8 Thai speakers join IMF–World Bank forums on October 12–15

Thai business and academic leaders are set to join major discussions at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group annual meetings in Bangkok on October 12–18, 2026, with roles in sessions on small-business finance, economic growth and Asia’s future. Kasikornbank chief executive Kattiya Indaravijaya, BRANDi and Companies chief executive Piyachart Isarabhakdee and former Bank of Thailand governor Veerathai Santiprabhob are among eight Thai figures scheduled to participate.

The meetings at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center will feature Thai representatives beyond the customary participation of finance ministers and central bank governors. Their appearances extend beyond Thai-organised events to World Bank Group flagship discussions, the launch of a major IMF publication and debates involving international economic leaders.

Kattiya and Piyachart bring business perspectives to global forums

Kattiya is scheduled to join the World Bank Group’s flagship session, “MSME Finance: Leveraging Data for Jobs”, on October 13. The discussion centres on financing for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), with data and digital tools providing the link between access to funding, business development and employment.

The MSME finance panel also includes World Bank Group President Ajay Banga, V. Anantha Nageswaran, chief economic adviser to the Indian government, and International Chamber of Commerce Secretary General John W.H. Denton. David Arana, Chris Wehbe and Gökçe Duman are among the other participants, with Rajini Vaidyanathan moderating.

Piyachart’s October 13 appearance in the World Bank Group’s Leaders’ Speaker Series will examine the private sector’s role in economic transformation. His presentation reframes the question of what generates growth by asking what growth itself produces, and how businesses can guide that process through capital allocation, innovation and investment in people.

The Leaders’ Speaker Series features individual presentations by invited organisational leaders. Other speakers include Odile Renaud-Basso, president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Alexander De Croo, administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, and Michael Kremer, chief economist of the World Bank Group.

Piyachart’s presentation begins at 11.45am, 15 minutes after the start of Kattiya’s panel, placing two Thai business leaders on separate stages during the same period.

Thai speakers to address Asia’s outlook and public finances

Veerathai, chairman of the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI), is scheduled to participate in the October 12 launch of Shaping the Future of Asia: Opportunities and Challenges, a flagship publication prepared by the IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department.

The IMF publication examines demographic change, trade protectionism, geoeconomic fragmentation and the energy transition. The launch brings together senior economic figures to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the region.

Veerathai’s fellow panellists include Chang Yong Rhee, former governor of the Bank of Korea, IMF Deputy Managing Director Nigel Clarke and Nageswaran. Krishna Srinivasan, director of the IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department, will present the book’s main findings, while IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva will deliver opening remarks.

Thailand’s experience of digital tax administration will feature in the October 13 New Economy Forum workshop, “From Tax to Treasury: Building Digitally Connected Public Finance”.

Saowakon Meesang, director of the Revenue Department’s Tax Policy and Planning Division, will join public finance officials from the Philippines, Kenya and Kosovo. The workshop examines how digital technology can connect information held by revenue-collection and spending agencies, allowing Thailand to present its experience of data-led tax administration reform.

The October 13 “Thailand Special Seminar: Bangkok 1991–2026” will bring together four of the eight Thai figures in a single session: Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas, Bank of Thailand Governor Vitai Ratanakorn, Narongchai Akrasanee, chairman of the Institute for Strategic Policy Foundation, and Suthiphand Chirathivat, chairman of Central Group and professor emeritus of economics at Chulalongkorn University.

Srinivasan will also participate in the Thailand seminar. IMF Deputy Managing Director Kenji Okamura will deliver opening remarks, and Bloomberg Television reporter Avril Hong will moderate.

Ekniti joins discussions on AI jobs and economic resilience

Ekniti’s programme begins on October 12 with the World Bank Group flagship event “Small AI: More and Better Jobs”. The discussion will examine how artificial intelligence (AI) applications tailored to developing countries’ local languages, infrastructure and budgets can generate employment.

The Small AI session’s participants include Banga, Georgieva, Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Vilas Dhar and Tiffany Xingyu Wang, alongside Ekniti.

The Thai Finance Ministry’s October 13 flagship event, “Building Resilience in a Fragmented World”, will bring Ekniti together with Georgieva, Banga and Finland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Riikka Purra.

Ekniti is also scheduled for the October 15 “Debate on the Global Economy: Forging Resilient and Dynamic Economies for the Future”, alongside Georgieva, Eurogroup President and Greek Finance Minister Kyriakos Pierrakakis, and Aliko Dangote, founder and chief executive of Dangote Group, Africa’s largest industrial conglomerate.

Bloomberg Surveillance’s Lisa Abramowicz will moderate the global economic debate. The discussion will examine shrinking room for policy action, high debt, inflationary pressures and widening differences between economies, alongside the effects of geopolitical developments and the AI-driven technology cycle.

Bangkok Blueprint to guide financial-fraud prevention

Vitai and Ekniti will take part in the October 14 launch of the “Bangkok Blueprint for Fraud-Resilient Financial Services”, a high-level framework containing 12 key considerations for tackling technology-enabled fraud.

The Bangkok Blueprint was developed by the IMF and World Bank in partnership with the Bank of Thailand. Ekniti will deliver opening remarks, followed by an introduction from Vitai.

The Bangkok Blueprint panel will include Georgieva, Anshula Kant, managing director and chief financial officer of the World Bank Group, Soraya Hakuziyaremye, governor of the National Bank of Rwanda, and Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, who also chairs the Financial Stability Board.

Josh Lipsky of the Atlantic Council will moderate the Bangkok Blueprint discussion.

Thai speakers’ scheduled sessions run from October 12 to 15

The eight Thai figures are listed for the following sessions during the 2026 meetings. All times are local Bangkok time.

• October 12, 10am–11.30am: “Small AI: More and Better Jobs”, featuring Ekniti Nitithanprapas, in Room G-22.
• October 12, 1pm–2.15pm: Shaping the Future of Asia book launch, featuring Veerathai Santiprabhob, in Room G-07.
• October 13, 10.30am–11.30am: “From Tax to Treasury”, featuring Saowakon Meesang, in Room G-07.
• October 13, 11.30am–12.30pm: “MSME Finance: Leveraging Data for Jobs”, featuring Kattiya Indaravijaya, in Room G-22.
• October 13, 11.45am–12.15pm: Leaders’ Speaker Series, featuring Piyachart Isarabhakdee, in Room G-16.
• October 13, 1.30pm–2.30pm: “Building Resilience in a Fragmented World”, featuring Ekniti Nitithanprapas, in Room G-01.
• October 13, 3pm–4pm: “Thailand Special Seminar”, featuring Narongchai Akrasanee, Suthiphand Chirathivat, Ekniti Nitithanprapas and Vitai Ratanakorn, in Room G-17.
• October 14, 12.30pm–1.30pm: “Bangkok Blueprint”, featuring Ekniti Nitithanprapas and Vitai Ratanakorn, in Room G-01.
• October 15, 3.30pm–4.30pm: “Debate on the Global Economy”, featuring Ekniti Nitithanprapas, in Room G-01.

Speaker line-ups remain subject to change.