BANGKOK – Thailand will name former corporate energy executive and central bank board member Pichai Chunhavajira as its new finance minister, taking over the role from Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, according to two government sources.

Mr Pichai, 75, who was Mr Srettha’s adviser, resigned as chair of Bangchak Corporation earlier on April 25, having been in the post since 2012. Earlier in 2024, he was appointed chair of the board of the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

Mr Pichai holds a master’s degree in business administration from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He was a board member of the Bank of Thailand from 2014 to 2017 and a director at PTT Exploration and Production from 2001 to 2013.

Mr Pichai could not immediately be reached for comment.

If confirmed as finance minister, he would face a tough task of reviving South-east Asia’s second-largest economy, which lags regional peers, as it faces high household debt and borrowing costs, as well as China’s slowdown.

He would be tasked with overseeing key government policies, including a flagship 500 billion baht (S$18 billion) handout scheme, which would transfer 10,000 baht to each of 50 million Thais to spend in their communities.

The stimulus has been delayed to late 2024 due to a lack of funding and concerns about the impact on public debt.

The economy unexpectedly shrank in the final quarter of 2023 from the third. Growth in 2023 was 1.9 per cent, below 2.5 per cent growth in 2022.

The state planning agency in February lowered its 2024 economic growth outlook to between 2.2 per cent and 3.2 per cent from a previous forecast of 2.7 per cent to 3.7 per cent. REUTERS