Thailand needs to transform its economy and develop new economic engines, says Santitarn Sathirathai, the vice-finance minister.
Thailand should capitalise on the strong inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) to accelerate technology transfers and support long-term economic growth, says Santitarn Sathirathai, the vice-finance minister.Speaking at a seminar on Thursday organised by Prachachat Turakij, a Thai-language business newspaper, he said investment applications seeking promotional privileges last year reached roughly 2 trillion baht. In the first quarter this year, applications already tallied 1 trillion baht.
"Thailand needs to transform its economy and develop new economic engines. Relying solely on the green economy may be insufficient -- the country must do more than that," said Mr Santitarn.
"While large amounts of FDI are flowing into Thailand, the key question is how much Thais actually benefit from it and to what extent technology transfer is taking place."
Foreign investment should also help promote domestic supply chains, similar to the growth of the Thai automotive industry, which led to the creation of Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 industries, enabling local small businesses to grow, he noted.
