The FTI president is ready to work with the new government, pointing out that the people's livelihoods and SMEs must be urgently addressed, and that cheap foreign goods are flooding into Thailand. Meanwhile, the industrial confidence index has increased for the first time in four months. Mr. Kriangkrai Thienukul, Chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), mentioned today's special House of Representatives meeting to consider and approve the person who should be appointed as the 31st Prime Minister after yesterday the coalition parties voted to nominate Ms. Paethongtarn Shinawatra, the party leader, as a prime ministerial candidate. He did not see this as surprising because Ms. Paethongtarn had been a prime ministerial candidate since the beginning. He thought that the leader of the government would likely still be the same party, but no matter which party it was, he asked them to join hands and work together with the private sector to drive the country's economy forward as soon as possible. As fo r the issue of foreign confidence, normally it takes 2-3 months to form a cabinet, but this time I would like it to take no more than 1 month. Judging from the fact that the coalition parties are still holding hands tightly, it should happen. I believe that if there is a continuous policy, it will be able to restore confidence. I would like to tell the new government that the big problem now is to urgently solve the people's economic problems and help SME entrepreneurs survive, which have had to close down due to the economic situation and the flood of cheap and substandard products from abroad. Therefore, I would like to propose that the government issue measures to take care of e-commerce platform providers from abroad. As for whether the Digital Wallet project will happen or not, it cannot be answered. It depends on the government. But if it continues, there is a proposal for the government to set conditions for purchasing products produced domestically or Made in Thailand products in the Digital Wallet p roject to create opportunities and generate cash flow in the businesses of Thai entrepreneurs. While the survey results of the industrial confidence index in July 2024 were at 89.3, an increase from 87.2 in June 2024, the first increase in 4 months, following the increase in domestic demand for consumer goods, especially the food, drug and cosmetic industries, while the acceleration of budget disbursement and government spending has increased the money flow into the economy, which has a positive effect on industrial products, especially construction materials. At the same time, the application for investment promotion has continuously expanded. In the first 6 months (January - June 2024), the total investment value was 458,359 million baht, an increase of 35 percent compared to the same period last year. In addition, there are supporting factors from the expansion of the tourism sector, which is a result of the visa-free measure for foreign tourists and the government's measures to promote domestic tourism d uring the low season. However, in July, there were still negative factors from the high level of household debt and non-performing loans (NPLs), which continued to pressure domestic consumption. This can be seen from domestic car sales and car exports in the first 6 months (January - June 2024) that contracted by 24.16 percent and 1.85 percent, respectively, compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, the real estate sector slowed down due to weak domestic purchasing power. At the same time, exports slowed down, especially durable goods such as air conditioners and refrigeration, gems and jewelry, electronic products, etc., while transportation costs increased, including shipping rates and various additional costs (Surcharge). From the survey of 1,323 entrepreneurs covering 46 industrial groups of the FTI in July 2024 (surveyed before August 14, 2024), it was found that the factors that entrepreneurs were more concerned about were the global economy at 66.8 percent, the domestic political situation at 58.7 percent, and the exchange rate (from the exporter's perspective) with the exchange rate referencing the baht against the US dollar at 37.9 percent, respectively. The factors that entrepreneurs were less concerned about were the domestic economy at 61.2 percent, the oil price at 60.6 percent, and the loan interest rate at 57.1 percent, respectively. While the index is forecasted for the next 3 months at 95.2, an increase from 93.4 in June 2024, supported by the acceleration of government spending and investment, which will help stimulate the economy in the second half of 2024, the expansion of the tourism sector resulting from the visa-free measure for foreign tourists, and the government's economic stimulus measures in the 10,000 baht top-up project via Digital Wallet, however, there are still factors that entrepreneurs are still concerned about, such as the uncertainty of the global economy, which is still a risk factor for the expansion of the export sector, while production costs tend to increase, es pecially the policy of increasing the minimum wage to 400 baht per day. Source: Thai News Agency