ส.อ.ท. หารือพรรคประชาธิปัตย์ เดินหน้าขับเคลื่อนเศรษฐกิจ และอุตสาหกรรมไทยFTI Discusses with Democrat Party to Drive Thai Economy and Industry Forward

Today (December 2, 2025), Mr. Kriangkrai Theeranukul, Chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), along with FTI executives, welcomed the executive committee of the Democrat Party led by Mr. Abhisit Vejjajiva to discuss and exchange ideas on driving the Thai industry forward at Passion Room (802), 8th floor, FTI.

Mr. Kriangkrai Theeranukul stated that the current Thai economy resembles a “stuck vehicle” that requires tremendous effort to pull it out, reflecting the necessity to accelerate government policy measures. Therefore, the government has announced the “Quick Big Win” policy to revitalize the economy, increase income, reduce expenses, resolve debts, enhance liquidity, and revive tourism as a significant driving force once again.

In conjunction, Mr. Kriangkrai presented the challenges facing the Thai industrial sector, such as 1) U.S. tax measures 2) dumping and export right infringement issues 3) geopolitical conflicts 4) border disputes 5) household and business debts 6) the appreciating Thai baht 7) the impact of climate change issues 8) gray businesses and cybercrime, along with structural challenges like an aging society, the middle-income trap, education systems, politics, budget imbalances, corruption, and outdated laws.

Simultaneously, Mr. Kriangkrai proposed key strategies to elevate Thai entrepreneurs to international standards through the 4GO approach, which includes
   1) Go Digital & AI: Elevating industries with digital technologies and AI
   2) Go Innovation: Creating “miniature yet mighty” entrepreneurs through innovation
   3) Go Global: Developing Thai products and services to expand opportunities in global markets
   4) Go Green: Driving organizations towards sustainable development and adapting to the goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

The 4GO approach is part of FTI's ONE FTI policy, which aims to enhance the competitiveness of Thai entrepreneurs to strengthen Thailand. It emphasizes the importance of integrating cooperation among the government, private sector, and civil society.

To drive and strengthen the Thai industrial sector, Mr. Kriangkrai also outlined three development goals: Goal 1 aims to increase the competitiveness of Thailand (Competitiveness) with a target to achieve a ranking within the top 20 in the IMD Global Competitiveness Index (Thailand is currently ranked 30th in 2025); Goal 2 focuses on driving economic growth (Driving GDP Growth) to expand at a rate of 5%; and Goal 3 pertains to sustainable development (Sustainable Development Goals: SDGs) to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, 15 years earlier than the original target of 2065.

Moreover, the development proposals for the Thai industrial sector were divided into eight areas, including
1. Legal and regulatory reforms to facilitate ease of doing business and enhance economic growth by prioritizing legal reforms as a national agenda through Omnibus Laws and Regulatory Guillotine, improving secondary legislation that can be immediately implemented, and pushing for the drafting of a Bill for Convenience to elevate public service delivery.
2. Developing human resources, increasing labor productivity, and addressing the systematic labor shortage by adjusting the minimum wage in line with the Tripartite Wage Committee's authority and considering the economic factors of each area, enhancing labor productivity, and promoting payment by skills.
3. Comprehensive energy management to support energy transition by expediting the review and advancement of the new National Energy Plan (NEP), revising energy structure to reduce energy/electricity costs, and fostering cooperation between the government and private sectors to address energy issues.
4. Promoting exports, trade, and supporting investment in target S-Curve industries by expediting the creation of mechanisms and plans to drive S-Curve industries and accelerating free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations to increase benefits for Made in Thailand (MiT) products, while also protecting Thai products by regulating low-quality imports.

5. Elevating industries through technology, innovation, and digital transformation by supporting investments aimed at Digital Transformation 4.0, advancing innovation challenges specific to industry groups, connecting educational institutions, and enhancing production efficiency through precision agriculture technology to support continuous industries.
6. Sustainable industrial development (BCG & ESG), managing water resources, and working towards net-zero goals by integrating sustainable water management, preparing to cope with climate change measures, and utilizing industrial waste as circular materials and new material utilization (Waste symbiosis).
7. Promoting and developing the capacities of SMEs by facilitating SME access to public procurement and expanding benefits to encompass Medium SMEs, implementing low-interest soft loans, and formulating measures to assist borrowing guarantees.
8. Developing logistics infrastructure and industrial zones by reviewing the designation of special economic zones and special economic corridors to align with current changes, enhancing logistics infrastructure to improve Thailand’s export-import capabilities, and facilitating logistics to promote cross-border trade in Thailand.

Mr. Abhisit Vejjajiva, Leader of the Democrat Party, remarked on the party’s economic and industrial policies, stating, “The Democrat Party has always believed that the real driver of the economy is the private sector, and the role of the government is to establish an environment that enables the private sector to operate at its best. Today, we recognize the changes that have occurred globally in terms of geopolitics, technology, and new trends, as well as long-standing domestic challenges, which necessitate both the public and private sectors, along with the political sector, to find new ways to free the Thai economy from the traps it faces. Today, we and the management of the Democrat Party have outlined various frameworks and are listening to opinions from diverse sectors to address the country's problems, particularly in facing economic crisis and declining growth rates that have continuously dwindled. We must aim to restore growth to about 5%, as maintaining the current growth level at around 2% will prevent us from addressing other issues such as an aging society and public welfare. Therefore, we must seek new engines or new paradigms to drive the industrial, agricultural, and service sectors to foster overall synergy.”

In addition to stimulating economic growth, two major issues stand out: Firstly, corruption, which is both a challenge and a recognized cause of turmoil that undermines mutual trust and consistency, impacting economic drive and continually undermining the nation's economic competitiveness. Thus, we must start from a genuinely honest government and raise public awareness of the importance and dangers posed by this issue. The second issue of significant importance is the development of human skills, particularly in a long-standing and ailing education system that must shift from mere knowledge provision to fostering a learning process that is flexible, along with developing more skills-based accredited curricula.

However, geopolitical factors and international trade and investment conditions are crucial in today’s global situation, requiring readiness for Thailand as the ASEAN chair in 2028, as well as utilizing ASEAN benefits to enhance cooperation, including monetary policies that promote genuine economic growth without impacting the financial institutional system.

Mr. Abhisit concluded by stating that he and the Democrat Party are striving to seek new tools to help elevate and drive the country towards its goals and establish economic growth. The recommendations and insights from the Federation of Thai Industries that align with the party’s perspective will be immensely beneficial to the Democrat Party's policy for driving the nation's economy forward.

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Published by Corporate Communications Office, Federation of Thai Industries (Tel. 0-2345-1051)