Thailand has had a remarkable economic development trajectory over the past 60 years and foreign direct investment (FDI) has been pivotal in this success. Thailand was one of the first movers in opening up to manufacturing FDI and in establishing proactive investment promotion and facilitation policies.
Thailand has adopted ambitious clean energy targets to meet its long-term climate goals, committing to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 and net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2065. Transforming Thailand’s energy system, alongside broader development objectives, is critical to meeting these goals as the energy sector accounts for 69% of Thailand’s total GHG emissions. The Clean Energy Finance and Investment Roadmap of Thailand (“the Roadmap”) outlines key actions to unlock finance and investment in two clean energy sectors: (i) renewable power, with special attention to small-scale renewable power systems; and (ii) energy efficiency in buildings, with a focus on cooling applications. The two sectors were selected in close consultation with the Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency (DEDE) of the Ministry of Energy of Thailand. The Roadmap provides a comprehensive overview of the progress to date, policy context and challenges to mobilise near-term finance in those sectors, as well as estimates of the finance needs to reach Thailand’s clean energy plans. The report also includes a roadmap action plan, suggesting non-prescriptive recommendations and actions that the Government of Thailand, financial institutions, energy service companies, academia and the international development community active in the country could undertake to foster clean energy investments in Thailand.
This 2018 Article IV Consultation highlights that a cyclical recovery is under way in Thailand but has yet to become broad based. GDP growth is estimated at 3.9 percent in 2017, boosted by strong tourism services and manufacturing exports. Domestic demand remained sluggish amid structural challenges, and export gains failed to trickle down to household incomes and investments in other sectors. Headline inflation averaged 0.7 percent, below the target band for the third year in a row, reflecting low food prices and weak core inflation. The current account surplus remained large, at about 10.6 percent of GDP. Financial system stability continued to strengthen. The growth momentum is expected to continue in 2018 and 2019, supported by sustained export dynamism.
Chapter 2 gives a general view of the evolution of the Thai manufacturing sector. Chapter 3 describes the structure and development of the clothing and textile industry and government intervention, analysing protection policies as well as the effective rates of assistance (ERA) in the industry. Chapter 4 and 5 deal with MFA issues. Chapter 6 examines the exports of the Thai clothing sector in comparing its exports to Hong Kong. Chapter 7 presents a world clothing trade model to evaluate the welfare effects of the MFA on Thailand and to predict the future of Thai exports under different scenarios. Chapter 8 summarizes the conclusions