their status as a credible and efficient financial intermediary and able to meet private sector demands. these efforts included encouraging financial institutions to rationalize their transaction fees structure, introducing digital cheque - imaging system, and relaxing certain measures related to financial institutions to alleviate financial burdens of flood - affected victims. economic conditions and challenges for 2012 the path towards the future is not a smooth one. ongoing challenges from the past and new challenges will increase obstacles for the thai economy. domestic issues still remain an important hurdle while emerging external issues have created new challenges. these challenges are inherent parts of the mega trends, which include the crisis facing western economies and advancing regional economic integration. currently, thailand appears to be at a transitional gateway of these mega - trends, where the future looks blurry. the persistent economic slowdown plaguing the advanced economies of bis central bankers ’ speeches united states and europe leading up to sovereign debt crisis and continued financial system stresses do not yet have a clear resolution in place. many observers, however, view that after this transitional gateway, asia will be under the spotlight with china as the new leader, leading the economic expansion for other countries in the region. despite this optimism, countries in asia cannot afford to relax, sit back, and enjoy the ride, as economic volatility could arise intermittently via trade and financial channels from western economies. the degree of such impact depends on how well each economy is prepared for the potential disruption. another aspect of the transitional gateway is the asean economic community ( aec ) in 2015. this regional integration will bring not only changes in the regional investment and trade landscape, but also changes in people ’ s attitude as an asean citizen where travel and contact will become more frequent. nonetheless, we should not view aec as the final destination, but rather a stepping stone towards enhancing economic resiliency in the region by creating a single asean market and production base. this would help foster value - added characteristics of the thai economy and increase opportunities for our people, businesses, and everything else that will bring about a better standard of living for all. the two mega - trends i have outlined, when combined with the flood crisis at the end of last year, mean that thailand needs to quickly upgrade infrastructure to improve competitiveness. in particular, public investment in effective natural resources management system and improved governance of public administration will serve as an important driving force for sustainable economic growth. evolution of economic activities in line with the changing environment while the immediate obstacles may have changed, the

the process of globalization, which began with the industrialized nations of the west, has had important influence on our values, as i have mentioned earlier. if our government is in favor of this creed of globalization without reservation, there will be no one to stop globalization from eventually overtaking our local businesses. more importantly, social values which give us a sense of satisfaction and happiness will be gradually eroded. it is up to the government, who is tasked with the management of the country, to selectively choose which technology to be brought in to improve efficiency, and only where necessary and appropriate. they should take heed not to allow new developments to overwhelm local traditions and livelihoods. only then will globalization not change the existing traditional social values. ladies and gentleman the last item i would like to touch upon today is another related issue befitting today ’ s theme of changing value of thai society, and that is the measure of economic development and prosperity. today ’ s measure focuses almost exclusively on gdp growth figures. actually, there are many measurement of economic development, such as employment, per capita income, and income distribution, but it appears that the government focuses almost exclusively on gdp growth figures. quantitative - oriented national leaders focus on this measure - so much so that any activities that will help boost gdp growth are given priority over all other concerns. importance and priority are also being placed on large economic and investment projects, overlooking social development and preservation. their scope becomes myopic, focusing on short - term investments with immediate results and effect on gdp growth figures in the next quarter, rather than on longer - term projects which foster education and preservation of cultural heritage. it is an undisputable fact that in the case of thailand, we have focused our energy in promoting growth in industrial production to achieve economic growth and development. one effect has been a rapid depletion of our natural resources. deforestation resulting from logging and other industries for shortterm economic gain is a stark example ( on this may i add that we are lucky that some visionaries in previous governments realized these dangers and declared a forest closed - door policy which helped stop deforestation ). what seems to be the inevitable consequences of a solely gdp - driven growth strategy include problems of water shortages, which we now see repeatedly on a yearly basis. more worryingly, this trend seems to be intensifying each year as the demand for water continues to rise and is projected to double within twenty years ( with current rates of population and