Thai private sector unfazed by Prayut's return to PM's seat

The Constitutional Court ruled on Friday that Prayut has not exceeded this tenure and can stay in the PM’s seat until 2025.

Wisit Limleucha, vice president of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, said just before the verdict that he was not worried about the ruling, provided it was based on law.

He said the ruling has more to do with Thai citizens, who will wonder what the government will do to survive. Foreigners, on the other hand, will not care about the verdict, he added.

Chaicharn Chareonsuk, chairman of the Thai National Shippers’ Council, also agreed that the ruling is not important to the private sector provided the country is politically stable. This factor, he said, will help build confidence and benefit the economy as well as bring in investment.

He added that the upcoming Apec summits hosted by Thailand in November should be used as a showcase for the country’s potential.

Meanwhile, he said, if an election is held next year then the winning administration should maintain good policies and get rid of bad ones. He also said that Thailand must maintain political stability if it wants to meet its 10-million arrivals target by the end of this year.

However, Chaicharn admitted that economic growth and investments are also affected by other factors like trade wars, volatile currencies, rising oil and energy prices, and inflation.

He also said that political stability is important if Thailand wants to meet its goal of welcoming up to 10 million tourists this year.

The export sector, meanwhile, believes it will achieve an 8 per cent growth this fiscal year regardless of who is at the helm of the country. The only two factors that may adversely affect the sector are the shortage of computer chips and a slowdown in China.