Chamber chairman Pramon Sutivong told its annual meeting here yesterday he was confident the theory, adopted as government policy, would promote sustainable economic growth in the Kingdom.

TCC members will apply the philosophy in their businesses, he said at the two-day meeting, the theme of which was the "Kingdom's economic growth through the sufficiency-economy policy".

Around 200 businessmen and state officials attended.

One guest speaker was secretary-general of His Majesty the King's Chaipattana Foundation Dr Sumet Tantivejkul.

He said His Majesty's sufficiency-economy philosophy would save the country from economic crisis.

He added that both local and foreign businesses should understand the real meaning of sufficiency living to avoid future problems.

Previous economic policies attempted to transform Thailand into an industrialised nation yet failed to consider its agricultural heritage. This has "almost led the country into difficulty", he explained.

The Surayud-Chulanont government has adopted key economic policies of sufficiency focusing not only on gross domestic product growth but on equal income distribution, too, he said.

Sumet said the business community and individuals should apply the philosophy to their businesses and their lives.

He said the three main tenets of the philosophy were moderation, reason and the need for protection from the effects of internal and external change.

He encouraged people to adjust their demands in accordance with supply of natural resources to ensure sustainability.

National Economic and Social Development Board secretary-general Amphol Kitti-amphon said the sufficiency economy would not harm foreign direct investment or confidence in Thailand because it would increase competitiveness.

The board's 10th five-year economic plan promotes the philosophy, he said.

A board seminar on November 24 will hear the prime minister elaborate how the philosophy will affect government policy.

Meanwhile, Pramon said the government was on the right track to solving conflict in the deep South. He realised returning to normality there would take time.

A chamber deputy secretary-general and chairman of the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle, Somkiat Anuras, expected the southern situation to improve because the government had returned to "reconciliatory" policies and this had improved the confidence of residents.

He said the region's economy had hit rock bottom after the September-16 Hat Yai bombings but had now started to recover thanks to the new policy direction.

Surayud recently agreed to a special economic zone in the South that would help traders there and investor confidence alike, he added.

Petchanet Pratruangkrai

The Nation

NAKHON RATCHASIMA