Financing Thailand for Balanced and Sustainable Growth

As the global economic outlook remains uncertain, there is the need for Asia to step up and take a new position as the driving force of the world economy. This means that Thailand needs to adjust herself to the new challenges of increased bank competition, more capital inflows as well as more domestic funding needs. The paper attempts to analyze and provide policy recommendations as to how to deal with the stated challenges and turn them into our advantages by means of efficiently utilizing the financial sector to finance the real sector in order to move the economy forward. Three possible policies worth considering are: (1) commercial banks should be more efficient by means of promoting competition (2) financial access and inclusiveness should be enhanced (3) lending infrastructure and the depth of the financial market should be improved. Although, the essence of these policies is addressed in the phase II of Financial Sector Master Plan, challenges remain as to how to implement them. Furthermore, the cooperation and commitment among concerned parties should not be taken lightly.