Event: Special Public Lecture — “Thailand’s Economic Perspectives in an Uncertain World”
Speaker: His Excellency Abhisit Vejjajiva, Former Prime Minister of Thailand (27th Prime Minister)
Organiser: Graduate School of Business (MBA), Siam University
Venue: Siam University, Bangkok
Category: News / Distinguished Lecture, Economic Policy & MBA Education
Overview
Siam University’s Graduate School of Business (MBA) hosted a major academic and public affairs event: a special lecture by His Excellency Abhisit Vejjajiva — Thailand’s 27th Prime Minister — on the topic of “Thailand’s Economic Perspectives in an Uncertain World.”
The lecture drew a large audience of Siam University students, MBA participants, and distinguished guests, filling the university’s main hall to capacity — a testament both to the prestige of the speaker and to the urgency of the economic questions he was invited to address. The event was organised by the Graduate School of Business under the leadership of Dean Dr. Jomphong Mongkhonvanit, reflecting the school’s commitment to bringing the highest-level policy voices into direct dialogue with its student community.
About the Speaker: His Excellency Abhisit Vejjajiva
Abhisit Vejjajiva served as Thailand’s 27th Prime Minister from 2008 to 2011, leading the country through a period of significant economic and political challenge, including the global financial crisis and its aftermath. A graduate of Eton College and Oxford University (PPE, and subsequently an economics lecturer at Oxford), Abhisit brought an unusual combination of rigorous economic training and real-world executive experience to the office of Prime Minister.
As leader of the Democratic Party — one of Thailand’s oldest and most established political parties — Abhisit championed market-oriented economic reforms, investment in human capital, and a vision of Thailand’s development centred on moving beyond commodity and low-cost manufacturing toward higher-value, knowledge-intensive industries. His post-prime ministerial career has continued as an active voice in Thai public life, contributing to policy debates on economics, governance, and Thailand’s strategic direction.
The Lecture: Thailand’s Economic Perspectives in an Uncertain World
Delivered to a packed auditorium at Siam University, Abhisit’s lecture addressed one of the most consequential questions facing Thailand’s economy and its next generation of business leaders: how should Thailand position itself in a world defined by geopolitical uncertainty, technological disruption, and the accelerating shifts in global trade and investment patterns?
The former Prime Minister articulated a clear and forward-looking vision for Thailand’s economic trajectory. His key message, as shared by Dr. Jomphong following the event:
**”Thailand’s Engine of Growth will be creativity, technology and value-added services/products.”**
This framing carries significant implications. It represents a deliberate rejection of the assumption that Thailand can sustain its development through the same formula that produced its earlier growth — low-cost manufacturing, commodity exports, and tourism. Instead, Abhisit’s vision calls for a structural transformation: toward industries and sectors where Thailand can compete on the basis of knowledge, innovation, and quality rather than cost alone.
For Siam University’s MBA students — future business leaders, entrepreneurs, and managers — this message is both a challenge and a call to action. The skills and mindsets that will drive Thailand’s next growth engine are precisely those that a quality business education should cultivate: creative problem-solving, technological literacy, strategic thinking, and the capacity to design and deliver high-value products and services.
The Context: Uncertainty as the New Normal
The phrase “an uncertain world” in the lecture’s title is not rhetorical decoration. Thailand’s economy faces a genuinely complex set of uncertainties in the current global environment:
- Geopolitical tensions — including US-China competition, supply chain realignments, and the reshaping of regional trade architectures — are creating both risks and opportunities for Thai businesses
- Technological disruption — from AI and automation to digital platforms and humanoid robotics — is transforming the nature of work and competition across virtually every sector
- Demographic decline — Thailand’s falling birth rate and ageing population (as addressed in Dr. Jomphong’s own APHEIT keynote) are constraining the domestic labour supply and changing the composition of consumer demand
- Climate and sustainability pressures — green economy transitions are reshaping investment flows and competitive dynamics in manufacturing, agriculture, and services
Against this backdrop, Abhisit’s call for creativity, technology, and value-added orientation is not merely aspirational — it is strategic. For Thailand to navigate these uncertainties successfully, it needs an economy — and a generation of business leaders — capable of generating and capturing value in new ways.
The MBA Forum: Connecting Policy and Practice
The Graduate School of Business’s decision to host this event reflects a consistent institutional philosophy under Dean Dr. Jomphong: that excellent business education is not confined to the classroom, but is enriched by direct engagement with the highest-level practitioners and policymakers who are shaping the environment in which graduates will work.
By bringing a former Prime Minister to campus — to speak directly to students on the most pressing economic questions of the moment — Siam University’s MBA programme demonstrates that it takes seriously its responsibility to produce graduates who understand not just business management, but the policy, economic, and geopolitical contexts within which business decisions are made.
Key Takeaways
- Former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s lecture at Siam University’s Graduate School of Business brought one of Thailand’s most prominent economic policy voices directly into dialogue with the MBA community
- The core message — that Thailand’s growth engine must be creativity, technology, and value-added services/products — is both a diagnosis of Thailand’s economic transition and a direct statement of what the next generation of Thai business leaders must be equipped to deliver
- The event’s large, engaged audience reflects both the prestige of the speaker and the appetite among Siam University’s community for serious, high-level engagement with Thailand’s economic future
- For Siam University’s MBA programme, the lecture exemplifies a pedagogical approach that integrates policy leadership and academic scholarship — preparing graduates not just to manage businesses, but to understand and shape the broader economic environment in which they operate
- The forum reinforces Siam University’s Graduate School of Business as a convening space for Thailand’s most important economic conversations — a role that positions both the institution and its graduates at the intersection of business and public affairs
Special Public Lecture: “Thailand’s Economic Perspectives in an Uncertain World” by His Excellency Abhisit Vejjajiva, Former Prime Minister of Thailand (27th), organised by the Graduate School of Business (MBA), Siam University, Bangkok.