initial steps that could lead countries in the region into a new regional financial landscape that further integrates trade and financial services. ladies and gentlemen, i hope my talk today is not overloaded with too many details, but i think it is a good opportunity to share some of the reform efforts in thailand that may be less frequently discussed. let me end my talk by providing you a quick summary. despite global challenges, the thai economy still carries on its recovery, with sound financial system and good macroeconomic stability. with fundamental strengths remaining in place, we expect a stronger and more resilient recovery going forward, especially through the legal reform initiatives that would ensure better governance, improve the distribution of income and economic opportunities, enhance productivity, and foster sustainability. making all these happen will continue to be a challenging task and require continued efforts from all parties involved. we look forward to strengthening our business cooperation and partnership with our european friends and investors like yourselves in the years to come. thank you for your kind attention.

moving thailand towards a new business and financial landscape speech by dr. veerathai santiprabhob governor of the bank of thailand european association for business and commerce ( eabc ) dinner event 23 january 2017 your excellencies, eu ambassador jesus miguel sanz, ambassadors of eu member states, eabc president, mr. rolf - dieter daniel, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, a very good evening. it is a great honor for me to be here this evening and i would like to thank the european association for business and commerce ( eabc ) for the warm welcoming arrangement of this event. i am very delighted to address this prestigious group of audience including ambassadors and leading businesspersons, among which many are thailand ’ s beloved and longtime friends. i would also like to acknowledge the eabc board of directors and the president, mr. rolf - dieter daniel, for ongoing efforts and hard work to improve thailandeu economic relationship. i hope this dinner has provided opportunity for all of us to exchange ideas and share perspectives. for myself, there is much to learn from the business community and i am grateful for all the feedbacks i received. business partnership with foreign investors has always been important to thailand ’ s economy. in fact, not only has thailand gained much benefits from international trades and investments, including ones with the european union ( eu ), we also have benefited from the “ needs ” to meet standards and requirements set by the international community. these reform efforts might result in short term setback, but will certainly result in long term gains that promote sustainability and further enhance our competitiveness and business partnership with foreign partners. my talk this evening on moving thailand towards a new business and financial landscape will consist of three parts. first, i will briefly discuss thailand ’ s current economic development. second, i will elaborate on several important sets of recently enacted and upcoming laws that will upgrade thailand ’ s business and financial landscape. lastly, i will briefly discuss bank of thailand ’ s policies to support the new business and financial landscape. with regard to the current economic development, we expect the thai economy to continue its recovery at the rate of around 3. 2 % in 2017 in spite of headwinds from the global economy and market volatility. our fiscal stimulus programs and accommodative monetary policy continue to support the economy while export growth started to show sign of a more broad - based recovery. nevertheless, there are challenges ahead, especially from a high level of household debt, which