groups, investing in human capital, and making the tax collection system fairer and more efficient.

Win Phromphaet, Krungsri executive vice president and head of the high net-worth division at Bank of Ayudhya, agreed with the World Bank's forecast for the global economy.

Win advised Thai retail investors to diversify their investments across multiple assets. Bonds and debt instruments should account for more than half of the investment portfolio, with a small portion allocated to alternative assets such as gold and real estate, he said.

Equities still have a chance to profit, but investors must study them carefully before investing, Win added.

Meanwhile, high inflation, household debt, and domestic politics will be major concerns in the coming year.

Somchai Lertsutiwong, executive vice president and marketing at Advanced Info Service, encouraged businesses of all sizes to undergo digital transformation.

Digital and advanced technology will add more value and efficiency to the country's products and services and help Thailand remain globally competitive, Somchai said.

Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, said the tourism industry would be the country's hero for the foreseeable future.

However, Thailand's tourism industry will no longer prioritise quantity. As a result, all industry participants must upgrade their services and products by incorporating new technology and implementing the Bio-Circular-Green economic model.

"Our target tourists will be high quality and high spending," Yuthasak said.

Wallaya Chirathivat, deputy chief executive officer of Central Pattana, listed three factors that will propel retail businesses: business transformation, urbanisation, and sustainability.

She defined transformation as keeping businesses up to date on consumer trends so that they can meet the needs of all customer segments. The goal of urbanisation is to achieve equitable income distribution and to improve employee skills. Sustainability, she said, is showing kindness to local communities and the environment.

Thanathip Supapradit, CEO of Thonburi Healthcare Group, stated that a good strategy for doing business in the healthcare sector is to plan for expansion in growing markets while supporting people in slowing markets.

He noted that doing so not only helps to sustain its business and employees, but also wins the hearts and brand loyalty of patients.

Although he is confident that Thailand will remain the top healthcare hub in Southeast Asia and one of the top in the Asia-Pacific region, the country's healthcare sector faces a lack of skilled workers.

He called for more investment in human capital and digital technology.

Somporn Suebthawilkul, managing director at Dhipaya Insurance, said that global uncertainty was encouraging more businesses to see the importance of both life and non-life insurance.

The insurance industry will have a good year next year, he said.