In the wake of Thailand’s 1997 financial crisis, Siam Cement Group, for example, decided to pull out of non-core businesses to boost its competitiveness after diversifying into several industries beyond cement and building materials, petrochemicals, and pulp and paper.
In other words, Siam Cement and other Thai conglomerates apparently over-invested during the economic boom years prior to the 1997 crisis, resulting in heavy debt burdens, especially in foreign currencies.
There were many corporate bankruptcies due to the sharp baht devaluation at that time, which led to big increases in corporate debts when paid back in the local currency.
The 1997 crisis also prompted many Thai companies to reduce their debt-to-equity ratios or financial leveraging.
These moves demonstrate that the philosophy of sufficiency economy is not about “self-sufficiency”, as is sometimes assumed.
The King said that businesses ought to make reasonable profits, but not excessive profit at the expense of others, while borrowing ought to be for productive activities.
In fact, sufficiency economy doctrine is business friendly since it encourages cash-rich enterprises and individuals to invest or spend their money according to their risk capabilities.
At the basic level, people should be financially independent, while farmers should turn to co-operatives to boost their collective bargaining power when dealing with other businesses.
At the advanced level, His Majesty cited the Pasak Cholasit Dam as an example of his doctrine. Originally, it was a project under the Royal Irrigation Department. But its sheer scale and the heavy investment required meant other agencies had to get involved and a big loan had to be arranged to finance the project.
The implementation of the project exemplified inter-agency cooperation as well as other features of the philosophy of sufficiency economy.
Several countries have also adopted the “green” economy concept which underlies sufficiency-economy thinking as exemplified by HM the King’s initiatives for artificial rain-making projects, and development of bio-fuels and Chaipattana aerators, among other Royal inventions.
These initiatives are aimed at protecting the environment as well as tackling social and economic problems at the grass-roots level.
In the era of digital economy and tech start-ups, the sufficiency-economy philosophy can also be applied in nurturing entrepreneurs and ensuring they are capable of recovering from failures and starting in business again.
The Royal initiatives are also consistent with the United Nations-sanctioned sustainable development goals as well as Western concepts of good corporate governance and corporate social responsibility.
Overall, these concepts are aimed at social well-being and environmental protection, while the Royal initiatives on the philosophy of sufficiency economy extend into the realm of spiritual well-being.

Yesterday was the first day of passenger van ban next to the landmark, which was a major transport hub for vans travelling from Bangkok to other provinces.
The government has ordered vans operating on routes from Bangkok to destinations outside the city to move to bus terminals to ease traffic congestion in the area. A free shuttle bus service to bus terminals has been provided while Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA)’s vans running within the city are still available.
But many passengers travelling to other provinces yesterday said they were left confused and inconvenienced by the change.
One 41-year-old passenger said his usual travel route to Chon Buri had been drastically altered, which made his journey more expensive.
“Now I have to go to Bang Na district for an interchange to Chon Buri. The ban has affected me very much, as I have to spend more time and money to reach my destination. I used to spend Bt140 to reach Chon Buri, but from now it will be up to Bt200,” he said.
Ploy Rawiwan, a student at Burapha University, said she had to change buses more often, with her journey to university taking an additional two hours and costing more.
“Today I left home at 5am, but by 8am I still had not reached the university. It was a long and very tiring journey. I am very upset by the van passenger ban at Victory Monument as this policy affects many people,” Ploy said.
A 62-year-old passenger, who was heading home to Amphur Damnoen Saduak in Ratchaburi province, said: “I am so confused that I have no idea how to go there. The ban makes my trip more complicated.”
A migrant worker, 35, from Sathon said he usually took a van from the Victory Monument to Hua Hin, but those vans now had been moved to Mo Chit 2 Bus Terminal, making him spend much more time on the road.
Frequent van passenger Paralee Leksakorn said she experienced a big delay in her journey to Samut Songkhram yesterday morning as she had to take a van from Mo Chit Bus Terminal instead of Victory Monument and wait in a long queue.
“I live in Ayutthaya and have to work in Samut Songkhram. From my home, I can get to Victory Monument in the same time as from Mo Chit Bus Terminal, but today there was a very long queue and my journey was delayed by two hours,” Paralee said.
BMTA public relations officer Booncherd Phochana said passengers heading to the Northern, Northeastern and Central provinces would now have to get vans in the Chatuchak (Mo Chit 2) bus terminal. Those heading to Eastern provinces have to go to Ekkamai bus terminal, and vans heading to Southern and Western provinces will be stationed in the Southern bus terminal on Boromarajonani Road.
Booncherd said the changes had been made in line with government policy to address the chronic traffic problem at the Victory Monument.
In order to relieve the inconvenience to passengers, BMTA bus operation assistant director Chamnan Yoosaard said they were providing free air-conditioned shuttle buses connecting Victory Monument to the various bus terminals.
Free buses to the Southern and Mo Chit terminals will be stationed in the Phahol Yothin Zone, while buses to Ekkamai terminal would pick up passengers in the Din Daeng Zone. All buses are available every 20 to 30 minutes from 5am to 8.30pm.

