Speaking on the topic “Transfor-ming into a Sustainable Economy”, Somchai Jitsuchon, research director at the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI), said that before moving to Thailand 4.0, “people must be 4.0 first”.
Examining the structure of the Thai population, people aged from 35 to 60 account for half of the labour force, yet a great many of them are not well educated, he said.
This is a challenge for the country in moving towards Thailand 4.0, as people in this category rarely know about disruptive technology, besides the government has no clear policy for getting them to participate in the Thailand 4.0 process, he added.
Policymakers should have a strategy for this segment of the population, and the TDRI recommends that the government pursue an integrated agricultural approach, which is part of the sufficiency-economy philosophy of the late monarch, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, to educate these people to make them self-sufficient, Somchai told the seminar.
If they can be self-reliant, they will not be a burden on younger people, who will form the key element of the workforce in the Thailand 4.0 era, he explained.
Another strategy that is essential for the younger generation, who represent 20-30 per cent of the labour force, is on-the-job training, the research director said.
Most current training is not adequate for dealing with modern businesses, he pointed out. He added that properly focused programmes were seen only in large companies, while small and medium-sized business pay less attention to the training of their employees because of a fear over the potential turnover of staff after they complete the courses.
Sanchai Apisaksirikul, managing director and country head of finance and corporate services at United Overseas Bank (Thai), told the seminar that people were crucial to sustainable business. UOB therefore attaches importance to developing its employees in terms of both knowledge and morale, as it believes that these factors enable them to better offer the right products and services to customers.
Banking is a sector in which complaints about the sales force show up in key performance indicators, which is why UOB (Thai) has made employee morale another KPI, he explained.
“People development has no need to wait for educational or infrastructure development, and we believe all people and all organisations can start from themselves – and that Thailand can become a sustainable economy,” he said.
Yodphot Wongrukmit, senior executive vice president of Bangchak Petroleum, said his company had created core values to run a sustainable business, and that Bangchak today was not only a refinery operator, but had also diversified into other businesses to deal with future change.
“If Bangchak ran only an oil-refinery business, we would not survive,” he said.

He said on the sidelines of seminar on the economic outlook for 2017 hosted by Krungthep Turakij newspaper and NOW26 channel yesterday that the BOT had not yet seen any unusual movements in the exchange rate or the capital and financial markets, reflecting that the fundamentals of the economy and the financial institutions were strong. However, the BOT will closely monitor the situation to ensure this stability continues.
Both local and foreign investors are confident in Thai economy, as reflected in the Stock Exchange of Thailand, which has been able to rebound quickly, he said.
He said the BOT was also cooperating with banks on the issue of commemorative banknotes honouring King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died on October 13, to prevent speculation.
In his speech at the seminar, Veerathai said Thailand was facing challenges arising from external as well as internal factors.
The internal challenges are the inequality of revenue and opportunity, and technological development that is not dealing with the rapid changes in global market.
Thailand’s economy will steadily recover, and this growth will be more stable than that of several emerging markets and several key industrialised markets because Thailand has buffers against volatility arising from external factors.
Moreover, the strength of its financial institutions, the low level of unemployment, and ongoing national reforms will be key fundamentals to help improve productivity.
The sustainable-development philosophy of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej will be an important guide to lead the country through the challenges it faces, but all people should embrace this way and not leave this responsibility to the government, Veerathai said.

Traders from Iraq and Iran will also be invited to visit Thailand in order to restore their confidence to buy Thai rice after suspending its import for many years. They will be allowed to inspect rice plantations and mills here.
Duangporn Rodphaya, director-general of the Foreign Trade Department, said countries to be visited soon included Malaysia and Indonesia, which are major rice importers. The ministry will also join the Philippines’ tender for 250,000 tonnes of rice, which is to open soon.
She said that although the main harvest season had started, the market price for rice had not dropped much. China’s recent agreement to import 100,000 tonnes of Thai rice under a government-to-government project and the Philippines’ purchase of 100,000 tonnes under a previous tender showed that overseas markets still had high demand for rice.
She said the current price of paddy rice was about Bt8,000 per tonne. Prices of domestic rice should not fall much as some have feared.
Besides setting up overseas missions, the ministry will invite international rice traders to visit Thailand in order to boost export opportunities.
The ministry is scheduled to conduct a business-matching event for Thai traders and international rice buyers next month. International traders that have confirmed they will join the event are from Japan, the United States, Singapore, Hong Kong, mainland China and the Philippines.
To promote rice sales and encourage innovation in the rice industry, the government will host a “Thailand Rice Convention” from May 28-30 next year.
The ministry has reported that the price of 5 per cent white Thai rice is currently US$372 per tonne, while Vietnamese rice is $348 and Indian rice $350 per tonne.
The government has 8.4 million tonnes of rice remaining in its stockpiles.
From January 1 to October 18, Thai rice export increased by 8.1 per cent in volume to 7.9 million tonnes, while value rose 8.4 per cent year on year to Bt126.73 billion.

