SEPO to offer investment ideas to junta

Prasong Poontaneat, SEPO director-general, said the Office’s internal meeting would prepare information, which would be forwarded to the NCPO’s economic team. All state enterprises will meet on May 31.

The Office would propose public-private partnership, investments beyond Bt1 billion under the joint investment act and plans to set up infrastructure funds, Prasong said.

State enterprises’ disbursement of the investment budget would also be speeded up for fiscal 2014 and was planned to be close to the target of Bt400 billion.

Finance permanent secretary Rungson Sriworasat said the NCPO has asked the ministry to review the role of boards of directors under the ministry and there might be adjustments as appropriate. Some results will come after the May 31 meeting between SEPO and state enterprises.

The Fiscal Policy Office director-general, Somchai Sajjapong, said the Thai economy had been through the bottom on expectation of a 1.5-per-cent expansion in the second quarter of this year and 3-4-per-cent growth in the third quarter. The fourth quarter is expected to see a higher growth figure. Growth is targeted at close to 3 per cent for the whole of 2014.

Domestic consumption could lead investment, Somchai said. The Bt90-billion payment to rice farmers could drive the economy. The NCPO plans roadshows to woo foreign investors after an announcement of its road map for the Thai economy.

Somchai said the Thai economy could expand more than 2 per cent this year and "we will try to reach the NCPO’s growth target of 3 per cent and this depends on the funds, which will come in for the rest of the year."

The Finance Ministry, the National Economic and Social Development Board, Bank of Thailand and the Budget Bureau met yesterday on the fiscal 2015 budget for the first time.