At the “Thailand Next: The Successor, Bridging Generations for the Future” seminar, held by Prachachat news for its 50th anniversary celebration, Dr. Santitarn Sathirathai, Vice Minister of Finance, highlighted key obstacles and solutions for the nation’s future growth. He compared the Thai economy to a ship with a strong legacy but now facing three main challenges.
The first challenge, the “old engine,” is Thailand’s slowing GDP growth, which has dropped from 5 – 6% to below 3% annually due to structural issues, especially the effects of an aging workforce. Dr. Santitarn underscored the urgency to improve productivity via technology investments and workforce reskilling while advancing into future-forward industries like AI, green, and longevity economies.
The second is “fractures and vulnerabilities,” particularly in energy security. Thailand’s heavy dependence on imported oil and gas means global price swings quickly impact the nation’s economy, underlying the country’s energy efficiency disadvantages.
The third challenge is “giant waves in new waters,” with Thailand facing shocks from global energy crises, rising inflation (possibly spiking to 4-5%), and weakened purchasing power, compounded by a lack of financial buffers, high household debt (87% of GDP), and SME liquidity strains.
Dr. Santitarn described a global shift from an “Efficiency First” era toward a “Security First” paradigm, focusing on risk diversification in supply chains. This shift presents both challenges and opportunities, seen in continuous FDI inflows into emerging sectors in Thailand—such as AI, electronics, green energy, and healthcare.
He outlined the government’s “5T” strategy to address these issues: Target (precise group support), Transition (reduce energy risk), Transform (economic transformation), Transparent (boost transparency), and Together (cross-sector collaboration). Ongoing efforts include the green economy, clean energy, smart grids, EVs, and workforce skills development to further integrate Thailand into the global modern economy.
