Showing 1 - 10 of 10
Thailand's export-led model needs rejig
Oped, Pavida Pananond, Published on 03/07/2025
» Time is running out for Thailand, and the stakes have never been higher. As Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira arrived in Washington this week for critical trade talks with the US negotiation team, Thailand confronts not just a tariff negotiation but an existential challenge to its export-dependent economic model. With US President Donald Trump's 90-day grace period expiring on July 8, Thailand must secure a deal or face a punishing 36% tariff that threatens to unravel decades of export-led development strategy.
Thai economic revival at stake in poll
Oped, Pavida Pananond, Published on 11/05/2023
» As voters go to the poll this Sunday, everything that matters for the people of this country is on the line, from structural reforms of political institutions and a constitutional rewrite to welfare policies to address income inequality.
Oligarchical market control isn't healthy
Oped, Pavida Pananond, Published on 02/12/2022
» On the face of it, the government of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha seems to be saying the right things about sustainable and inclusive growth. The prime minister himself has been touting a Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) economic model for Thailand, pitching it as the overarching theme of the recently concluded Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders' meeting. Yet, the political economy hidden underneath Gen Prayut's lofty rhetoric is becoming more short-term and exclusive, allowing wealth to be concentrated in fewer hands, giving a handful of conglomerates oligarchical control over the market.
Thai economy out of sync, out of sight?
Oped, Pavida Pananond, Published on 27/08/2021
» The changing nature of globalisation, compounded by pandemic-induced disruptions require a rethink of Thailand's place and direction in the global economy. Already hampered by pre-Covid trends of global slowdown in trade and investment, the economy is facing tougher challenges as the pandemic has forced multinational companies to reconsider their supply chain configuration. The changing contours of the global economy on the one hand and ongoing political tensions at home that have delayed much-needed structural reforms on the other are becoming a perfect storm that could blow away Thailand's chances of maintaining its once central role in Southeast Asia's economic dynamism.
Challenges of a post-virus recovery
Oped, Pavida Pananond, Published on 22/05/2020
» Picking up the pieces and preparing for the future after the economic and social ravages wrought by the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic cannot start soon enough. For Thailand and Southeast Asia more broadly, pre-pandemic imperatives of economic upgrading for higher value-added jobs and industries are now compounded by new Covid-induced dilemmas of rising unemployment and labour abundance. Addressing this double whammy of economic challenges requires policy responses that are nuanced, fair and forward-looking in trying to achieve multiple objectives after the virus subsides.
Tesco buyout gives CP undue power
News, Pavida Pananond, Published on 13/03/2020
» The recent announcement by Charoen Pokphand (CP) group to buy Tesco's operations in Thailand and Malaysia for US$10.6 billion (335 billion baht) marks the retreat of Western retailers' presence in much of Southeast Asia. For Thailand in particular, CP's Tesco buyout comes with added business significance and consumer risks because the giant agribusiness conglomerate will now have undue dominance directly over local supply chains and indirectly over consumer choice and benefit. In this case, it is imperative that Thailand's regulator, the Office of Trade Competition Commission (OTCC), take a hard and close look to make sure CP's good deal does not become a raw deal for local suppliers and Thais.
Managing global adversity after poll
News, Pavida Pananond, Published on 01/02/2019
» Discounting its disrupted precursor in 2014, the imminent first poll in nearly eight years has put the country's political future on the line.
How US-China trade impacts Thailand
News, Pavida Pananond, Published on 14/09/2018
» Perhaps the most apt saying to apply to the so-called "trade war" between the United States and China is "when elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers".
What a trade war means for Southeast Asia
News, Pavida Pananond, Published on 17/08/2018
» Although it's still early days in the so-called "trade war" between the United States and China, its knock-on effects are already palpable. Both sides have accused each other of unfair trade practices, and both have imposed a series of tit-for-tat tariffs and other protectionist measures that could lead to a runaway retaliatory logic and spiral beyond anyone's control.
Global investment risk levels on rise
News, Pavida Pananond, Published on 18/01/2018
» Amid growing confidence of a global economic rebound and better domestic growth prospects, the 2018 investment outlook should not ignore downside factors that could hinder the long-run growth momentum. Structural challenges from policy uncertainties among the world's economic superpowers and saturating trade and investment flows through global value chains may cast more shadows over the local and global economy than the recovering numbers reveal.