prasarn trairatvorakul : thailand ’ s economic outlook in 2011 opening remarks b dr prasarn trairatvorakul, governor of the bank of thailand, for the jsccib seminar titled “ thailand ’ s investment environment – looking forward ”, bangkok, 21 july 2011. * * * mr. chartsiri sophonpanich, chairman of the joint standing committee on commerce, industry and banking ( jsccib ), mr. dusit nontanakorn, chairman of the board of trade of thailand, mr. payungsak chartsutipol, chairman of the federation of thai industries, mr. nandor g. von der luehe, chairman of the joint foreign chambers of commerce in thailand ( jfcct ), distinguished speakers and guests, it is my honor and a pleasure to be here today, to give our distinguished audience an opening remark for this seminar, organized by the jsccib in cooperation with the jfcct1. the theme, “ thailand ’ s investment environment : looking forward ” is most timely and is of everyone ’ s interest. i am sure that the discussion and exchange of views and ideas presented throughout the day will be fruitful and beneficial to both public and private sector alike. before entering into a full - fledged panel discussion, i would like to give you, as an overture, an overview of thailand ’ s economic outlook in 2011, focusing on two parts. the first part will convey that 2011 is the year of normalization in several aspects, and the second part is to look beyond this ongoing normalization process and lays the basis for many challenges ahead. ladies and gentlemen, over the past years, the thai economy has been very resilient to numerous economic shocks, ranging from the oil price shock, natural disasters such as flood and drought, series of political uncertainties as well as the 2008 global financial crisis. nevertheless, thailand ’ s average annual growth rate for the last decade registered at 4. 4 percent which is within the range of our estimated potential growth. the bank of thailand expects economic growth for this year to return to this normal trend, with moderate growth in the first half of the year and steady growth in the second half after the supply chain disruption unwound. this is the first aspect of returning to normalcy, or growth normalization, which is a feature of resilient economy. such economic expansion is on the back of sound external and domestic demand. on the

needs to catch up, there is no catching up if we fall behind the curve on climate change. it is a one - shot game. and the consequences of getting it wrong would be catastrophic. responding to climate change is not simply about taking into consideration the effects of the green transition on inflation, nor the possible repercussions of physical and transition risks on financial stability. but it is also about actively taking steps that helps influence the incentives and willingness of society to alter their behaviours in such a way that mitigates adverse climate change. the most impactful channel for central banks in this respect is through the financial system. incentives, mindsets, and expertise in the financial sector must be geared so as to ensure that sufficient resources become available to finance the green transition. this requires a collaborative approach, both among agencies within a country, as well as internationally. initiatives being pursued by bodies such as the network of central banks and supervisors for greening the financial system are therefore critical. forging ahead amidst shifting grounds mervyn king once said that central banking should be boring. there was a time when that was true. there may come a day when it is true again. but that is not today. the task at hand is far from straightforward. maintaining economic and financial stability amidst the shifting fault lines will require a steady hand. to see through the noise of rapidly changing circumstances and distill the essence that policy should respond to. it will require humility in our understanding of the world so that we can adapt to incoming information and seek broad input from all stakeholders. and it will require staying focused on achieving our core mandates, ensuring that expectations for our policy goals are commensurate with the tools we have while recognizing the potential unintended side - effects of those tools. for 80 years, the bank of thailand's commitment to growth, stability and prosperity of the thai economy has been unwavering. we will remain steadfast to this commitment in 3 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches navigating through the uncertain terrain ahead. thank you all again for being part of this conference and i look forward to learning from your insights. 4 / 4 bis - central bankers'speeches