Creativity Out Of A Crisis
Making a lasting difference in Thailand is a tough job. Governments change, key people are moved at a whim and there is little continuity, but one man who has stayed the course is Dr. Narongchai Akrasanee, concurrently chair of Thailand Creative and Design Center (TCDC), Office of Knowledge Management and Development (OKMD) and the Export-Import (EXIM) Bank.
Dr. Narongchai believes that by developing and sustaining a creative economy, Thailand will flourish. Pattamaporn Kittipanachol ask him how this could be done and finds out how cooperation with ASEAN, better IPR laws and changes to the Alien Business Law can give Thailand the boost it needs in this time of political instability and economic crisis.
“This country needs crises to drive it forward,” says Dr. Narongchai Akrasanee. Historically, “we’ve continuously had revolutions and coup d’etats, yet it’s made our lives better.” The current political morass, he argues, is a case of “bad politics being good economics. For three years we hardly invested, making Thailand the country least affected by the financial crisis.” Compared to the Korean won and Australian dollar [at end April 2009] which both fell approximately 40% against the US dollar, the baht softened less than 10%.
Like exemplary technocrats of his generation, the 64 year old economist’s illustrious career began in academia before rising to key posts in public organisations including being the Minister of Commerce, working with the Board of Investment, chair of several manufacturing, finance and securities companies, and advisor to former Finance Minister Dr. Somkid Jatusripitak and Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on economic affairs. Accumulating these kaleidoscopic experiences over 35 years, Dr. Narongchai gained a nuanced understanding of each arena that continues to serve him well in orchestrating changes to Thailand’s laws, economic policies and corporate landscape.
As commissioner of the Securities Exchange Commission he proposed establishing the Institute of Directors which proved timely during the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Correspondingly, the current global crisis drives home the need to adjust Thailand’s export-led model and for businesses to embrace creative strategies.
