Publication: Thailand Economic Monitor, February 2025: Unleashing Sources of Growth: Innovation, SMEs and Startups
Loading...
Other Files
283 downloads
Published
2025-02-25
ISSN
Date
2025-02-25
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
The economy is estimated to have grown by 2.6 percent in 2024, surpassing expectations due to an unexpected surge in activity but the recovery continued to lag behind peers. The latest gross domestic product (GDP) release showed that growth picked up at 3.0 percent year-on-year in 2024 Q3. In Q3 2024, the current account surplus rose to 1.5 percent of GDP as the trade balance benefited from robust global demand. Inflation edged up due to the removal of diesel subsidies but remained among the lowest in ASEAN due to remaining energy subsidies and weak domestic demand. Thailand’s financial system remained stable, but credit conditions have tightened amid government efforts to tackle high household debt. Despite the recent rollout of the cash transfer scheme, the fiscal stance turned less expansionary as capital spending slipped due to the delayed budget. The economy is set to gain momentum in 2025, driven by stronger domestic demand and fiscal stimulus, while external factors will slow slightly. With the planned fiscal stimulus and accelerated budget execution, the expansionary fiscal stance will support the economic recovery.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank Group. 2025. Thailand Economic Monitor, February 2025: Unleashing Sources of Growth: Innovation, SMEs and Startups. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/42858 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Digital Object Identifier
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Chile : A Strategy to Promote Innovative Small and Medium Enterprises(Washington, DC, 2004-05-21)This study is to provide the Government of Chile with a review of the portfolio of small and medium enterprise (SMEs) development programs and the institutions that provide them, leading to recommendations to improve the effectiveness of a streamlined portfolio. This emphasis is important for economic reasons, given the sectors role in employment, and the possibility of improving its integration into the national economy and export-oriented production and marketing chains. However, this analysis also identifies areas where SMEs can more effectively leverage government programs to become more productive, efficient, and innovative. The analysis is based on interviews with key policymakers, managers and other staff of the government institutions responsible for most of the programs secondary reports, and discussions with small business managers, business association leaders, academicians and financial intermediaries. The report is organized as follows: The first chapter reviews the evolution of the macroeconomic and business environment in Chile, and provides the theoretical arguments upon which the governments intervention in favor of SMEs has been based; second chapter examines the characteristics of the SME sector, as well as key determinants of SME productivity and growth; third chapter describes the obstacles to SME development, such as constraints to financial resources; fourth chapter recommends a streamlined portfolio of private sector assistance projects and provides an institutional analysis of Production Development Corporation (Corporacion de Fomento de la Produccion) (CORFO), Agricultural Development Institute (Instituto de Desarrollo Agropecuario) (INDAP) and Technical Cooperation Service of Chile (Servicio de Cooperacion Tecnica de Chile) (SERCOTEC); fifth chapter focuses on programs that promote innovation, technology and networks, and finally sixth chapter offers strategic and operational recommendations to improve the effectiveness of the Governments investment in SME programs.Publication Fostering Entrepreneurship in Azerbaijan(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2013-09-04)A dynamic and vibrant private sector is crucial to economic growth, with firms making new investments, creating jobs, improving productivity, and promoting growth. Entrepreneurial activity is pivotal to the continued dynamism of the private sector, as the generation of new businesses fosters competition and economic growth. This is particularly relevant for Azerbaijan, whose government faces a central challenge to create conditions that will facilitate growth in nonoil tradable sectors. The core objectives of Azerbaijan's development strategy are to diversify the economy away from the oil sector and sustain high employment and growth. Encouraging high-growth entrepreneurship can help Azerbaijan achieve these goals as it moves toward new opportunities in value added and tradable sectors. This study shows that high-growth entrepreneurialism is low in Azerbaijan and that innovative activity among firms is very low. Several factors hinder business growth and entrepreneurship: lack of competition, especially among smaller firms; financial systems that are not conducive to business development. Companies cite high interest rates and risk-averse lending policies as substantial hindrances to expansion. In addition, risk capital is in short supply; and lack of industry-relevant skills. The government could play an important role by removing bottlenecks that impede entrepreneurialism in the general business environment as well as by designing new financial policy instruments that foster entrepreneurship and innovation. In doing so, the government needs to exercise care that the design and management of these instruments prevent capture or corruption and promote efficiency. Lack of competition is an issue in Azerbaijan, particularly for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), which face uneven treatment within the enterprise sector.Publication Arab Development Symposium Second : Invigorating SMEs in the Arab World(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-03)In March 2010, the Arab fund for economic and social development and the World Bank (Middle East and North Africa region) agreed to hold joint high-level development seminars around issues pertaining to the Arab World. These will be held on a regular basis, every 18 months or so, at the Arab fund premises in Kuwait. This note analyzes micro, small, and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs) in the Arab World. A regional approach to promoting SMEs will have the added benefit of enhancing regional integration among MENA countries - a region which is one of the least integrated in the world. Finally, micro enterprises have an important development role as they stimulate economic inclusion, particularly among