Anutin vows to slash red tape, urges state-private synergy to boost economy

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul yesterday pledged to overhaul outdated regulations and to "walk hand-in-hand" with the private sector, asserting that the government is ready to act as a facilitator rather than a regulator to ensure Thailand’s competitiveness on the global stage.

Presiding over the "Entrepreneurs Speak, Government Listens" forum at Government House, Anutin welcomed top executives from 34 of the country's leading corporations.

The forum was designed as an intensive brainstorming session, aimed at gathering actionable feedback from industry titans.

High-profile attendees included Dhanin Chearavanont, senior chairman of Charoen Pokphand Group, Sarath Ratanavadi, chief executive officer of Gulf Development and many more from various business sectors.

In a departure from traditional bureaucratic formality, Anutin instructed Cabinet ministers to sit among the CEOs rather than at a head table.

"There is no head table here today. Everyone is a leader," the Prime Minister said. "The government is here to listen. From this point forward, we want the private sector to lead the conversation so we can align our policies with your needs."

The Prime Minister emphasised that the government is committed to eliminating pain points that have long hindered business growth, specifically citing redundant licensing processes, high compliance costs and the pressing labour shortage.

"We are no longer bound by old contexts or archaic laws that create unnecessary hurdles," Anutin told the assembly. "Our role is to provide 'justice in convenience,' ensuring every business has the opportunity to grow, hire and compete amid shifting global geopolitics and technological disruption.”

Reflecting on the recent ASEAN Summit, Anutin noted a regional consensus on green energy, food security and digital connectivity, expressing confidence that Thailand is uniquely positioned to serve as the "hub of ASEAN."

"During the summit, every nation spoke with one voice on energy stability and food security without prior coordination. Thailand has the inherent strength to drive these sectors globally," he said.

He cautioned, however, that national success is contingent on a unified front. "The country cannot move forward if we act in isolation. If you succeed, Thailand succeeds. In that scenario, everyone is a winner."

A standout moment of the forum came from CP Group’s Dhanin Chearavanont, who offered a visionary take on Thailand’s economic future, describing country’s agricultural sector as "oil on the ground", an inexhaustible resource that could eclipse traditional fossil fuels if managed correctly.

"Oil under the ground eventually runs out, but 'oil on the ground', our food and crops, can be produced forever," Dhanin said.

"The heart of this revolution is water. If the government treats water management with the same urgency it once treated rural electrification and road networks, we can transform the lives of farmers and the entire economy,” noted Dhanin as he urged the government to invest heavily in irrigation systems and reservoirs, noting that, with consistent water access, farmers could increase harvests to three times per year.

He claimed that modern management could boost yields per hectare by as much as fivefold.

"Farmers are the benefactors who feed the entire nation, yet today they remain poor. We must solve this," he urged.

Dhanin and other executives also proposed the creation of "Agro-Industrial Estates", zones that integrate farming, processing and commerce into a single ecosystem to slash logistics costs.

Anutin noted that the insights gained would be integrated into the administration's economic roadmap, particularly regarding the transition to green industries and the upgrading of workforce skills to meet the demands of the digital era.

As the forum concluded, the Prime Minister reiterated his "open door" policy, promising that the dialogue between Government House and the boardrooms of the nation’s top firms would remain a permanent fixture of his administration’s strategy to navigate global economic volatility.