Pichai points out that Thailand must keep up with the world; leaders need knowledge of Data Center and AI. He endorses Dr. Chain as suitable and reveals that to make Thailand a high-income country, exports must be expanded, investment increased, and Pheu Thai Party policies promoted.
On 29 January 2026, Mr. Pichai Naripthaphan, former Minister of Commerce, spoke at the 2026 election vision event organized by TNN and the Bangkok Post at SCBX Next, 4th floor, Siam Paragon. He said Pheu Thai Party's policies still follow the principles from the Thai Rak Thai Party era: reducing expenses, increasing income, and expanding opportunities, focusing on developing Thailand into a high-income country. To achieve this, Thailand's economy must grow by 5% annually for another 20 years. The Pheu Thai government has strived to expand exports, which grew by 5.4% in 2024 and further increased by 12.93% in 2025. Investment promotion applications reached 1.14 trillion baht in 2024 and surged to 1.87 trillion baht in 2025, the highest in Thailand's history. Maintaining strong export and investment growth will ensure Thailand's economic recovery and continued development.
In the short term, Pheu Thai has policies designed to solve long-term problems, such as debt relief, which is a major issue causing hardship despite rising exports and investments. Thai household debt is nearly 90% of GDP, meaning most income goes to debt repayment, causing distress. Therefore, Pheu Thai's proposed debt relief for five groups will address this issue and reduce citizens' expenses, including a 20-baht fare for electric trains. Additionally, there is the retirement lottery policy to encourage savings for retirement while offering chances to win prizes, and a policy to create nine millionaires daily, aiming to increase VAT revenue collection. Many countries, especially Taiwan, have successfully increased VAT revenues by 15-20% annually through similar measures. There are also several other policies.
The most important issue is adapting the country to global changes. The world is moving towards Data Center and AI systems, which will transform all work worldwide. Mr. Pichai had already spoken on this topic at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January 2024, alongside Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat and expert private sector leaders, during Thailand’s FTA signing with the EFTA countries.
Mr. Pichai said that the world has advanced greatly in Data Center and AI technologies, which relate to global development in all areas. From his personal experience in China and the United States, Dr. Chain Yossanan Wongsawat, Pheu Thai’s prime ministerial candidate, possesses the knowledge and understanding to advance Thailand using Data Center and AI. He encouraged everyone to watch Elon Musk's speech at this year's WEF, where Musk predicted the future of Data Center and AI as world-changing, stating that by 2030 AI will be smarter than all humans combined and that everything will rely on AI for operations.
Mr. Pichai reiterated his previous warnings that Thailand missed out on the E-Commerce and Unicorn booms during the decade of political instability, leading to low economic growth. Therefore, Thailand must not miss the Data Center and AI wave, as keeping pace with the world is crucial. He has studied development and promoted investment in Data Center and AI since early 2023, after successfully attracting investors to produce printed circuit boards (PCB). Thailand is now among the world’s top PCB producers, fostering clusters in semiconductor and electronics industries. Knowing Japan’s plan for a 10 trillion yen semiconductor development, he flew to negotiate with Japan's Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi in early 2025 to involve Thailand in this development, to which the minister agreed in principle. Currently, as Data Center and AI investments increase, the challenge is how Thailand can fully benefit from these investments, a task for the nation’s leadership to address and develop.
He assured that Pheu Thai looks ahead to the country's future, committed to keeping pace with global trends. The party's candidate, Dr. Yossanan Wongsawat, has the expertise to lead Thailand forward, enabling the nation to develop rapidly, stay globally competitive, and become a high-income country in the future for certain.