Bangkok, Chulalongkorn Accounting (CBS) together with WEF reveal the results of evaluating the future growth of countries around the world. The Future of Growth Report 2024 found that Thailand is ranked 51st with a growth rate at a worrying level. KKP considers The population structure is decreasing, income is low, "get old before you get rich". SCB EIC points out that Easy e-receipt does not stimulate spending as high as expected. Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy Chulalongkorn University (CBS) joins with the World Economic Forum (WEF) to prepare and publish The Future of Growth Report 2024 to measure the quality of growth in various countries. It was found that Thailand's growth is in the second half of the world. It should accelerate the development of sustainability. income inequality and the law provides full protection The presentation of this report presents national data that helps stakeholders set policies and directions for developing the country's growth from 4 dimensions that are important to the country's growth. This will be a compass in determining policy guidelines. and strategies for Thailand To foster growth that includes both innovation Infrastructure coverage Sustainability And the flexibility aspect is even better. Mr. Wilert Phuriwat, Dean of the Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy Chulalongkorn University (CBS) said the survey results covered 107 countries around the world. Thailand is ranked 51st, while Sweden is number 1 in the world, followed by Switzerland, Finland, and Denmark. In Asian countries, Japan leads in 11th place, followed by Korea (12th) and Singapore (16th), while Malaysia is 31st, Vietnam 36th, Indonesia 50th and Thailand 51st from the total score weighted in all 4 dimensions, including innovation. (Innovativeness) in terms of infrastructure coverage (Inclusiveness), Sustainability and Resilience By comparing the evaluation results of Thailand It was found that Thailand had an innovation score of 47.94, which was higher than the world average (45.2), reflecting Thail and's outstanding ability in increasing innovation capabilities. ,Infrastructure coverage (Inclusiveness) Thailand received a score of 55.66, which is close to the world average. (55.9),sustainability (Sustainability) Thailand's score was 40.84, which is lower than the world average (46.8), thus indicating the need to accelerate action to develop Thailand's sustainability further. Resilience and adaptation (Resilience), which shows adaptability to various impacts. Thailand's score is 51.5, which is slightly lower than the world average (52.75), reflecting that Thailand has a modest ability to respond and recover from various crises and should continue to develop in this area. 'Thailand should speed up increasing its capabilities in all areas. Even though innovation is doing well, there is still need to be more emphasis on development in various areas, especially sustainability. To strengthen the quality of the country's growth even further,' Mr. Wilert said. This report highlights the significant global ec onomic slowdown. This is expected to drop to the lowest rate in three decades by 2030. Therefore, countries' focus on quality growth Therefore it is important to deal with This variety of challenges Mr. Phiphat Yellow Narumitchai Assistant Managing Director Chief Economist and Head of Economic and Investment Analysis Kiatnakin Phatra Financial Business Group (KKP) said in a seminar on the topic "Thai economy..how to change to go further than before" at the 2024 Flagship Seminar that the Thai economy during COVID-19 The average growth is only 3% and after Covid, it is expected that the economy will improve. But it was found that the Thai economy was unable to return to growth as before. At present, the Thai economy may grow below its potential level. including the tourism sector that cannot go back to the way it was before The ability to compete has decreased. and there is a trade deficit, for example, having to import more goods from China Whether it be electrical appliances, steel, including importing elect ric cars (EVs), etc. The main problem is that the population structure is decreasing. Low income level, getting old before getting rich, and the quality of Thai education Especially the PISA score has fallen over the past 20 years, while investment in big projects has disappeared for almost three decades. It's like Thailand is eating up old merit. In addition, there is the problem of increasing inequality. Household debt problems If the economy continues to grow slowly these problems It's becoming more and more intense. Therefore, it is necessary to solve more structural problems. Mr. Santitha Sathirathai, economist and qualified directors The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) views Thailand as It's like an elderly athlete. both age and symptoms and the ability to attract less competition But I am confident that the Thai economy will not fall heavily. This is because the Thai commercial banking system is still strong. Including the economic crisis like the Tom Yum Kung period is unlikely to happen. Thailand m ust build investment infrastructure. Must focus on quality, such as digital and clean energy. Because the population structure is getting older. Center for Economic and Business Research Siam Commercial Bank (SCB EIC) estimates that although the Thai economy is likely to continue expanding in the first quarter of 2024, the main driving force will come from private consumption. as consumer confidence improves Measures to reduce living costs and the Easy e-receipt project stimulate spending. However, the positive results of this project may not be as great as in the past. This is because the conditions are limited to shops that can issue e-Tax Invoice. In addition, the Thai economy is supported by tourism that continues to recover. and exports that have returned to expand This is consistent with the production of some industries starting to recover, such as electronics. The debt situation of Thai households is still worrying. Consistent with the results of the SCB EIC Consumer survey 2023, it was found that l ow-income groups face increased debt problems after the COVID crisis. And there is still a problem of not having enough income to cover expenses. Less than 1 in 3 people with income are self-employed/general contractors. They tend to be informal workers with not much income. and do not have access to the social security system Moreover, this group has a very poor debt management method. therefore relying heavily on informal debt and is likely to be stuck in the debt cycle for a long time. Source: Thai News Agency