Thailand must improve in three areas to handle key problems: Minister
Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand
will have to improve in three areas in order to handle key problems in the
future, Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith has said.
Speaking at the Fiscal Policy
Office's (FPO) seminar on the topic of "From Pandemic to Endemic"
this week, Arkhom said that the country's revenue collection system
needed to be overhauled in order to ensure the country's sustainable revenue
stream.
In addition, he said the business
sector has to embrace digital technology to enhance its operations.
Thailand should also invest more in
public health infrastructure to cater for the rising number of ageing people,
as over-60s are expected to rise to 24 percent of the total population in next
10 years, he added.
Arkhom added that the COVID-19
pandemic has severely hit the Thai economy, especially the tourism sector. The
country's revenue from foreign tourists accounts for 12 percent of Thailand's
gross domestic product before the pandemic broke out.
Pornchai Thiraveja, the FPO's Director-General, said that the country's reopening on November 1 is expected
to positively impact economic activities.
The FPO will update its economic
forecast on October 28. Earlier, it had forecast economic growth
of 1.3 percent this year./.