POLICE have busted two major drug gangs and jointly netted 600,000 “yaba” pills and two |kilograms of crystal meth, or “ice”.
Sing Buri resident Anurak Naksanit, 39, and his 42-year-old partner Urai Kaewthawee were arrested and 400,000 yaba pills seized at a checkpoint in Nakhon Sawan’s Banphot Pisai district at 4am yesterday, Highway Police chief Maj-General Somchai Kaosamran told a press conference.
Somchai said Anurak confessed that he had been asked by a drug-addict friend to transport drugs from Sing Buri to customers in the Samrong area of Samut Prakan and was about to deliver another batch to Uttaradit province using the friend’s car.
The suspect claimed he had agreed to transport the drugs for Bt50,000, half of which had already been transferred into his bank account.
Anurak, whom police said had been arrested twice before for drug use, said Urai had been unaware he was carrying drugs. He was charged with possessing illicit drugs with the intent to sell.
In the second case, a former member of the Tambon Pongsa Administration Organisation in Mae Hong Song’s Pai district was arrested – and 200,000 yaba pills and 2kg of crystal meth seized – in a police sting operation in Chiang Mai’s Muang district on Saturday.
Acting Provincial Police Region 5 chief Pol Maj-General Pulsap Prasertsak told a separate press conference yesterday that suspect Suchat Phahor, 39, would face charges of possessing illicit drugs with intent to sell and drug trafficking.
Pulsap said police had been trailing Suchat, a suspected member of a drug-dealing network, for a month before launching the sting operation to buy the drugs from him for Bt6.4 million.
As the drug delivery was carried out near a hospital on Saturday, police arrested Suchat. He allegedly then confessed to acquiring drugs from hilltribe people in Mae Hong Son and transferring the contraband into Chiang Mai on more than one occasion.
Police are now investigating possible accomplices in the trafficking network, including retail dealers.

The spokesman for the command’s committee to mobilise policy and strategy to solve problems in the Southern border provinces, Samphan Musordee, said a 13-strong team, led by Deputy Defence Minister General Udomdej Sitabutr, started work on October 12.
Samphan said the committee’s seven working plans included security and peace-promotion plans.
The operation is located in the Somdet Phra Suriyothai Military Camp in Pattani’s Nong Chik district.
Samphan said the team had met with the Sheikh ul Islam of Thailand to discuss guidelines for peace restoration.
He said the team would announce its results every Monday and report to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha weekly.
Meanwhile, six soldiers travelling on an armoured pick-up truck to visit local residents in Pattani’s Yaring district yesterday morning had a lucky escape after a 90-kilogram bomb buried in the road went off before the truck reached it.
The explosion caused a three-metre wide, two-metre deep crater in the road. The truck was damaged in the blast.
Police suspect that the bombing attack was carried out by insurgents in retaliation against state operations to arrest suspects.
Earlier yesterday, a team of police, military and defence volunteer personnel raided a house in Tambon Datoh in Nong Chik district and seized one M16 assault rifle and 51 bullets buried in the backyard. Two people found in the house were arrested.
In another development, at 3pm yesterday two suspected insurgents on a motorcycle shot dead Somprasong Jindamaneepol, 48, and his wife Thassanee, also 48, and wounded their employee Yuppadee Sae-ong at the couple’s construction-material shop on Pattan-Hat Yai Road in Nong Chik, police said.