Thailand Puts Competition Policy at the Heart of National Strategy

At Competition Day 2026, hosted by the Trade Competition Commission of Thailand (TCCT), the country's national antitrust regulator, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce Suphajee Suthumpun opened the international conference under the theme "Transforming Thailand: Competition Landscape Reform for a Future-Ready Economy."

The Deputy emphasized the urgent need to reform market competition to address global changes, including geopolitical shifts, AI technology, and demographic shifts. Businesses must transition from competing on scale and low cost to competing on speed of learning, innovation, and trustworthiness. 

To make competition policy a national strategic pillar, Thailand is pursuing three shifts:
• Moving from reactive problem-solving to designing competition from the outset by using a "competition lens" to reduce government regulatory barriers.
• Moving from protecting individual operators to protecting competitive opportunities, thereby fostering innovation and empowering potential entrepreneurs.
• Moving from fragmented supervision to system-wide collaboration, encompassing coordination among government agencies, businesses, academic sectors, and the public, while expanding partnerships with international organizations such as ASEAN, the OECD, and the World Bank.

She also praised the TCCT for transforming its role into a "proactive regulator"—focusing on preventing structural and behavioral problems before they occur—and integrating competition principles into the government’s overall policymaking process.

A strong domestic market serves as the vital foundation for economic growth. If supported and given fair opportunities to compete, businesses can grow into a new economic engine and elevate Thailand's competitiveness on the global stage.

Source: PR Thai Government