Former energy executive Pichai Chunhavajira was named the country’s finance minister, facing a tough task to revive Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy.
Pichai, 75, an adviser to Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, takes over from Srettha as finance minister and becomes deputy prime minister, the official Royal Gazette said, announcing his appointment by the king.
Pichai was the chair of the board of Bangchak Corp since 2012.
He headed the board of the Thailand Stock Exchange for less than three months this year and was on the central bank board from 2014 to 2017.
Lagging behind its regional peers, the Thai economy faces high household debt and borrowing costs.
Gross domestic product unexpectedly shrank in the final quarter of 2023 from the third, while growth last year slowed to 1.9% from 2.5% in 2022.
Pichai will oversee policies including Srettha’s flagship 500 billion baht (RM64.3bil) handout scheme, which would transfer 10,000 baht (RM126) to each of 50 million Thais to spend in their communities.
The controversial stimulus has been delayed to late 2024 due to a lack of funding and concerns about public debt, with criticism from economists and some former central bank governors. — Reuters