women and youth. The main recommendations are divided into two areas: policies and institutions.Publication Thailand Economic Monitor, April 2018(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018-04)The global economy grew at an estimated 3.0 percent in 2017, slightly above expectations in mid-year, with synchronous recovery in advanced economies and emerging markets and developing economies. Thailand has continued to make progress in reducing poverty. Thailand’s economic recovery is expected to accelerate in 2018, with growth projected at 4.1 percent, driven by external demand and private consumption. Thailand is an example of an emerging market facing the innovation paradox: returns to R&D are high but actual investments are low compared to peers.Publication Fostering Technology Absorption in Southern African Enterprises(World Bank, 2011-09-16)This book seeks to understand how firms in southern Africa absorb technology and how policy makers can hurry the process along. It identifies channels of technology transfer and absorption through trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) and constraints to greater technology absorption, and it discusses policy options open to the government and the private sector in light of relevant international experience. The book is based on case studies of sectors and enterprises selected in four countries: Lesotho, Mauritius, Namibia, and South Africa. The relationship between technology absorption and catch-up growth is particularly relevant to southern Africa because those countries are facing tremendous competitiveness challenges and must rely on greater technology absorption to raise productivity and strengthen competitiveness to gain ground in the global market. An increased market share can then generate faster growth and create more jobs. Therefore, catch-up growth sustained by technological progress and productivity growth is the fundamental solution to unemployment and poverty alleviation. Southern African firms use multiple channels for technology absorption. For example, South African auto component firms entered technology agreements with global players to meet the demanding product standards required for export. Even after the global crisis in 2009, those who licensed technologies still spent 2.23 percent of their sales revenue on royalties. In Namibia, the meat-processing industry has made continuous efforts to upgrade technology, including the recent investment in radio frequency identification technology to trace cattle. In fish processing, companies use state-of-the-art production technologies, including electronic software to record and monitor production processes, intelligent portioning equipment, and sophisticated freezer systems. In the breweries sector, state-of-the-art technology is used at every stage of production and in the marketing and distribution processes.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Jobs in a Changing Climate: Insights from World Bank Group Country Climate and Development Reports Covering 93 Economies(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-11-05)The World Bank Group’s Country Climate and Development Reports (CCDRs) provide a crosscutting look at how countries’ development prospects, and the job opportunities they offer to their people, can be threatened by climate impacts and supported by climate policies. Climate change and policies affect jobs through impacts on productivity, energy and material efficiency, and physical, human, and natural capital. They can also transform employment opportunities, especially through complementary measures that help workers and firms adapt to and benefit from new technologies and production practices. Prepared by the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), CCDRs integrate country perspectives, climate science and economic modeling, private sector information, and policy analysis to assess how countries can successfully grow and develop their economies and create jobs despite increasing climate risks and while achieving their climate objectives and commitments. Each CCDR starts from the country’s development priorities, opportunities, and challenges, and is developed in close consultation with governments, businesses, and civil society, ensuring the recommendations reflect national priorities. By combining evidence on adaptation, resilience, and emissions pathways, CCDRs highlight where climate action can reinforce development and job creation, and where targeted policies are needed to manage risks and smooth labor market transitions. Taken together, these elements can help create local jobs, ensure economic transitions are just and inclusive, and equip workers and firms to navigate the disruptions and opportunities of a changing climate and changing technologies.Publication Guinea-Bissau Country Climate and Development Report(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-23)Guinea-Bissau is endowed with a wealth of natural resources, with the highest natural capital per capita in West Africa (US3,874 dollars per capita), which could be leveraged for sustainable and resilient growth. However, Guinea-Bissau faces significant development hurdles, such as high poverty rates, political instability, and economic challenges, including an over-reliance on cashew nuts. Rural poverty has increased, and the nation's infrastructure, education, and health care systems are underdeveloped. Climate change poses a severe threat, potentially impacting agriculture, fisheries, and infrastructure. Without adaptation, it could lead to a significant cut in real GDP per capita (minus 7.3 percent by 2050) and increase in poverty (with up to over 200,000 additional poor by 2050, that is, 5 percent of the expected population, in the worst scenario). The country's low greenhouse gas emissions are expected to rise, mainly due to agriculture and land-use changes, with deforestation being a major contributing factor. Although Guinea-Bissau is a low emitter, it has high mitigation ambitions, targeting a 30 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. The Nationally Determined Contribution outlines significant climate actions, with initiatives focused on forest conservation, sustainable agriculture, and community development. However, the country's political instability, institutional weaknesses, and limited financial resources pose challenges to implementing these climate commitments, which depend heavily on external funding. The financial sector's underdevelopment and vulnerability to external shocks limit its ability to support green investments, though reforms could enhance resilience. Guinea-Bissau must consider its climate financing as development