Few aware of AEC, many have lower confidence in economy, survey finds

"Bangkokians would like to see preparations for joining the AEC at both an individual and national level," society president Viriya Vorakittikun said yesterday.

The "ThaiView" survey was conducted from March 27 to April 17 on 400 people in Greater Bangkok aged 18 and up, with household income of Bt10,000 per month on average.

Those aged 25-49 were the least aware of the AEC.

The advantages of becoming a member of the AEC included the belief that overall, Thailand’s economy would improve (81 per cent), that Thailand would become more technologically advanced (78 per cent), that Thais would have more opportunities to work in other Asean countries (78 per cent), that Thailand would have more energy security (52 per cent) and there would be fewer border-related problems among neighbouring Asean countries (46 per cent).

The perceived drawbacks included a greater "brain drain" out of Thailand (65 per cent), more epidemics (45 per cent) and more problems with security of life and assets (43 per cent).

Preparation at an individual level relates to the need to become more efficient in the way Thais work (68 per cent) and the need to learn English as well as other languages used in Asean countries (62 per cent).

Preparation at the national level includes improving the education system (57 per cent), improving the efficiency of government personnel (56 per cent), reducing corruption (48 per cent) and implementing a more proactive economic policy (46 per cent).

"Although Thailand’s strength lies in tourism and agricultural exports, what hinders Thailand from being an Asean leader is the political instability and corruption that mitigate confidence in the eyes of foreigners," Viriya said.

Findings from "ThaiView" also showed that people’s confidence in the economic environment increased after the general election in July last year but dropped significantly six months later, from 44 per cent to 39 per cent. This is because the situation has not changed as had been hoped.

The work of the current government has not been seen as being any different from that of the previous administration. The only exception is the current government’s ability to deal with the drug problem, as 60 per cent of the respondents perceived that it is doing better than the previous government.

In terms of the economic climate, the perception is, overall, slightly better, especially among rural people. However, urbanites claim the current government has done no better than the previous one when it comes to management. What respondents see as being slightly worse than before is security of life and assets, corruption and social harmony.

Compared with the previous ThaiView study from last August, people today are now more concerned about the higher prices of consumer products and fuel (32 per cent), followed by global recession (18 per cent) and being taken advantage of by manufacturers and suppliers of products and services (17 per cent).

However, happiness is seemingly on par with the previous survey (39 per cent), thanks to warm and strong bonding in the family. The reasons for those feeling unhappy were not having enough income to cover expenses (42 per cent) and higher cost of living (29 per cent).

When asked about the Deposit Protection Act, which insures deposits of under Bt1 million per bank, only 38 per cent were aware of it, even though 11 per cent of people in Bangkok could potentially suffer from the reduced protection, especially those aged 40-59.

Regarding the type of savings, most (88 per cent) preferred to put their money into savings accounts with major banks – 39 per cent of whom had saving accounts with only one bank while 35 per cent spread their savings across several banks.

It is worth noting that people aged 18-39 preferred to invest in gold, insurance, the stock market and fixed-income funds more than those in other groups, while those aged 50 or above tended to like government bonds more than others.