To achieve the government's target of 3.5% GDP growth this year, exports must expand by 4%, according to the state planning unit.
Tourism revenue must also increase, while investment disbursement needs to reach 90% and foreign direct investment (FDI) should tally at least 400 billion baht, according to Danucha Pichayanan, secretary-general of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC).
Speaking after a meeting to discuss stimulus measures chaired by Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira late last Thursday, Mr Danucha said the three engines driving the Thai economy this year will be exports, tourism and investment.
To achieve more than 3% economic growth this year, he said export expansion must be 3.5-4%, compared with the Commerce Ministry's projection of only 2-3%. This means exports must total a minimum of US$26 billion per month.
Coordination with the Commerce Ministry is needed to identify how to expand markets and which products to export, said Mr Danucha. If exports increase, the industrial sector will produce more, leading to economic growth, he said.
On the tourism front, the government has set a target of 38 million foreign arrivals this year, generating revenue of 1.65 trillion baht.
To achieve the government's growth goal, Mr Danucha said the Tourism and Sports Ministry needs to find ways to exceed this target, drawing tourists from new markets and those with high potential to ensure per person spending is at least 42,000 baht per trip.
For investment, he said the highest priority is public sector investment disbursement, which must have quarterly key performance indicators set to determine how much should be disbursed each quarter. This should ensure total disbursement for the fiscal year exceeds 85% of the government's total investment budget.
"The government's investment disbursement for this fiscal year must reach 85-90% of the total investment budget. When driving economic growth, we cannot rely on just one measure; we need to combine several. Accelerating disbursement will require shortening the procurement and appeal processes," said Mr Danucha.
Regarding private sector investment, he said that for investors who have already received investment promotion certificates, such as last year when FDI received was roughly 800 billion baht in promotion certificates, at least 40-50% of this amount must be invested this year.
The Board of Investment and related agencies must work together on this issue to drive it forward, he said.
