Ekniti believes foreigners rank Thailand as one of the rising stars among countries in the "New Industrial Revolution," explaining that the government is accelerating efforts to stabilize the economy during its transition to enable full growth potential in the economy.
On 17 Aug 2026 GMT+7, Mr. Ekniti Nitithanprapas, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, posted on Facebook his economic outlook titled "Thailand's Economy through GDP Figures: Where Are We and Where Are We Going? (Part 1)." He stated that he was traveling with the Prime Minister's delegation on an official visit to Australia and New Zealand. The National Economic and Social Development Council announced Thailand's GDP growth for Q2 2026 at 1.9%, down from 2.8% in Q1. This figure closely matches the Ministry of Finance's previous forecast and confirms the facts he and his economic team had predicted, as follows.
1) The impact of the Middle East war, which began in late March, started to affect the economy in waves during Q2—from an oil crisis to a broader price crisis. Inflation in Q2 surged to 2.7% from minus 0.5% in Q1. This rise in living costs caused private consumption growth in Q2 to slow to 1.9% from 3.3% in Q1. If this cycle is not halted, it could lead to a livelihood crisis and subsequent economic contraction. This is why the government issued an emergency loan decree, which funds the current Thai Help Plus program to support purchasing power and living costs. Whether to continue this program in the year's final quarter depends on results from the first phase ending in Q3 and remaining budget to maximize national benefit.
2) Another clear Q2 figure shows Thailand's heavy reliance on energy imports causing the current account deficit in Q2 to widen to 17.6 billion USD (approximately 600 billion baht), reversing the 1.4 billion USD surplus in Q1. Therefore, accelerating the transition from imported fossil fuels to clean energy is essential. The 200 billion baht energy transition project—including solar rooftops, power grid systems, energy storage, and electric vehicles—is an investment in the country's "future infrastructure." This borrowing is for asset creation and long-term risk reduction, not temporary spending. It aims to improve the country's energy production and management, reduce fuel import dependence, lower costs from volatile global energy prices, and lay the foundation for new private sector investment.
Mr. Ekniti added that the war in Iran marks a turning point and warning that Thailand cannot wait for ongoing energy price crises before acting. Conflicts in the Middle East directly impact energy costs, transportation, goods prices, and Thai people's living expenses. The government must urgently invest to reduce the country's vulnerability from fuel import dependence and global oil and gas price fluctuations within limited time and budget. These efforts align with Thailand's plan to increase clean energy production and use under the Ministry of Energy's PDP.
3) The highlight of this quarter is the private sector investment growth of 13.4% in Q2—the highest in 11 years and a continued double-digit growth following 10.1% in Q1. This is partly due to the BOI's Thailand Fast Pass project, resulting in actual private investment of 255 billion baht in Q2. Most investment focuses on S-Curve industries such as electronics, AI, clean energy, and agricultural processing. Additionally, export volume of goods and services continued to grow from 12.1% in Q1 to 12.5% in Q2, mainly electronics exports aligned with global demand and consistent with the trend of new industrial investment in Thailand.
From the perspective of foreigners ranking Thailand as a rising star among emerging countries able to seize opportunities from this global "New Industrial Revolution," this is very significant. The question is not whether we should pursue new industries, but how we can truly position Thailand as a global supply chain hub to pass benefits to domestic industries. This will be a crucial turning point for Thailand's economy.
Mr. Ekniti said that based on these detailed figures, Thailand's economy has already become part of the world's New Economy. Relevant government agencies are adjusting the grouping of indices to align with the world's new industrial landscape. From now on, we will see a clearer picture of Thailand's economic progress. Although this quarter's GDP figures are not yet satisfactory, they confirm that our forecasts and economic stabilization measures are on the right track.
"In response to the question of where Thailand's economy stands, we are currently in a phase where the government is accelerating efforts to stabilize the economy during its transition to enable full growth potential. We see signs of growth in new economic engines in Q2. I will write further in Part 2 about the direction of Thailand's economy, especially regarding structural adjustments and economic recovery plans being developed and implemented in the short, medium, and long term, and how these will reach SMEs and all sectors," Mr. Ekniti concluded.