Finance minister dismisses fears of Thai credit downgrade

Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira on Tuesday expressed optimism that Thailand would not face a credit rating downgrade, saying the kingdom still has strong potential for ongoing economic growth.
Credit rating providers usually look for continuity in each government’s work towards achieving its economic growth target, said Mr Pichai, who is also a deputy prime minister. Thailand, he said, has so far been demonstrating that fairly well.
Mr Pichai was responding to a recent analysis by a private-run economic and financial research centre that suggested Thailand risks being downgraded in the next credit ratings.
When comparing Thailand’s economy to neighbouring Malaysia, Mr Pichai said he saw no difference in their current economic situation and outlook, except for Thailand’s less precise information about new investments to come.
“If we could make clear about these new investment plans, I believe we will be able to attract a lot more investments,” he said.
The volume of investment privileges requested by foreign investors from the Board of Investment of Thailand (BOI) has reached a record high so far this year compared to the figures logged in the past decade, he said.
These investment privileges, however, normally take about three years to kick in from the time they are granted, he said, adding that the good news is that many investment privileges now are granted for technology businesses, which could possibly be implemented and yield economic benefits, including job creations, considerably faster.
Aside from these expected foreign investments, he said the government plans to roll out a new major infrastructure fund next and push to expedite the implementation of the 200-billion-baht highspeed train project connecting three airports, among other major investment projects.
He said the observation that Thailand will face a credit rating downgrade because its economy is projected to grow by less than 3% for many years to come was just one of many regarding the country’s economic outlook.