State agencies, businesses and households are being urged to brace for a global economic slowdown which could easily deteriorate into a recession next year.
Danucha Pichayanan, secretary-general of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC), said on Monday that the world economy is starting to show signs of a slowdown, adding that it warranted careful monitoring in order to see whether it becomes a recession.
"Now three key economic agencies, the NESDC, Finance Ministry and the Bank of Thailand have been very closely monitoring the world's economic situation," he said. "The global economic recession issue is quite worrisome, as the Thai economy is on the recovery path. If a global economic recession happens as feared, we're afraid the Thai economy will be hit hard."
To cope with the spectre of a global recession, Mr Danucha said everyone in Thailand needed to accelerate efforts to prepare themselves, including the government, businesses, and members of the public.
Mr Danucha said it was fortunate that Thailand's economic fundamentals are still robust, with relatively high international reserves, but he noted that the government sector needed to accelerate its efforts to explore new markets to replace the current key export destinations, which are expected to feel the pinch from a recession.
More importantly, Thailand already has measures in place to lure wealthy foreigners and professionals to stimulate the economy. The new long-term resident (LTR) visa –which was launched on Sept 1 – allows select non-Thais to stay in the kingdom for up to 10 years.
The visa offers a range of tax and non-tax benefits to attract new foreign residents, technologies and employees to the country.
According to Mr Danucha, the government is setting up a specific agency to handle LTR visas for wealthy foreigners and professionals.
Mr Danucha said households also needed to be more cautious in their spending, especially for unnecessary luxury products, while businesses should pay more attention to their cash reserves and liquidity management.
New investments are still possible, depending on the opportunities offered, he added.
In addition to fears of a global recession, Mr Danucha said energy prices also needed to be closely observed, especially regarding the recent decision by Opec+ to cut oil production by 2 million barrels per day.
Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow said that in 2022 the Thai economy is unlikely to be greatly impacted by a global recession, adding he remained confident that GDP could grow by at least 3% this year.