• OPINION

  AEC puts Thai public healthcare at risk

  News, Sutapa Amornvivat, Published on 20/05/2015

  » Amid all the handwringing that Thailand has lost its export mojo, let's keep some good news in mind. In "exports" of services, a few Thai industries are thriving. Healthcare is especially successful, thanks in part to inbound medical tourism, which has helped Thai private healthcare providers enjoy solid growth for five years. During this time, the industry's listed companies have consistently outperformed the rest of the Thai stock market.

• OPINION

  Ageing without wealth mars golden years

  News, Sutapa Amornvivat, Published on 18/03/2015

  » Thailand is already an ageing society, with roughly 10 million Thais over the age of 60. This amounts to roughly 15% of the population. By 2030, this number will rise to 25%. Our declining birth rate and rising life expectancy are driving the change. Of course, it's good news that we have reached the stage of development where we live 74 years on average.

• OPINION

  Cheap oil alone cannot grease the economy

  News, Sutapa Amornvivat, Published on 21/01/2015

  » Crude oil prices have more than halved since July, with a dramatic drop towards the end of 2014 as the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) refused to curb output. The Thai equity market tumbled because energy stocks contribute as much as 20% to the SET Index market capitalisation. But most other sectors remained flat and there are a few sectors like consumer and transportation stocks that actually emerged as winners.

• OPINION

  Slow growth is a small price for reform

  News, Sutapa Amornvivat, Published on 18/02/2015

  » The Thai economy has gained little traction in recent months. Despite the restoration of confidence and the clearing of many legislative bottlenecks since the middle of last year, GDP growth still came in at just 0.7% in 2014. Nor have we seen any big return of momentum in domestic consumption or investment. Even during the recent New Year festivities, consumer spending was weak, despite the long holiday period. There isn't much to celebrate on the economic front.

• OPINION

  How to build a sustainable tourism future in Phuket

  News, Sutapa Amornvivat, Published on 24/12/2014

  » Phuket's vision has major consequences for the nation's economy. Thailand's exports are sluggish and commodity prices are falling. One of the few engines that can rescue growth next year is tourism. 

• OPINION

  Connecting with Thai 'Gen Y' consumers

  News, Sutapa Amornvivat, Published on 19/11/2014

  » It is quite unique for Thailand to be caught in the middle of two demographic megatrends.

• OPINION

  Three strategies for long-term growth

  News, Sutapa Amornvivat, Published on 22/10/2014

  » Recent discussion of Thailand's big reform push has focused on issues of social stability. However, the economic fundamentals also need serious — if not more urgent — attention, given the economy's remarkably weak performance over the past seven years.

• OPINION

  Time to refocus our exporting strengths

  News, Sutapa Amornvivat, Published on 17/09/2014

  » Thailand's exports have suffered such a great fall. Our performance has been disappointing since 2012. We at the SCB Economic Intelligence Centre (EIC) expect total exports for 2014 to grow by around 1% yearly.

• OPINION

  Hard truths behind our faltering exports

  News, Sutapa Amornvivat, Published on 16/07/2014

  » Thai exports have suffered a great fall. Exports contracted by 0.3% in 2013, and for the first five months of this year, shrank further 1.2% year-on-year. This is particularly alarming, as global trade has started picking up since the beginning of this year.

• OPINION

  Misuse of human capital limits growth

  News, Sutapa Amornvivat, Published on 18/06/2014

  » Everyone is looking for change today. Many areas have been proposed for reform, ranging from taxes, energy, to infrastructure investment. One area of reform that Thailand definitely needs, but has not been discussed much so far is human capital management.

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