Dr. Santithar meets with 20 global institutional investors, outlining plans to build confidence in the Thai economy.

Dr. Santithar, leading the Ministry of Finance team, met with 20 global institutional investors, highlighting the 5T strategy and 3 key pillars to drive new investments and clean energy, thereby building confidence in the Thai economy.

10 Jul 2569 Mr. Santithar Sathienthai, Assistant Minister of Finance. along with Mr. Warothai Kosolpisitkul, International Economic Advisor, Fiscal Policy Office. On July 8, 2569, a meeting was held with leading institutional investors in Singapore to exchange views on the direction of the Thai economy, fiscal policy, investment, energy transition, and opportunities for Thailand in global supply chains, amidst a global economy facing uncertainty from geopolitical factors, energy price volatility, and technological changes.

in this regard Mr. Santithar met with representatives from GIC Private Limited (GIC) to exchange views on the economic trends in Thailand and the region. This article examines long-term investment opportunities in Thailand and its role as a Strategic Connector Economy—an economy capable of stably connecting trade, investment, supply chains, and regional cooperation.

In addition, Mr. Santithar participated in discussions with UBS Investment Bank (UBS) and nearly 20 global institutional investors investing in Thailand and the ASEAN region. These investors encompassed both bond and equity markets, including BlackRock, PIMCO Capital International, JP Morgan Asset Management, Invesco, Schroders, Janus Henderson, and Pictet Group, as well as other leading fund and asset managers, to exchange direct views on Thailand's economic trends and policy direction.

The discussions covered key issues of interest to foreign investors. This includes macroeconomic trends, fiscal sustainability, monetary policy direction and the Thai baht exchange rate, new investment cycles, attracting foreign direct investment (FDI), future industries, energy, the digital economy and artificial intelligence, as well as approaches to enhance Thailand's competitiveness.

Mr. Santithar clarified the direction of Thailand's economic policy, which can be summarized in three main points:

1. Building confidence in the fundamentals of the Thai economy and macroeconomic stability.

Mr. Santithar stated that the Thai economy still has strong macroeconomic stability fundamentals, including its external position, international reserves, financial system, and manageable inflation levels. This provides Thailand with policy room to cope with global economic volatility.

However, Thailand still faces significant structural challenges, including economic growth below its potential, investment that has not yet fully returned to a new investment cycle, household debt problems, and energy vulnerability due to being a net energy importer. Therefore, the government's policy direction focuses on "maintaining stability today and investing for the future" simultaneously, in order to enable the Thai economy to cope with short-term shocks while enhancing its long-term growth potential.

2. The 5T Strategy and measures to address the energy crisis coupled with the energy transition.

Mr. Santithar emphasized that the Ministry of Finance uses the 5T strategy as a key framework for designing economic policies: Target – providing targeted assistance to the public, vulnerable groups, small businesses, and SMEs, while reducing broad subsidies that may distort market mechanisms; Transition – accelerating the energy transition to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and increase energy security; Transform – creating new economic engines and upgrading investment; Transparent – ​​maintaining fiscal discipline, increasing spending efficiency, and enhancing transparency; and Together – mobilizing cooperation from the government, private sector, investors, and capital markets to translate policies into tangible economic outcomes.

Regarding measures to address the impact of the energy crisis and the country's energy transition, Mr. Santithar stated that the government's approach is not merely to mitigate short-term effects, but to use the situation as an opportunity to restructure the economy. This involves providing targeted assistance to citizens, farmers, small business owners, and SMEs, coupled with accelerating investment in clean energy, renewable energy power generation, smart grid systems, improving energy efficiency, transitioning to electric vehicles and other clean energy vehicles, and developing workforce skills to support the future clean energy economy.

Mr. Santithar also emphasized that the implementation of these measures will prioritize the necessity, readiness, cost-effectiveness, and outcomes of the projects, in order to maximize the benefits of government spending, ensure transparency and accountability, and lead to a tangible and sustainable reduction in the country's energy vulnerability.

3. Driving a new round of investment and enhancing the country's competitiveness.

Mr. Santithar said that: Enhancing the potential of the Thai economy requires driving a new round of investment through three main pillars:

• The first pillar Strategic public investment, utilizing infrastructure as a mechanism to stimulate and attract private sector investment, will be channeled through government budgets, state enterprise investments, local administrative organizations, infrastructure funds, and PPP mechanisms. The focus will be on investments that can be leveraged for further private sector investment, such as power grid systems and infrastructure supporting clean energy.
• The second pillar Attracting high-quality foreign direct investment (FDI) through the Board of Investment (BOI), particularly in emerging economy industries such as digital technology, data centers, artificial intelligence, smart electronics, semiconductors, electric vehicles, and green industries, will be prioritized. This includes promoting the BOI Fast Pass system to expedite the conversion of investment promotion applications into actual investments, and focusing on the quality of investment, including the creation of highly skilled jobs, technology transfer, connecting Thai entrepreneurs to global supply chains, and creating added value domestically.
• The third pillar Unlocking private sector investment in Thailand requires clear policy direction, continuity of economic direction, and mechanisms for public-private partnerships to address regulatory and business obstacles. The government will prioritize close collaboration with the private sector to accelerate projects impacting investment, employment, and national competitiveness. This includes expediting investment projects in target industries and upgrading investment facilitation mechanisms through BOI One Stop Service and the Super License law. The aim is to build private sector confidence for long-term investment, expand production capacity, and link new investments with quality employment and improved economic productivity.

Mr. Santithar It was further stated that: The government's fiscal policy will be based on the principles of Growth, Efficiency, and Discipline. This means creating structural growth to enhance economic potential and government revenue; improving the efficiency of spending and revenue collection through digital systems and data utilization; and maintaining fiscal discipline in the medium term. This ensures that Thailand retains sufficient fiscal space to address future risks while appropriately using fiscal policies to support long-term growth.

This meeting and discussion with leading institutional investors... This reflects the proactive role of the Ministry of Finance in communicating the direction of the Thai economy to the international investment community, strengthening foreign investor confidence, and positioning Thailand as a stable, highly interconnected economy ready to move forward into a new investment cycle driven by clean energy, technology, high-value industries, and concrete public-private partnerships.

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