After chairing the opening ceremony for the “Creative Thailand 2016” exhibition, Somkid said foreign investors were currently keeping a close eye on whether the Kingdom suffers a loss of confidence.
He insisted that the government would press ahead with investment projects and policies to drive the country’s economic growth, and also called for private enterprises to continue their businesses and investment plans.
“More investment will come to the Kingdom in the future if foreign investors acknowledge that Thailand will continue to grow. All sectors could adopt the sufficiency-economy philosophy, as well as the creative economy, to drive sustainable growth,” he added.
The deputy PM said the government was also paying high attention to the creative-economy policy.
Many policies of the current military-led regime relate to the creative economy, including “Thailand 4.0”, the digital economy and “Start-up Thailand”, as the government is fully aware that such developments will help drive the country’s growth in a sustainable way, he explained.
All of these policies will be effective if both the government and private sectors coordinate their efforts and adopt creativity and innovation in their plans, he said.
“In the future, if we want to create innovation, we must establish five or six clusters, and allow local and international entrepreneurs to participate in them. However, thought leadership, educational reform, investment in museums, art and culture centres, and in hard and soft infrastructure, as well as funding support, are all key factors in the success of the clusters,” Somkid said.
Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, vice president of administration and strategic support at the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau, said the bureau was also taking part in the “Creative Thailand” initiative, demonstrating how the MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) sector would support the creative economy through the target clusters.
Meanwhile, the “Bangkok International Gift Fair and Bangkok International Houseware Fair” (BIG & BIH 2016)” kicked off yesterday and runs until Sunday at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre (Bitec) in Bang Na district.
The show, which is the largest international lifestyle-products trade-negotiation platform in Asean, is also accepted as an outstanding event featuring creativity.
Malee Choklumlerd, director-general of the Commerce Ministry’s International Trade Promotion Department, said the event was expected to attract more than 60,000 potential buyers, with the goal of generating a purchase-sales value of more than Bt1.5 billion.
“Creative Thailand 2016” is being held at the same time as BIG & BIH, and in conjunction with the major fair.
BIG & BIH has gathered more than 500 companies and 1,300 booths over an area of more than 40,000 square metres to showcase gift and houseware firms’ capacity by exhibiting achievements with outstanding design, creativity and quality for domestic and foreign buyers.
The major event has been organised under the concept of “Asean Life + Style” to reinforce Thailand’s outstanding significance as a hub for trade and lifestyle products, she said.
“Foreseeing a global economic recovery in 2017, BIG&BIH, which is being held later than normal this year, will attract more interest from buyers than in the previous year. This year, global buyers from America, Japan, [mainland] China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, South Korea, India, Germany and the United Kingdom will attend the event.
“About 60,000 visitors are expected to join the fair, with about 10,000 visitors coming on business negotiation days and 50,000 for retail sales days during the weekend,” the director-general added.
The “Creative Thailand 2016” event, meanwhile, is being hosted under the “Think Big” concept “to dare to think, do, create and build the country”.
It includes several zones to allow visitors to get a full picture of what the creative economy in Thailand is all about.
Zone 1 – “Baht and Brain” – gives a general overview of what makes up the creative economy, while Zone 2 – “Creative World” – has attractions to inspire creativity.
Zone 3, meanwhile, showcases the “Creative District” with a range of interesting exhibitions and fun activities.
A 30-square-metre circular cinema will screen motion-graphic documentaries on eight top destinations in Thailand that have creatively turned local values into tourism earnings without compromising the cultural integrity of the local people.

