Thai PM woos U.S. tech execs

Thailand's new prime minister has met executives of American technology and investment firms, including Tesla, Google and Microsoft, in a bid to boost the country's flagging economy.

Srettha Thavisin, a former property mogul who took office last month, met Tesla and X boss Elon Musk on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

"We had a good conversation on @Tesla , @spaceX , and @starlink technology," Srettha posted on X early Friday.

"We look forward to further discussions."

Thailand is one of Southeast Asia's leading car producers, and is looking to transition production to electric vehicles.

Traditionally much of the output has been dominated by Japanese manufacturers, but Chinese EV makers are moving in.

Srettha also posted photos from meetings with Google and Microsoft executives, and the CEO of investment house BlackRock, Larry Fink.

"The meeting aimed at possible investment in Thailand, in particular in support of clean energy-related enterprises' investment expansion and production in Thailand," Srettha wrote of his encounter with Fink.

Srettha's tech exec charm offensive comes as other countries in the region look to cash in on US investments in clean technology — and Washington's desire to diversify away from overdependence on China for key components and resources.

WITH AFP