ChartpattanaKLA: Pushing spectrum economy, tapping aging society, lifting SMEs

Korn Chatikavanij, prime minister candidate for Chart Pattana Kla, spoke exclusively to Voice of The Nation about his party’s “spectrum economy” policy to drive Thai growth by generating 5 trillion baht over five years.

“We have to review what we are good at and what we have that the world wants, and turn that into the policies that offer opportunities to the people”, Korn explained.

The “spectrum economy” policy uses colours to categorise strategic economic sectors. Korn described a few as follows: 

- Green Economy: The environmental economy covers global trends such as climate change and the goal of carbon neutrality. This means massive investment and revamping in the energy sector to drive a huge increase in renewable energy production, including allowing households to produce and sell electricity.

- Blue Economy: The technology economy offers potential to create 1.75 trillion baht in revenue from the digital sector. The blue economy will develop domestic e-commerce platforms so that Thais are not dependent on foreign platforms for the purchase and sale of goods and services online. One platform that could be implemented right away is a tourism portal to for hotel and other travel bookings. Digitising government services also comes under the blue economy.

- Rainbow Economy: This colour covers the LGBTQ+ community, which comprises a large chunk of the economy. According to the World Bank, this group are big-spenders with high purchasing power, especially when it comes to tourism. As Thailand is a major global tourism destination that ranks high among LGBTQ+ travellers, pushing equal rights should boost the country’s market share of LGBTQ+ tourism and increase revenue for the sector.

- Grey Economy: The mission here is to change bribes into taxes. According to the World Bank, Thailand has one of the largest grey economies, accounting for up to 50% of its GDP but providing little tax revenue. Part of Chart Pattana Kla’s strategy is to legalise Thailand’s massive underground gambling sector and turn bribes into tax revenue. Like Singapore, the plan is to integrate casinos with holiday resorts to generate revenue of 200 billion baht per year.
The party has also emphasised the importance of small and medium-sized enterprises and aims to strengthen sustainably in the SME sector.

Korn said 90% of the country's workforce is employed by SMEs. He vowed to fight for SMEs, push policies to create free and fair competition and give them greater access to low-interest loans.

“The problem with the market economy in Thailand is not capitalism per se, it’s the fact that competition isn’t fair and most of the opportunities are loaded for the big guys,” said Korn, a former finance minister. “We can see this clearly, whether in the energy, financial or telecommunication sectors, which need to be made more transparent to allow small companies to grow,” he added.

ChartpattanaKLA also has plans to tackle one of Thailand’s biggest challenges – its ageing society.

By 2040, it is projected that 17 million Thais – almost 25% of the population – will be 65 or older. To cope with a full-scale ageing society, the “spectrum economy” will unlock the potential of elderly people and make them a key economic driver.

“The rapidly ageing population in Thailand is a big challenge for the country, especially in terms of economic growth. Chart Pattana’s policies here are slightly different from those of other parties as we see seniors as important assets for society rather than a burden,” Korn said.

The party’s policies for the ageing society are:
- Provide incentives for employers to hire seniors. Give companies a government subsidy of 5,000 baht per month for every worker over 60 years of age they employ. This also will help reduce labour shortages, in what Korn calls a win-win situation.

- After 65, people can continue to work while paying 50% income tax.
- One million households with at least one member aged over 70 will get 50,000 baht per year for the next four years to spend on upgrades. The focus will be on increasing safety and convenience with, for example, senior-friendly bathrooms. Every year, 3 million elderly Thais suffer accidents in the bathroom due to unsuitable design, Korn said.
The party leader said he had seen the quality of parliamentary debate decline and money politics grow exponentially since he entered politics 18 years ago. 

 “A major reason why Thailand has been held back over the past decade has been politics and a major reason why politics has been such a drag is the involvement of money. This must end and it is within the power of the people to end it,” he said.

Asked what an ideal Thailand would look like to the Chart Pattana Kla Party,

Korn replied:
- A country in which everybody respects the rules
- A country in which every vote carries the same weight
- A country where politicians compete on practical ideas aimed at improving quality of life for the people

With Thailand’s general election only a month away, Korn encapsulated his party’s standpoint before heading to another campaign rally.

“Chart Pattana Kla are striving to do our part in creating this kind of Thailand and we hope to make significant progress. We are a party that understands the economic problems that ordinary Thais are facing today, a party that has the most practical, realistic solutions.”