Loan will spur economy, investment forum told | Bangkok Post: business

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State investment 'will boost economy'

The government’s planned two trillion baht investment in infrastructure development megaprojects would boost economic growth by another 1% annually over the next 7-8 years, Fiscal Policy Office director-general Somchai Sajjapongse said on Friday.

Speaking at a forum on “Investment Strategy for Thailand’s Future”, Mr Somchai said that in some years the investments in these projects could create additional economic growth of 1.3 per cent to 1.5 per cent per year.

Such a huge investment could also have some negative impacts. For example, inflation is likely to increase by an extra 0.16 per cent a year, but this was still low and it would not affect economic stability.

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Your comments

  • Renaissance

    ThailandPost : 1,783

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    Discussion 19 : 09 Mar 2013 at 14.1719

    Discussion 18 has made such an obvious point. Who is going to use the expensive high speed trains? At Songkran, for example, does anyone really think that the Isaan people are going to travel home on an expensive high speed train ticket instead of a cheap tour bus? The trains will surely travel very empty indeed. I think that the project is just an opportunity to get under-the-table money.

  • kasper

    ThailandPost : 602

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    Discussion 18 : 09 Mar 2013 at 11.4118

    I wonder if anyone in the PTP government has evaluated the economy in high speed trains once they are built?
    High speed train tickets for long trips are not cheap, at least not if the train operator is supposed to at least break even.
    It will probably not be cheaper than driving ones own car the same distance, or flying for that matter, especially if more than one person is in the car, and it will be alot more expensive than the bus.
    In rich countries where time is more important than the price, especially due to high salaries, this may work, but most Thais find cost more important than travel time.
    I bet noone thought of this!

  • bikeme

    ThailandPost : 1,100

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    Discussion 17 : 09 Mar 2013 at 11.0517

    And these new investments are being brought to us by the same geniuses that created the current rice scheme and the one tablet per student policies that have been so successful ?

  • kena

    United StatesPost : 573

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    Discussion 16 : 09 Mar 2013 at 10.1616

    Thai mega-projects are to under-the-table pay-offs - what shoes are to socks.
    Plus, it's too bad the mega-projects aren't well planned and designed. Will one of them be Thaksin's proposal to pump Bangkok flood water hundreds of Km uphill to Issan?

  • DonAleman

    ThailandPost : 519

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    Discussion 15 : 09 Mar 2013 at 10.1315

    We have all heard, many times, "You have to spend money to make money " but, I think you must first have the money to spend, not borrow it as the US has done and now is having great difficulty in making repayment.

  • bkk-farang

    ThailandPost : 2,284

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    Discussion 14 : 09 Mar 2013 at 09.1014

    It seems many Thai politicians are interested to enrich themselves at whatever cost. For them mega-projects are good as long as they get enough money out of them. If the projects are useful or not, who of them cares?
    Where are the anti-corruption policies from this government? How maybe corrupt politicians and state employees are in jail? That should be the highest priority of any government.
    Without corruption tax payers money would be used for the benefit of the whole country and mega projects would only be approved if they make sense.
    But what can we expect from a government which is led by a criminal fugitive?

  • Renaissance

    ThailandPost : 1,783

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    Discussion 13 : 09 Mar 2013 at 08.4713

    I think we know what is going to happen. 35%(+??) of the trillions of Baht borrowed will end up in corruption and the government will need to borrow maybe twice the amount requested as it won't be enough anymore. Excuses will be given, more will be borrowed, and Thailand's debt will be huge. Meanwhile a lot of Thais will join the Forbes List of the wealthiest people in the world. I suggest that no money is lent until the government can show over 5 years that it has reduced the 35%(+??) corruption down to, say, 5%. At least this is manageable.

  • drsmith

    ThailandPost : 1,571

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    Discussion 12 : 09 Mar 2013 at 08.3712

    "The government would maintain fiscal discipline". When has the Thai government ever maintained fiscal discipline with huge amounts of money?"

  • oldairman

    ThailandPost : 724

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    Discussion 11 : 09 Mar 2013 at 07.4511

    Prasong Poonthanes, director-general of the State Enterprise Policy Office, said that a total of four trillion baht was needed to finance the Transport Ministry’s infrastructure megaprojects.
    Of the total, two trillion baht would be derived from loans and the remaining two trillion would come from the government budget and investment by state enterprises and the private sector.
    So the REAL cost is to be 4 Tr baht and the corruption tax of 30% of that is about 1.3 TR baht which will be STOLEN from the country. How many schools and education projects, hospitals or simply debt repayment can be made with that amount of STOLEN money?

  • faceless

    AustraliaPost : 234

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    Discussion 10 : 09 Mar 2013 at 06.1410

    It's highly doubtful any of the movers and shakers in the Government really believe, in their hearts, that this will stimulate the economy.

    But it is a damn fine figure to slice 30% from.

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