Panel to revive economy

A joint state-private committee will be set up to come up with measures to address the country’s economic problems and boost GDP growth, according to the chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (TCC), Sanan Angubolkul.
He made the remarks on Monday after representatives from the private sector’s Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking (JSCCIB) met Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra at Government House on Monday to ask for a fresh economic stimulus to boost consumer spending ahead of the New Year festival.
After an hour-long meeting with the prime minister, Mr Sanan, who also serves as JSCCIB chairman, said the prime minister agreed to set up a joint committee which will serve as a forum for both the government and the private sector to discuss proposals to solve the nation’s economic problems.
“The joint committee will meet every six months to find ways to revitalise the economy and boost GDP growth,” Mr Sanan said.
Mr Sanan said that economic stimuli are required to boost economic recovery, so the private sector has come up with a set of proposals that the government should implement before the New Year festival.
“These measures include more subsidies and tax incentives, such as the Easy e-Receipt tax rebate programme, to encourage people to spend at the end of the year,” Mr Sanan said.
He said the government should introduce a debt moratorium of three to six months for some debtors — in particular, those who are struggling to repay pickup truck loans — and freeze the price of electricity and diesel to reduce costs for both households and business operators.
Mr Sanan said those who took out loans to finance their pick-up truck purchases should be helped, as they could work and repay their loans as long as their vehicles weren’t seized.
The JSCCIB proposed both medium and long-term economic solutions which included assistance for small and medium-sized enterprises and various projects to boost the nation’s competitiveness.
Other proposals include promoting at least 10 lesser-known provinces as the next tourism destinations, Mr Sanan said.
He said that Prommin Lertsuridej, prime minister’s secretary-general, along with representatives from the TCC, had surveyed three provinces — Nakhon Phanom, Kanchanaburi and Ratchaburi — to gauge their potential for tourism development.
Mr Sanan said if the government and private sector continue to work closely, Thailand’s gross domestic product could grow by 4-5% next year.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn told reporters after the meeting that Thailand’s economic growth has effectively stalled for about a decade, which resulted in rising household debt.
She said the country needed to find new sources of income to support economic growth, and the private sector could play an important role in raising national revenue.
The government and the private sector should sit together to find new methods to increase revenues, she said, before adding the government is ready to listen to and support initiatives from the private sector.
The JSCCIB comprises representatives of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Thai Industries and the Thai Bankers’ Association.
TBA chairman Payong Srivanich said that the TBA is expected to finalise new measures to tackle the country’s household debt problem in the next two weeks.
The measures will be specifically designed to help small and medium-sized enterprises and debtors struggling with mortgage and car loan repayments, he said.