August 13, 2024
BANGKOK – The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) estimates that investors’ confidence will improve if the Constitutional Court spares Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin in the case regarding his removal tomorrow (August 14).
“Investors want to see stability in Thai politics. If the PM remains in office after tomorrow, that means all the policies carried out so far can continue moving forward,” FTI chairman Kriengkrai Thiennukul said on Monday.
A group of 40 senators submitted a petition to the court asking for Srettha’s removal from office for allegedly violating the charter and ethical standards by appointing ex-lawyer Pichit Chuenban as PM’s Office minister in the last Cabinet reshuffle.
The senators alleged that Srettha had appointed Pichit despite knowing that he was once jailed for six months for allegedly trying to bribe Supreme Court officials and was thus not qualified as per the charter to become a minister.
Kriengkrai pointed out that the investors’ confidence was shaken earlier this month when the Constitutional Court dissolved the Move Forward Party on August 7 and banned 11 party executives from politics.
The party that won most MP seats in the May 2023 general election was found guilty of violating the Political Party Act due to its campaign on amending Section 112 of the Penal Code, or lese majesté law.
“Politics is one of the factors that foreign investors consider when deciding to move their production base or invest in new projects,” said Kriengkrai. “Some companies have postponed their application to receive investment privileges from the Board of Investment (BOI) until after the court delivers the verdict.”
The FTI chairman added that Srettha has done a good job in the past year in attracting foreign direct investment, which will benefit the country’s economy in the long term.
He said the private sector has consistently called on the government to support traditional businesses by enhancing their capabilities and reducing costs, instead of just focusing on businesses in the target industries.
“The government must help these traditional industries to survive and restructure their production to transition towards new industries. This includes addressing the issue of cheap foreign goods flooding the Thai market,” he added.
Meanwhile, Sanan Angubolkul, chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (TCC), said that the business confidence index has been on a downward trend in the past three months due to concerns over political stability and the economic situation.
“We estimate that if a political vacuum forms due to the PM’s removal, the impact on business confidence will affect the overall economic expansion this year by around 0.3%,” he said.