Junta chief appointed new Thai prime minister, industrial sentiment improves
Thailand’s junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha has been named the new prime minister of the country on August 21 in a legislature hand-picked by the junta and made up of mostly military and police figures. He was the only candidate and is expected to pick his new cabinet soon.
The junta is currently appointing a national reform council that would help to come up with a permanent constitution that would take effect by July 2015. General elections should take place at that time too.
Military rule, despite criticised by foreign nations and some of Thailand’s most important trading partners, have brought some sort of stability in the country, and while the Thai economy has taken a hit in the first half of 2014 as a result of month-long street protest that only ended in May when the military took over, the business climate is slowly improving.
Industrial sentiment in Thailand rose for a third straight month in July as the military government’s economic plans became more clear. The monthly Thai Industries Sentiment Index, from the Federation of Thai Industries, showed that sentiment rose to 89.7 last month from 88.4 in June. The Federation of Thai industries surveyed 1,147 industrial operators across the country.
The industry group said clearer government policies and improved political conditions contributed to the improved sentiment. Since taking power in May, Thailand’s ruling military junta has moved to implement fiscal-stimulus measures.
Thailand’s economy avoided a technical recession in the second quarter, with the help of export growth, improved consumption and spending from the state. Gross-domestic product grew 0.4% year-over-year and 0.9% from the previous quarter on a seasonally adjusted basis, the National Economic and Social Development Board said.
In addition, private and public investment showed signs of improvement from April to June. Still, local businesses want clearer policy implementation from the junta and quicker budget disbursement to strengthen investor confidence and bolster the economy, said Supant Mongkolsuthree, chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries.
HSBC recently cautioned that Thailand’s private investment remains weak, which partly reflects low capacity utilisation and weak export growth.
“The government may need to speed up public investment approvals to ensure growth support,” said Nalin Chutchotitham, an HSBC economist.
During the past three months, the Board of Trade of Thailand, which is chaired by General Prayuth Chan-ocha, approved 121 investment-incentive applications, worth 318.8 billion Thai baht, or about $9.9 billion.
Thailand's junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha has been named the new prime minister of the country on August 21 in a legislature hand-picked by the junta and made up of mostly military and police figures. He was the only candidate and is expected to pick his new cabinet soon. The junta is currently appointing a national reform council that would help to come up with a permanent constitution that would take effect by July 2015. General elections should take place at that time too. Military rule, despite criticised by foreign nations and some of Thailand's most important trading partners, have brought...
Thailand’s junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha has been named the new prime minister of the country on August 21 in a legislature hand-picked by the junta and made up of mostly military and police figures. He was the only candidate and is expected to pick his new cabinet soon.
The junta is currently appointing a national reform council that would help to come up with a permanent constitution that would take effect by July 2015. General elections should take place at that time too.
Military rule, despite criticised by foreign nations and some of Thailand’s most important trading partners, have brought some sort of stability in the country, and while the Thai economy has taken a hit in the first half of 2014 as a result of month-long street protest that only ended in May when the military took over, the business climate is slowly improving.
Industrial sentiment in Thailand rose for a third straight month in July as the military government’s economic plans became more clear. The monthly Thai Industries Sentiment Index, from the Federation of Thai Industries, showed that sentiment rose to 89.7 last month from 88.4 in June. The Federation of Thai industries surveyed 1,147 industrial operators across the country.
The industry group said clearer government policies and improved political conditions contributed to the improved sentiment. Since taking power in May, Thailand’s ruling military junta has moved to implement fiscal-stimulus measures.
Thailand’s economy avoided a technical recession in the second quarter, with the help of export growth, improved consumption and spending from the state. Gross-domestic product grew 0.4% year-over-year and 0.9% from the previous quarter on a seasonally adjusted basis, the National Economic and Social Development Board said.
In addition, private and public investment showed signs of improvement from April to June. Still, local businesses want clearer policy implementation from the junta and quicker budget disbursement to strengthen investor confidence and bolster the economy, said Supant Mongkolsuthree, chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries.
HSBC recently cautioned that Thailand’s private investment remains weak, which partly reflects low capacity utilisation and weak export growth.
“The government may need to speed up public investment approvals to ensure growth support,” said Nalin Chutchotitham, an HSBC economist.
During the past three months, the Board of Trade of Thailand, which is chaired by General Prayuth Chan-ocha, approved 121 investment-incentive applications, worth 318.8 billion Thai baht, or about $9.9 billion.
