Thailand's Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has urged the country's banking industry to significantly boost financial support to the economy, with special focus on small and medium-sized businesses facing severe debt issues and challenges in obtaining credit.
Following Monday's senior-level discussions with the Thai Bankers' Association, the Prime Minister detailed the administration's critical requirement for banking sector collaboration to tackle what he characterized as Thailand's most urgent economic problems: debt burdens affecting SMEs and households, along with constrained lending opportunities.
The talks, conducted under the banner "Overcoming Crisis: Transforming Thailand's Economic Future with New Dynamics," assembled prominent economic officials such as Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas, Commerce Minister Suphajee Suthumpun, Energy Minister Auttapol Rerkpiboon, and Deputy Finance Minister Woraphat Thanyawong, together with Thai Bankers' Association Chairman Payong Srivanich and Thai Capital Market Business Council Chairman Kobsak Pootrakool.
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The appreciating baht has become a major worry, with government representatives characterizing its present course as misaligned with Thailand's underlying economic conditions.
Deputy Prime Minister Ekniti confirmed that initial task forces have been formed to tackle the baht's strengthening and capital influx challenges, including the troublesome "grey money" movements that need improved data integration to trace origins and develop focused remedies.
Drawing upon his experience as a former credit analyst at the Industrial Finance Corporation of Thailand (IFCT), Prime Minister Anutin highlighted his government's distinctive grasp of banking sector operations.
The administration's economic revival plan focuses on what Finance Minister Ekniti called "Quick Big Win" programs intended to produce prompt outcomes while building long-term viability.
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"I don't even know yet who's on the government side or the banker side," he remarked, noting that several cabinet members possess extensive finance and large-scale industry experience. "But I'm also a banker myself—I started at IFCT as a credit analysis officer."
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This strategy tackles Thailand's fundamental economic challenges, including ongoing household debt growth, through extensive SME funding support initiatives.