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ECONOMY & POLITICS

Market casts vote of confidence

Stimulus package and tourism relief sought

POST REPORTERS

Business leaders have overwhelmingly welcomed the selection of Abhisit Vejjajiva of the Democrat party as the country's next prime minister, saying they hope to see major changes in politics to help the country move forward.

Mr Abhisit is the third premier to be named this year after the exit of two others belonging to the dissolved People Power Party.

Santi Vilassakdanont, the chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), said he believed public confidence would vastly improve with the change in the main governing party.

Can one man make the difference? The business community is counting on Mr Abhisit to shore up the wobbling economy through quick action, stimulus packages, megaprojects and other steps. PATTANAPONG HIRUNARD

The next step, he said, would be for Mr Abhisit to quickly form his team and take action to improve the economy.

"The faster [the Democrats] are able to restore confidence, the more public support and trust there will be in their team. I want to see the new government pass the 100-billion-baht stimulus package as soon as possible," Mr Santi said.

Agriculture and small business were the two sectors needing urgent support, he said, while labour issues also needed to be addressed given the likelihood of job losses as the economy slows.

Tanit Sorat, an FTI vice-chairman, said Mr Abhisit represented the new generation in Thai politics. However, he noted that the gap in the vote between Mr Abhisit and Pracha Promnok, the choice of the Puea Thai Party, was quite narrow.

"If Mr Abhisit manages to gain more support from Mr Pracha, his administration will have more stability and we can expect more continuity in government work," Mr Tanit said.

He said that while Mr Abhisit may need to focus on national reconciliation, he also needed to quickly form a skilful team to manage economic policies.

Apichart Sankary, president of the Association of Thail Travel Agents (ATTA), said his members wanted the government to urgently introduce relief packages for the tourism industry such as tax holidays, reduced airport landing fees and visa waivers for some countries.

The country's image and confidence needed to be rebuilt urgently, said Dusit Nontanakorn, the vice-chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce.

Kobchai Chirathivat, CEO of the retail developer Central Pattana Plc, said stimulus measures should be the priority, particularly megaprojects. Corporate and personal income taxes should also be cut to spur consumer spending, and soft loans offered to help businesses.

However, scepticism persists about the makeup of the new cabinet, given the demands of the disparate groups that the Democrats had to attract in order to secure a parliamentary majority.

"We are not sceptical about the qualifications of candidates from the Democrat Party," said Pramon Suthivong, chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce. "What we are concerned about is the candidates from the coalition.

"The private sector is thus asking the new government for [cabinet] nominations to be primarily based on experience and capability."

Pornsil Patchrintanakul, the deputy secretary-general of the Chamber, added, "We can no longer tolerate more corruption."

Chookiat Ophaswongse, president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, hopes to see better co-operation in a Democrat-led government.

"What the private sector wants to see is teamwork among economic ministers," he said. "We are feeling better now that we've heard that Mr Abhisit will also lead the economic team of the new government."

Suphanee Dechaburananon, deputy chairman of the media company Group M, said she did not want to see "yucky" names in the new cabinet, particularly the economic ministries.

She said she would like to see a "dream team"of skilful hands, no matter what party they come from. She even sees a role for Somkid Jatusripitak, who served as finance minister under the ousted Thaksin Shinawatra.

"It could be something like what Obama has done for his cabinet,"she said.

The foreign business community also welcomed Mr Abhisit, expressing hope that he would appoint competent ministers.

"We welcome the new government," said Fukujiro Yamabe, president of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce in Bangkok. "I think he is capable of being prime minister."

Karl-Heinz Heckhausen, former president of the German-Thai Chamber of Commerce, said that economic stimulus measures would be the priority to minimise the number of people losing jobs.

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