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 At the annual seminar in Bangkok today, he said with the distorted structure, political contacts are likely to continue.

 "Political restructuring has focused only on election rules and relations of the administrative, legal and juristic areas. This won't solve political problems as long as economic discrepancy is not addressed," he told the audience.

 He cited that the agricultural intervention shows concentration of benefiteering. While the government now acts as the largest trader with huge stocks in inventories, it mostly ends up selling the stocks at cost due to quality degrades. Meanwhile, corruption prevails in the process as political influence is used for personal benefits.

 He urged the government to end such intervention and let the activity in the hands of private companies. Then, the government must ensure that the players do not take advantage of farmers.

 TDRI Chairman Kosit Panpiemras admitted that economic restructuring needs political supports, but politicians also need to communicate with the public and welcome different opinions.

 Nipon noted that the global economy should take over 5 years to fully recover, and ups and downs are anticipated during the recovery course.

 Bank of Thailand Governor Tarisa Watanagase said at the seminar that the economy is gradually recovering from the crisis, but the continuation depends on internal and external factors, particularly the recovery of major countries and domestic spending.  She also supported the termination of monopoly and unfair competition, to ensure long-term economic sustainability.

The TDRI urged amendments in the Competition Act BE2542, to free the committee from political intervention. It noted that despite complaints, the monopoly in 10 key sectors like cement, motorcycles, beer, mobile phones, retail business, and cable TV has stayed unchanged. Meanwhile, state enterprises and cooperatives are protected under the law, which affects private companies' competitiveness. Representatives from private companies should be welcomed to the committee.