17 September 2021
Bangkok (17 September 2021) --
Krungsri (Bank of Ayudhya PCL) moved forward with the strategy on enhancing the business potential for their business customers towards sustainable growth with the virtual seminar,
Krungsri Business Talk 2021, under the topic of
“Thailand after COVID-19: Business Opportunities and Transformation”. This seminar was held exclusively for Krungsri’s business customers; SME, corporate, and JPC/MNC customers. The virtual seminar was joined by the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) and Krungsri executives to share their knowledge and viewpoints on industry and economic outlooks at the global and national level, so as businesses can adapt their plans to post-COVID-19 changes and be ready for new business opportunities.
Mr. Yoshiyuki Horio, Krungsri Head of Japanese Corporate and Multinational Banking (JPC/MNC Banking) gave an opening speech for this virtual seminar. The seminar was joined by
Ms. Duangjai Asawahinatachit, Secretary General of Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) as a special lecturer on the topics of a new economy and driving economy towards sustainable growth with Bio-Circular-Green Economy Model (BCG) and BOI’s direction on supporting Thai industry. This virtual seminar was also joined by
Dr. Somprawin Manprasert, Krungsri Executive Vice President, Head of Krungsri Research Division, and
Ms. Roong Sanguanruang, Krungsri Head of Global Markets Research, sharing their insights on the world and Thai economies, interest rate, and currencies trends in Thailand and global financial markets.
The key highlights in this seminar shared by Dr. Somprawin, were that the world economy would gradually recover from higher vaccination rates and lockdown eases in some countries. Thailand has already passed the outbreak’s peak with the increasing vaccination rates averaging 400,000 persons per day. Krungsri Research believed that the economy would grow by 0.6% due to the following factors; Thailand’s export sector was still positive, relief measures were continuously implemented, and people had more economic activities after the lockdown ease. It was expected that by the end of the year, the infection rate would be reduced to 2,500 cases per day. Foreign tourists would be on the rise next year but would take some time to resume as normal.
The BOI also shared their insights on the topic of the Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) industry. The BCG was considered a significant opportunity for Thailand in economic recovery after the COVID-19 crisis. As Thailand had tremendous biological resources as byproducts from agricultural and food industries, adopting new technologies could help add value to these resources. Furthermore, the trend on green business among corporations could help boost related business, so it was expected that in 5 years, the BCG industry could contribute to 25% of the total GDP. Thailand had good potentials to develop such an industry due to many factors, such as being globally ranked at no. 15 on biodiversity and no.13 on food export. Thailand also had remaining biomass from agricultural activities around 40 tons annually, which could add value if advanced technologies were adopted, along with strategic location and infrastructure of the country that could benefit business development in many areas. Smart farming and plant factory businesses could also be developed with the focus on herbal products or high value-added materials such as sugar FOS or novel food, i.e., plant-based protein or insect protein. Regarding the bio plastic industry, Thailand had high potential and was considered a regional production hub with high investment and expansion. Other industries such as healthcare and recycle-related industries also showed competitive advantages and development opportunities.
Regarding the EV industry, Thailand was ranked at no. 11 globally on car production hub and no. 1 in ASEAN. By 2030, it was expected that 30% of the total production capacity will be EVs. In order to develop EV readiness, many aspects of the ecosystems had to be enhanced, especially the charging stations that needed to meet the standards. Also, the country needed to adapt in all areas since the automotive industry would continue to be no.1 among Thai industries.
This virtual seminar is a part of virtual seminar series under
Krungsri Business Empowerment for Krungsri’s business customers, to help enhance the business potential of customers for sustainable growth. These seminars are aimed to share knowledge and insights from leading experts, to inspire, and leverage business opportunities for Krungsri’s customers. This virtual seminar is also available for viewing on
Krungsri Business Empowerment Facebook and
Krungsri.com