Thailand’s most important economic goal
Any relatively new finance minister, such as Pichai Chunhavajira, comes into office facing a crowded agenda: Maintain good relations with the central bank, ensure strong revenue collections and pursue fiscally responsible policies, manage customs and excise. Keep an eye on inflation, which reached 1.54% in May but eased to 0.62% in June, and meet the joint monetary policy target agreed with the Bank of Thailand. Improve access to finance.
Despite this long list of imperatives — in reality because of it — Mr Pichai as both finance minister and deputy prime minister really has only one principal task: to promote economic growth.
While the World Bank has forecast that Thailand’s growth will rise from 1.9% in 2023 to 2.4% in 2024, growth fell in the fourth quarter last year. Thailand continues to lag behind other Asean nations, including Malaysia, which grew at 4.2% in the first quarter; the Philippines, with expected growth of 6.0% thanks to higher domestic demand and exports; and Indonesia, with projected growth of 5.1%, just under the government’s target.