If household debt reaches 100 per cent of gross domestic product, it would be regarded as a crisis point for the country, he told a symposium on “Thailand, a New Decade of Economic Reforms under AEC Cooperation” organised by Bangkok Bank.
The government is shifting the country from relying on exports to riding domestic consumption because the global economy does not support exports. However, the government should not abandon exports, but should proceed in parallel with trends in international trade because some markets are still growing, he said.
The problem of the Thai economy right now is low private investment, Supachai said. Even though the government has attempted to build infrastructure to lure private investment and has also set up special economic zones, private investment is not likely to follow.
The government should find out why, so that it can offer supportive measures to private investors, while the private sector should outline the real reasons for lacking interest in investing in the country.
On the sidelines of the forum, he said investment flows into Thailand and elsewhere in Asean would be seen if the countries in the region could stabilise |their geopolitical situations.
The geopolitical issue is a serious factor disrupting Asean integration. Foreign investors are ready to pull out if they see such issues in those countries as posing a problem.
Even though Asean countries have melded themselves as the Asean Economic Community, some of them have also separately joined the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. This does not comply with the objective of Asean integration, according to Supachai.
Geopolitical instability in Asean holds back its ability to drive the global economy, |even though it is the seventh-largest region of the world economy.
Asean should focus more on the establishment of a code of conduct for currency exchange in each country to prevent volatility, he said.
Supachai said Thailand must resign itself to economic gloom this quarter, but the government has time to develop economic growth.
Kobsak Pootrakool, vice minister of the Prime Minister’s Office, said the government had three more measures to stimulate the economy through to the first quarter of 2017. The measures involve the greying population, social enterprises and tourism.
The government believes these measures will help the economy to expand, as the economy might be sluggish because of internal factors.
The government has maintained its GDP growth forecast for this year at 3-3.5 per cent, but people are in mourning, and not in the mood for spending.
“It’s too early to say GDP in the fourth quarter will drop from the third quarter because we have to monitor the export situation,” Kobsak said.
“If exports are able to pick |up, it will help drive economic growth in the fourth quarter of this year.”

During the harvest season,which starts next month.
Winichai Chaemchaeng, vice minister for commerce, said the upcoming harvest season from November to April was expected to yield 31 million tonnes of cassava. “During the peak season from January to April, about 21 million tonnes of cassava is expected to be harvested, so export prices should be set,” he said.
The minimum export price will be effective from November 1 to April 30.
The minimum will be $320 FOB (free on board) for tapioca starch, and $180 for tapioca chip. Exporters should also have stockpile ratio of 1:1.5, meaning that if they plan to export 1 tonne of cassava, they need to have 1.5 tonnes stockpiled in the warehouse.
The government will stringently control imports of cassava, only allowing imports from neighbouring countries through permanent border checkpoints.
Moreover, the ministry has asked ethanol producers to buy fresh cassava at Bt1.90 per kilo (for 25 per cent humid). Ethanol producers will be able to purchase 13,000 tonnes of fresh cassava.
The Commerce Ministry has also asked for the Energy Ministry to encourage the use of gasohol.
Farmers will be encouraged to delay harvesting while prices are low. The average price of cassava should be above Bt2 per kilo.
Other measures include a two-year debt moratorium, and decreasing interest rates. The Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperative will also provide soft loans of Bt20,000 for cassava farmers charging interest of only a 0.5 per cent per annum.
To encourage cassava export, the ministry will set up a business-matching activity to link domestic traders with foreign buyers. The activity is scheduled for November 13-16 in Bangkok.
The ministry will also conduct a roadshow to promote tapioca imports by many countries, including India, South Korea and Japan.

THE Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations has announced that Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn has graciously agreed to represent the organisation as a Special Ambassador for Zero Hunger.
The announcement was made during a special presentation to the Princess at a ceremony to mark the 36th World Food Day at the FAO’s regional office for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok.
Achieving a world of zero hunger by 2030 is one of the Sustainable Development Goals developed and agreed by the international community.
“The acceptance of Her Royal Highness to represent the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation as a Special Ambassador for Zero Hunger will greatly improve awareness of both policymakers and the public of what, collectively, we must do to achieve a world without hunger,” said Kundhavi Kadiresan, assistant director-general and FAO regional representative for Asia and the Pacific.
“With political will and commitment we can be the zero-hunger generation.”
Her Royal Highness has long been a champion of projects to end hunger and improve nutrition, not only in Thailand but also in other countries of the Asia-Pacific region, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Laos and East Timor.
It was because of the many years devoted by Her Royal Highness in the fight against hunger and support for improvements to nutrition that FAO director-general Jose Graziano da Silva proposed the role of FAO Special Ambassador for Zero Hunger.
The FAO’s most recent estimates indicate there are nearly 800 million undernourished people in the world. The Asia-Pacific region is home to most, with 490 million not receiving enough calories to live healthy lives.
While hunger is a major issue, poor nutrition is another, with bad diets leading to micronutrient deficiency and stunting in children. Obesity is also a serious concern in many countries, affecting both adults and children.
The Asia-Pacific region has made great strides over the past quarter-century to reduce hunger. Nearly 24 per cent of the population was hungry in 1990. By the end of 2015, that percentage had been reduced by half, to around 12 per cent, although some parts of the region, particularly countries in South Asia, had lagged behind.
The FAO works with its member countries to help improve and protect food systems, ensure better nutrition and healthy consumption, and adapt agricultural practices to a changing climate in order to feed a growing world population.

