Interview: Piyasvasti Amranand What impact have recently depressed oil prices had on Thailand as a net energy importer, and what is your outlook on price stabilisation? PIYASVASTI AMRANAND: Thailand is indeed the largest net importer of energy in ASEAN, with 55% of our commercial energy consumption being imported. Oil price volatility has certainly had an impact. For example, in 2014 the value of…
Interview: Areepong Bhoocha-oom What changes must be made to Thailand’s power generation infrastructure to accommodate anticipated rises in demand? AREEPONG BHOOCHA-OOM: Demand for power in Thailand has traditionally risen in line with GDP growth, with a 1% increase in national GDP correlating with 1% growth in electricity use. However, when you take case studies of more advanced economies this…
Interview: Naporn Sunthornchitcharoen How do you assess the current disparity between the high-, medium- and low-end residential markets in terms of demand and pricing? NAPORN SUNTHORNCHITCHAROEN: Over the past two or three years, due to the nation’s overall economic situation, the Thai public’s income has been impacted and the effects of this are evident especially in the medium-to-low end side…
Interview: Virapatna Thakolsri How is ASEAN harmonising regulatory standards for drugs and pharmaceutical products? VIRAPATNA THAKOLSRI: While the member states of ASEAN have been discussing the harmonisation of pharmaceutical standards for quite some time, this initiative admittedly has not been moving forward as quickly as we hoped. Although the region has made strides in bringing standards in…
Interview: Sanpachai Huvanandana How can Thailand tap into the booming telecoms market of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by investing in regional infrastructure? SANPACHAI HUVANANDANA: The Thai telecoms sector must take advantage of the high rates of digital growth being experienced around the region. As CAT Telecom manages the nation’s international telecoms infrastructure, we are expanding…
Interview: Chatchai Sarikulya How is the agricultural sector responding to the challenges posed by changing workforce demographics, and what part can technology play? CHATCHAI SARIKULYA: The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MOAC) is addressing these important challenges through a number of measures, including working to improve farm efficiency and adding value to agricultural products, as…
Interview: Roongrote Rangsiyopash How would you assess the rate of domestic demand recovery for key industrial products? ROONGROTE RANGSIYOPASH: The performance and outlook for industrial demand in Thailand has been very mixed in recent years. Over the past decade Thailand has gone through several crises, both economically and politically, with the changes in government resulting in policy instability.…
Interview: Kanit Sangsubhan What industries are being targeted for development in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC)? KANIT SANGSUBHAN: There are 10 main industries being promoted as the key driving forces of sustainable economic growth. This entails upgrading five existing industries: automotive; smart electronics; advanced agriculture and biotechnology; food processing; and tourism. Five new industries…
Interview: Markus Lorenzini What role can multinational companies play in developing innovative industries in line with the government’s Thailand 4.0 initiative? MARKUS LORENZINI: Thailand’s government has approved a 20-year digitalisation plan consisting of six focal points: hard infrastructure, soft infrastructure, digital economic acceleration, service infrastructure, digital society and a…
Interview: Sanpachai Huvanandana How can Thailand tap into the booming telecoms market of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by investing in regional infrastructure? SANPACHAI HUVANANDANA: The Thai telecoms sector must take advantage of the high rates of digital growth being experienced around the region. As CAT Telecom manages the nation’s international telecoms infrastructure, we are expanding…
