Both the public and private sectors in Thailand should be more collaborative in efforts to advance Thailand’s leadership in various respects in ASEAN, according to Dalad Tantiprasongchai, chief operating and international business officer of SCBX Public Company Limited.
“Thailand’s trajectory might fall short of its regional peers, like Indonesia, in macroeconomic indicators, but we do believe that Thailand has a lot of core competitive advantages and endowments that are pretty ready to be better capitalised upon,” Dalad said in an interview with Thai PBS World.
With Thailand struggling to address rising household debt, her office is closely watching developments affecting other asset classes.
While Thailand’s household debt dropped to 89.6% of GDP in three and a half years, it is still higher than that of other countries in the region, according to the National Economic and Social Development Council.
Before restructure, as a financial institution, the bank had focussed primarily on traditional and domestic strategies. Dalad noted, however, that SCBX is now executing strategies to unlock new business growth beyond banking and Thailand.
According to the COO, establishing partnerships in ASEAN markets, especially Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam, is significant for the company, adding that opportunities for financial technology and financial services exist in the region.
Despite competitors in Thailand also pivoting towards financial technology, Dalad emphasised that her company made the bold decision to restructure, aiming to exploit synergies, create business opportunities in each market, form strategic partnerships and build consortia.
To strengthen the group’s competitiveness, the COO explained that the group is executing a three-pillar strategy to unlock growth. Launching a digital lending platform and its security capabilities have contributed to the group’s development.
“In addition to digital lending, digital assets and climate technologies are areas the group intends to pursue, as we are not just a bank any more. We are also focussed on innovation and artificial intelligence at work,” Dalad said.
Through its partnership with Microsoft, the COO said that co-pilot programmes help to enhance our staff members’ skills in AI, streamline day-to-day work and leverage evolving technology for customers.
After 120 years in operation, making it the oldest financial institution in Thailand, Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) underwent a major restructuring in 2011.
Full interview:
