In her weekly Empowering Thais programme on March 2 morning, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said the Southeast Asian country's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by only 2.5% last year because it had not invested substantially in new industries and had not prepared the people for future industries over the past decade.
Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra (Photo: Xinhua/VNA)
Bangkok (VNA) – Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has outlined what she thinks is causing Thailand's slow economic growth and promised her administration will complete its full term to speed up economic expansion.
In her weekly "Empowering Thais" programme on March 2 morning, the PM said the Southeast Asian country's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by only 2.5% last year because it had not invested substantially in new industries and had not prepared the people for future industries over the past decade.
She also urged the private sector to help the government develop the national economy. Paetongtarn said commercial banks should approve loans so that small- and medium-sized enterprises could increase their investment.
The leader said that budgetary constraints were also a cause of slow GDP growth because most of the national budget was spent on the government's fixed expenditure.
She said the government is trying to contain fixed payments, keep the remaining budget for investment and attract foreign investment.
Last year, foreign investors poured 1.13 trillio🦹n THB (33 billion USD) in projects in Thailand꧃ – the highest in a decade – and this year Google, TikTok and Nvidia would invest in the country, the PM said./.
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The Ministry of Commerce reported that imports also rose 18% to 29.9 billion USD during the same period, resulting in a trade surplus of 1.1 billion USD. In May alone, Thailand posted a 4.6 billion USD trade surplus with the US and a 4.1 billion USD trade deficit with China.
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