“ rising above disruptions : a call for action ” keynote remark by dr. veerathai santiprabhob governor of the bank of thailand national directors conference 2018 thai institute of directors 21 june 2018, plaza athenee hotel, bangkok thailand dr. bandid nijathaworn, mr. andrew sheng, secretary general rapee sucharitakul, chief executives, directors, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. a very good morning to you all. first of all, i would like to express my sincere thanks to the thai institute of directors ( iod ) for inviting me to be a part of this exciting and important event. i have always had strong appreciation for iod ’ s mission and work to improve director professionalism and corporate governance in thailand. i would also like to commend the iod on organizing this year ’ s conference with a proactive and forward looking agenda that goes well beyond its focus on corporate governance. this year ’ s conference program concentrates on areas that we need to collaborate to ensure the future success of our country. it is therefore such an honor to be here today to share my thoughts with distinguished directors and key leaders who play an integral role in driving thailand forward. ladies and gentlemen, we are living in an unprecedented period of profound changes where exponential advancement in technologies is transforming everything we know. the speed, scope and impact of this technological change are unlike anything we have experienced before. it is disrupting and transforming the whole value chains, across all sectors in all corners of the globe, at an extremely fast pace. the effects of this digital revolution are far reaching. we have seen it affecting a wide spectrum of industries ranging from agriculture to automobile, encompassing a broad range of professions from farmers to financial professionals. drones can now be used to monitor agricultural yields and provide logistic services. artificial intelligence ( ai ) can now predict certain forms of cancer more accurately than doctors and enable cars to be self - driven. from 3d printing, to genome mapping, to internet of things ( iot ) and, very soon, internet of everything, the possibilities are limitless. as a country, how we respond to these challenges will determine thailand ’ s position in the world economy and the path our future generations take. of course, no one can accurately predict where this path of technological advancement will lead us to and how our digital future will unfold, but what we can be certain of is that traditional ways of conducting businesses have been upended and

leaderships are being challenged. board members and executives are faced with strategic risks that could threaten viability of their organizations if they do not make timely changes to their business models to remain relevant and competitive. equally important is how to manage risks associated with this digital transformation. as all directors know well, executing successful strategic transformation is not an easy task. executing successful digital transformation when the ecosystem is still evolving will be even more challenging. ladies and gentlemen, amidst these rapid technological advancements, i believe everyone here agrees that a wait - and - see strategy is inadequate. hence, i very much concur with the conference ’ s theme of “ a call for action. ” it takes courage to lead a transformative journey into an unknown territory. the collective wisdom shared among directors here will enable all of us to make better informed decisions and lead our organizations, and more importantly, lead thailand, onto the right path – the path which will rise above disruptions, as the iod has eloquently put it. as thailand embarks on the journey for digital transformation, we must focus on three key imperatives of productivity, immunity, and inclusivity. technological advancement provides tremendous opportunity for us to uplift these three areas like never before. while policymakers and regulators can provide support at the infrastructure level and promote a stable environment conducive for innovation, it is at the firm level that actions can be and must be taken to drive meaningful changes for the country as a whole. first, on productivity : uplifting the country ’ s productivity is necessary to ensure continued long - term economic growth. specifically, structural changes due to an aging workforce have hastened the need for our country to improve productivity just to maintain output level. in fact, thailand ’ s labor productivity growth has been on a decline. from 2002 to 2017, our annual growth of labor productivity averaged 2. 9 percent, a significant drop from an average of 5 percent during 1986 to 2001. in contrast, countries such as china and indonesia have been experiencing rises in productivity growth. should this trend continue, thailand will not be able to maintain its competitiveness and output level. fortunately, many technological advancements available at much lower costs today hold huge promises for raising productivity. cloud computing, robotics and automation have allowed businesses to save significant costs. big data, artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities can now offer insights that enable more targeted services. i urge you all to seize this opportunity and leverage on new technologies to improve the productivity of your