Showing 1 - 10 of 32
The thorny issue of digital wallet funding
Business, Wichit Chantanusornsiri, Published on 25/04/2024
» The coalition government led by Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin made a significant pivot on its flagship scheme, which aims to hands out 10,000 baht each to 50 million Thais via a digital wallet, shifting from government borrowing, which drew sharp criticism and raised concerns about potential violations of financial and fiscal discipline regulations.
High-income goal needs a reality check
News, Wichit Chantanusornsiri, Published on 31/10/2019
» Thailand "will become a high-income country by 2036", said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, as he spoke of his "Vision 2036" at the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York last month.
New govt faces massive economic task
News, Wichit Chantanusornsiri, Published on 30/05/2019
» For the first time in five years, Thailand will soon be ruled by an elected coalition government. But the new administration, which is being formed by coalition allies, will not have any honeymoon period.
Instability threatens economic growth
News, Wichit Chantanusornsiri, Published on 27/04/2019
» Without decisive winners from the March 24 poll, there are fears that political instability will affect the country's economy. Such concerns are understandable given that three parties, namely the pro-military Palang Pracharath Party, and Pheu Thai Party and Future Forward Party (which brand themselves as the anti-regime camp), are engaging in a post-election tug of war.
Rethinking our attitude towards populism
News, Wichit Chantanusornsiri, Published on 06/12/2018
» The new package intended for the poor, valued at 38 billion baht issued by the Prayut Chan-o-cha administration ahead of the election, is seen by critics as a populist tactic aimed at maximising political gain. Yet in my opinion, it's time we took a new look or changed our attitude toward populist policies. The fact is that all governments, elected or not, tend to embrace populism and even though some packages may not benefit the middle class, populist policies are just inevitable.
Wealth gap still endangers democracy
News, Wichit Chantanusornsiri, Published on 24/05/2018
» Time flies. This week marks the fourth year of the military regime under Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha taking power after it ousted the civilian government in a coup in 2014. It's hard to imagine the military could ever have made a comeback to politics after the 1992 uprising when the men in green were forced to go back to the barracks, never mind managing to stay this long.
EEC needs political will to succeed
News, Wichit Chantanusornsiri, Published on 25/01/2018
» The Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), a project that will strengthen not only the country's economic performance but also its competitiveness, is making rapid progress, which is commendable.
Reform, reform, reform: 3 gates to growth
News, Wichit Chantanusornsiri, Published on 10/08/2017
» Thailand's economic growth has been bogged down in the past decade by political instability. Since the 2014 coup, the military government of Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha has managed to stabilise the political climate. But uncertainty prevails when it comes to the country's political future.
Bill reins in populist 'mai pen rai' urges
News, Wichit Chantanusornsiri, Published on 27/04/2017
» While mai pen rai, a frequently used Thai expression for "never mind", "it's okay" or "don't worry", may represent the compromising nature of Thais, it also carries a negative connotation of our tendency to skip dealing with a problem or avoid fixing problems where it hurts.
Council of State challenges two-year payback mandate
Business, Wichit Chantanusornsiri, Published on 18/04/2017
» The Council of State has proposed loosening the requirement of a two-year payback for government when it borrows to finance any populist policy, aiming to keep subsequent administrations from running out of resources for investment if the fiscal budget is constrained.