Thai industrial confidence gains support from economic measures
Thailand's industrial sentiment index rose to 88.2 in June from 84.7 in May, its first gain in four months, backed by consumption and investment measures.
- The Thai Industries Sentiment Index rose to 88.2 in June from 84.7 in May, marking its first increase in four months.
- A key government measure, "Thais Help Thais Plus," boosted consumption and purchasing power by injecting over THB 43.2 billion into the economy.
- The "Thailand FastPass" initiative stimulated investment by streamlining procedures, accelerating over THB 223 billion in investment projects.
- Confidence was also supported by the central bank maintaining a low policy rate and energy management policies that reduced domestic costs.
Ekniti Nitithanprapas, Minister of Finance, said a June 2026 survey by the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) showed that the Thai Industries Sentiment Index had risen to 88.2 from 84.7 in May, marking its first increase in four months.
He attributed the improvement mainly to support from government economic measures that the Ministry of Finance had been rolling out continuously.
The FTI also said at its press conference that two main policy areas had helped restore private-sector confidence.
The first was a measure to boost consumption and purchasing power through the "Thais Help Thais Plus" policy, a mechanism designed to reduce living costs and stimulate domestic purchasing power.
It put more than THB43.2 billion into circulation in the economy, directly benefiting sales of consumer goods, food, beverages, and fashion and lifestyle products.
This helped businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), improve liquidity and regain confidence.
The second was an investment stimulus measure through "Thailand FastPass", which helped cut procedures and expedite investment-promotion applications lodged with the Office of the Board of Investment (BOI), allowing investment to materialise quickly.
Ekniti said the mechanism had already accelerated actual investment in 25 projects with a combined value of more than THB223 billion.
In addition, in his capacity as chairman of the BOI board, Ekniti set a target of bringing actual investment through Thailand FastPass to THB1 trillion by the end of this year.
He also set conditions requiring participating projects to transfer technology and skills to Thai workers through the "Skill Bridge" programme to strengthen the country's long-term competitiveness.
Other positive factors supporting private-sector confidence included the Monetary Policy Committee's (MPC) decision to maintain the policy rate at 1% per annum, as well as energy management that had reduced domestic energy and transport costs.
The three-month forecast for the Thai Industries Sentiment Index rose to 94.5 from 91.8 in May, supported by the community solar measure and a THB200 billion energy restructuring plan.
These were expected to stimulate demand across the supply chain for the clean-energy industry, including solar panels, electrical equipment and energy storage systems.
"Although the economy in the second half of the year continues to face uncertainty from external factors, this recovery in the figures is the result of the government's continued rollout of key economic policies, which has provided clear direction and important momentum to sustain and drive confidence in Thailand's industrial sector through the second half of the year," Ekniti said.
