Showing 1 - 10 of 10
2026 will be a year of debt struggles
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 08/01/2026
» Forget GDP growth. Forget tourist arrivals. Forget export figures. In 2026, Thailand's overriding economic challenge will not be growth but debt repayment.
Making sense of performance figures
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 31/10/2024
» I have the duty of reviewing quarterly economic performances and making economic growth projections for a private research firm.
Stimulus packages need paradigm shift
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 03/10/2024
» Ever wonder why Thailand's economic growth is consistently lower than its peers? Even with a flood of foreign tourists of 28.1 million (154.4% growth) in 2023, our GDP growth was 1.9% compared to 5.5% in the Philippines, 5% in both Indonesia and Vietnam, and 3.7% in Malaysia. The growth figure for the first half of this year of 1.9% is far worse than many of our Asean friends.
Q2 GDP growth may be misleading
News, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 22/08/2024
» I eagerly awaited the release of the Q2/2024 GDP growth figure which became available on Monday. The 2.3% growth figure, presented by the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC), did not surprise me. A friend had warned me that the quarterly growth could be as high as 2.5%, even though my estimation for the quarter was only 1.0%.
How to finance the 2025 fiscal budget
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 27/06/2024
» The 2025 fiscal budget is supposed to be historic, aiming to turn around the sagging Thai economy. But it is going by almost unnoticed. The first reading of the Budget Bill passed with an overwhelming "yes" vote of 311 to 175. The debates were subdued and made few headlines. The second vote is expected on Aug 3. After passing the third vote by the House of Representatives, the 2025 budget will go to the Senate for final approval.
20 years of errors can't be fixed easily
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 30/05/2024
» I have a strong feeling that piecemeal measures are what the economy is going to get from the government to combat Thailand's long-standing economic problems.
Reviving Thai economy is a tall order
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 27/07/2023
» By the time readers read this article, Thailand still does not have a real government. But judging from the game being played, it is not too hard to guess which party will lead a new government.
Debt crisis looms as politicians fiddle
News, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 29/06/2023
» While politicians are fighting for power to rule this country, the economy may unknowingly be entering a debt crisis. There was a piece of news a couple of weeks ago which passed without much notice amid sizzling political stories. It was news of the automobile loan default problem.
THAI restructuring will not be easy
News, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 18/06/2020
» While I was the head of the Corporate Finance Department at National Finance (now known as Thanachart Bank), I handled many cases of debt restructuring. The largest one was the 20-billion-baht debt of a hospital chain.
Govt has shallow pockets for virus fight
News, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 26/03/2020
» There is no need to say that the impact from Covid-19 has been brutal to all economies. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has just warned the world economy is most likely to enter recession in 2020 with negative economic growth. On Jan 9, the IMF released its World Economic Outlook report projecting that global economic growth would be a positive 3.3%.