HOLDING down the cost of living and ensuring fairness to consumers during the national mourning period is a government priority, said Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, who has instructed the Commerce Ministry to set up a unit to monitor prices every week.
Somkid said Prime Minister Prayut Chan o-cha would lead the Cabinet meeting today as usual, and the cost of living would be at the top of the agenda.
The government will also find measures to stimulate the economy as the nation grieves and people are in no mood to spend their money.
“The government is seriously concerned about the cost of living. The [new Commerce Ministry unit] will report the prices of goods nationwide, and ensure that traders and manufacturers do not overcharge,” Somkid said.
The ministry has been instructed to set up a cost-monitoring office in each of the seven regions of the country in order to decentralise the effort to keep prices in check.
The regional offices will also promote start-up enterprises in each province. As well, the government will promote the “One Tambon, One Smart Farmer” scheme as a way to promote efficiency in trading and marketing at the farm level.
Somkid said he would lead a delegation of businesspeople to Vietnam next month for the ACMECS (Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy) meeting and for bilateral meetings with Vietnamese enterprises.
He will also lead a team of officials to Beijing late this year for a meeting of the Thai-China Joint Committee on Trade, Investment, and Economic Cooperation. The team will seek cooperation with China in various sectors, with an emphasis on increasing Thai e-commerce competency.

Claude Jentgen, charge d’affaires of the Embassy of Luxembourg in Vientiane, the Development Cooperation Office for Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, and Pham Tuan Phan, chief executive officer of the MRC Secretariat, formally exchanged the signed grant agreement recently in Vientiane.
This is the second grant to the MRC by this Western European country since 2011.
“Recognising the MRC’s pivotal role with regard to regional cooperation in the Mekong River Basin, Luxembourg has provided continued support to the commission since 2011, including to the Climate Change and Adaptation Initiative,” Jentgen said.
“Indeed, many of the core challenges in the river basin, especially with regard to climate change and hydropower development, can only be addressed effectively and sustainably through informed cooperation among riparian countries, and the MRC provides competent and effective support to its member states to this end.”
During the last strategic cycle of 2011-2015, Luxembourg’s contribution directly supported the implementation of the Climate Change and Adaptation Initiative and the MRC’s flagship study on sustainable management and development of the Mekong River, including the impact of mainstream hydropower projects.
For the strategic cycle of 2016-2020, Luxembourg’s grant along with other donors’ contributions will be put into the MRC’s basket of funds for implementation of this new five-year strategic plan.
“Cooperation between Luxembourg and MRC began in 2011,” Pham Tuan Phan said. We appreciate Luxembourg’s continued support to strengthen regional cooperation in the management of shared water resources. It would [will] help us to achieve the MRC’s strategic goals for sustainable development in the region.”
During 2016-2020 strategic cycle, the MRC will focus its work on four key areas. They are strengthening regional cooperation, improving monitoring and communication of conditions in the basin, enhancing national plans and projects, and turning the MRC into a leaner, more efficient river-basin organisation.
The MRC strives to serve as the region’s only river-basin organisation that supports sustainable management and development of shared water resources for the member countries’ mutual benefit and well-being of 65 million people living in the basin.
The MRC was established by a 1995 agreement among Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.
It serves as a regional platform for water diplomacy as well as a knowledge hub of water resources management for the sustainable development of the region. It is not a supra-national or regulatory body. The commission looks across all sectors including sustaining fisheries, identifying opportunities for agriculture, maintaining the freedom of navigation, enhancing flood management and preserving important ecosystems.