financing and vice-versa, engage the private sector, and integrate climate goals with national development plans to ensure a sustainable future. Concessional climate financing is vital due to the underdeveloped financial sector and the government’s limited borrowing capacity. Addressing Guinea-Bissau's vulnerability to climate change and its structural issues requires a cohesive approach that integrates development and climate strategies. This could involve improving governance, diversifying the economy, protecting natural capital, developing human capital, and investing in sustainable agriculture and infrastructure. The transition to a more sustainable and inclusive development pathway that supports economic growth is possible, but requires focusing on key strategic sectors, enhancing institutional capacity, and creating the conditions to mobilize finance. As a highly vulnerable country, there are myriad needs in the different sectors; however, to be more efficient and effective, Guinea-Bissau should prioritize actions in a few sectors, especially actions on biodiversity, agriculture, and social protection. Low carbon development, especially in energy and forestry sectors, could provide cost-efficient solutions and attract climate finance, including from the private sector, which will support the overall development agenda.Publication Gabon Country Climate and Development Report(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-11-01)Gabon has a unique opportunity to drive inclusive growth, reduce poverty, and build a resilient post-oil economy, with climate action accelerating progress toward these goals. The country’s main development challenge is achieving higher growth and poverty reduction, as stronger growth is needed regardless of projected climate shocks to create jobs, raise living standards, and enable a viable post-oil economy. While pursuing growth-promoting economic reforms, climate action that prioritizes people must remain central to its development pathway. However, climate change risks exacerbating poverty and regional inequalities in a country already facing long-term challenges in expanding economic opportunities and basic public services, especially in rural areas. Climate shifts compound these challenges, making stronger private sector-led growth driven by reforms essential for resilience, diversification, job creation, and poverty reduction, though targeted investments in adaptation will still be required to mitigate climate shocks. Using a whole-of-economy approach, the Gabon Country Climate Development Report (CCDR) estimates that climate change impacts could result in GDP losses of 3.5 to 5.3 percent per year through 2050 compared to a business-as-usual baseline trajectory.Publication Kyrgyz Republic Country Climate and Development Report(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-11-03)This Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) on the Kyrgyz Republic aims to support the country’s development goals amid a changing climate. The CCDR considers two policy scenarios up to 2050: the business-as-usual (BAU) and high-growth scenarios. As it quantifies the likely impacts of climate change on the Kyrgyz economy between now and 2050, the report highlights key government actions to best prepare for and adapt to climate impacts (referred to as “with adaptation” measures), with a particular focus on the time horizon up to 2030. The CCDR also outlines a path to net zero emissions by 2050 (referred to as “with mitigation” measures, “decarbonization,” or, simply, “net zero 2050”), highlighting associated development co-benefits.Publication Comoros Country Climate and Development Report(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-06-18)The Union of the Comoros (The Comoros) has significant vulnerability to climate change-related risks but has considerable opportunities to strengthen preparedness and resilience against these challenges. According to the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Index, the Comoros is the 29th-most vulnerable country to climate change and the 163rd most ready to adapt (out of 191). The Comoros archipelago is exposed to many natural hazards that adversely affect the country’s natural capital, people, and physical infrastructure. In 2014, the economic cost of climate-related disasters was estimated at 5.7 million dollars annually, equivalent to 9.2 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Between 2018 and 2023, as many as 11 tropical depressions or cyclones impacted the country, with Cyclone Kenneth causing the greatest damage, equivalent to 14 percent of GDP, resulting in total economic growth falling from 3.6 percent in 2018 to 1.9 percent in 2019. More than 345,000 people (40 percent of the population) were affected by the cyclone, with 185,000 people experiencing severe impacts and 12,000 people displaced. However, there is an opportunity for the country to grow more robust and shock-responsive, and to establish pre-positioned funding mechanisms to enhance future crisis response efforts. For the Comoros, adaptation and climate-resilient development are the key climate change focus areas, with the country projected to face 836 million dollars 2050 in additional costs due to climate-related impacts. Current plans to adapt to the impacts of climate change in the Comoros include efforts to improve water management, strengthen coastal protection, and develop climate-smart agriculture practices. Given the country’s reliance on its natural resource base for economic growth and mobility, protection of these resources from climate change will be essential for promoting resilient growth and development. In addition to growing the adaptive capacity of the country’s natural resource sectors, strategic economic diversification will be important to help minimize future climate impacts, and development activities will need to be undertaken in such a way as to attract low-carbon co-benefits. The Union of the Comoros is committed to addressing climate change through its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and national priorities. The country’s NDC (which was revised in 2021 for a ten-year horizon) sets ambitious targets, with a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 23 percent by 2030. The country also plans to significantly increase the share of renewable energy in its energy portfolio, reaching 33 MW by 2030. This will not only promote low-carbon development but also reduce the country’s dependency on imported oil and coal, which currently make up 95 percent of the energy mix. Additionally, the Comoros has declared its intention to increase CO2 removals by 47 percent by 2030, compared to BAU.