Ministry sees surge in investment
The Finance Ministry is optimistic the private sector will step up its investment to the tune of 400 billion baht next year, a crucial driving force for economic growth. The amount of private investment will be nearly half of the 900 billion baht the state will be investing next year, permanent secretary for finance Somchai Sujjapongse said, adding the public investment spree will encourage private investment. Of the total, 300 billion baht will come from state enterprise investment, 190 billion from the mid-year budget and 390 billion from the government’s budget. If the government manages to push the private sector to invest, the Thai economy can grow at its full capacity of 4-5%, he said. Larger private investment is crucial to boost and sustain Thailand’s economic growth, and until recent years it had represented a bigger share of the country’s GDP than public investment.
