Stock Exchange of Thailand chairman Pichai Chunhavajira has resigned in a move that is seen as paving the way for his appointment as finance minister in a cabinet reshuffle.
Mr Pichai, 76, also quit as chairman of the energy company Bangchak Corp and the renewable power producer BCPG Plc, effective from April 25, according to separate filings to the SET on Thursday.
He is the top candidate to become finance minister as Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin wants to give up the post, local media have reported.
Mr Srettha named Mr Pichai as one of his advisers when he assumed the premiership last year.
The premier said earlier this week that the reshuffle will be done at the “appropriate timing”.
On Thursday Mr Srettha and Deputy PM Phumtham Wechayachai were seen arriving at the Rosewood Hotel, owned by the Shinawatra family, for lunch with former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, according to local media reports. It was speculated that they discussed the cabinet reshuffle. Mr Srettha later departed without talking to reporters.
Mr Pichai holds a master’s degree in business administration from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He was a member of the Bank of Thailand board from 2014 to 2017, and a director at PTT Exploration and Production from 2001 to 2013.
Picking Mr Pichai, a capital markets veteran, as finance minister may help ease tension between the government and the Bank of Thailand, with which Mr Srettha has frequently disagreed on approaches to reviving Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy.
The central bank has ignored Mr Srettha’s frequent calls to cut its policy interest rate as a quick-fix to spur growth amid a seven-month spell of negative inflation.It kept the key rate steady on April 10 at a decade-high of 2.50%, prompting the premier this week to meet with executives of the country’s biggest banks to nudge them to lower borrowing costs.
On Thursday, the banks agreed to cut loan rates by a quarter percentage point for vulnerable groups and small businesses.
If confirmed as finance minister, Mr Pichai would face a tough task of reviving the economy, which lags regional peers, as it faces high household debt and borrowing costs as well as China’s slowdown.
He would be tasked with overseeing key government policies, including the flagship 500-billion-baht digital wallet, which would transfer 10,000 baht each to 50 million Thais to spend in their communities starting later this year.
The stimulus has been delayed twice already due to a lack of funding and concerns about the impact on public debt.
The economy unexpectedly shrank in the final quarter of 2023 from the third quarter. Last year’s growth was 1.9%, below the 2.5% growth seen in 2022.
The National Economic and Social Development Council in February lowered its 2024 economic growth outlook to between 2.2% and 3.2% from a previous forecast of 2.7% to 3.7%.