Commerce, industry and banking sectors prepare white paper for next government
A white paper containing six proposals has been issued by Thailand's Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking (JSCCIB), providing some guidelines to help the next elected government improve Thailand's overall economy.
The 10-page white paper would be distributed to all political parties as early as next week, Kriengkrai Thiennukul, president of the Federation Thai Industries (FTI), one of the JSCCIB members, told a press conference on Wednesday.
The proposals cover six important aspects that the Thai private sector in commerce, industry, and banking believes need urgent reform so that Thailand can navigate global volatility and challenges.
The white paper by the JSCCIB, which comprises three major private groups — the Federation of Thai Industries, the Thai Chamber of Commerce, and the Thai Bankers Association — comes as the country prepares to vote for a new government on May 14.
Competitiveness, ease of doing business, digital transformation, human development, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and sustainability are the six areas that they identify.
To improve Thailand's competitiveness, the new government should restructure the electricity pricing formula, support the adoption of renewable energy, improve infrastructure and logistics, provide digital literacy, and offer incentives to attract foreign investment in high technology, healthcare, and green solutions, Kriengkrai pointed out.
Meanwhile, in order to facilitate business operations, the government must amend certain laws and regulations.
In terms of digital transformation, he said the government should work towards making Thailand a regional technology hub in order to attract foreign investment, while also assisting SMEs in gaining access to the tools needed to digitalise.
Kriengkrai said the private sector had reached an agreement with the government to raise the minimum wage as part of efforts to improve human development.
However, the increase would be part of a process to upskill and reskill the workforce so that workers could be paid based on their skills rather than the minimum wage.
He believes restructuring the banking system is necessary to give SME entrepreneurs access to funding rather than letting them be at the mercy of loan sharks.
With regard to sustainability, Kriengkrai stated that besides supporting environmentally friendly businesses, the new government should implement long-term debt management policies, food security and financial literacy. These will be critical components in sustaining Thailand's growth.
Kriengkrai said that regardless of which political parties won the election, the private sector would be ready to work with Thailand's newly elected government to move the country forward.
Meanwhile, Sanan Angubolkul, chairman of the Thai chamber of commerce, expressed hope that the process of forming the new government would not take too long so that the budget could be approved on time or ahead of schedule and the country could move forward quickly.
