NRC aims for ‘developed’ nation status

Key to achieving goal is ‘suppressing graft’

The National Reform Council’s (NRC) economic reform committee is proposing to work out a strategic plan to turn Thailand into a developed country within 17 years.

By 2032, the average income per head per month would be 40,000 baht while the gross domestic product (GDP), a key indicator of economic growth, would be 6.5% per year, according to Suthas Sethaboonsang, deputy chairman of the NRC’s economic reform committee.

He was speaking at a seminar yesterday on reforming Thailand into a developed country.

According to its target, the lowest paid would earn at least 15,000 baht per month each on average, compared with the current lowest average income of 4,000 baht per month, Mr Suthas said.

By then, all members of the public would have fair access to basic public utilities, life security and safety, he said.

At least 90% of the population would have sound knowledge of finance and basic computer skills as Thailand becomes a business hub of Asean, he said.

A key approach to achieve the goal of transforming Thailand into a developed nation ranked in the world’s top 10 countries with high competitiveness was suppressing corruption, he said.

Mr Suthas, however, admitted Thailand still lacked clear national strategies, effective infrastructure, highly skilled labour, sustainable politics and unity and clarity in the implementation of key policies.

And if the country continues to be left in this stage, its economy will by 2020 lose its ranking of second in Asean and drop to fourth, he said.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecast Asian nations will in the next five years contribute to 45% of global economic growth and the region is projected to share up to 38% of global GDP, he said.

Asia will by that time be home to 60% of the global population, or about 4.2 billion, who will earn a better average income, he said.

The NRC’s economic reform committee will propose grouping existing industries in Thailand into three main industry clusters.

A “security cluster” will consist of four industries — food production, energy, finance and transport, he said.

A “prosperity cluster” will comprise seven industries: Trade, tourism, construction, logistics and transport, auto, real estate and electronics, he said.

A “transformation cluster” will consist of three industries: Textile and apparel, steel, and chemicals, he said.

Aside from clustering these industries to catch up with the changing global market, Asean and border trade strategies would be needed to spur Thailand’s trade with Asean that currently accounts for 25% of Thailand’s international trade value, he said.

If China, Japan and Korea step up their trade activity with South Asia, the value of border trade will grow even more, which underlines the importance of the strategies which Thailand should put into place to elevate it into developed nation status.

The strategies should be presented as a 20-year plan that can be adjusted every five years, he said. The national committee of up to 40 members will lead development of these economic strategies.