Thailand ’s gross domestic product (GDP) will increase by 0.2 percentin the next two years, according to the Bank of Thailand (BoT).

MCOT online news quoted BoT Assistant Governor Paiboon Kittisrikangwanas saying that the GDP forecast will be elevated from 4.9 percent to5.1 percent this year, and from 4.8 percent to 5.0 percent next year,mainly due to impressive economic growth in last year’s fourth quarterand the economic resurrection of trading partners, especially Japanand some other Asian countries.

The government’s 2trillion THB investment in infrastructure projects will contribute tocapital injections into the economy, which is expected to absorb 17billion THB in circulation this year and 93 billion THB next year, hesaid.

Paiboon said the Thai economy will rocket muchbeyond the BoT’s forecast if the capital injections reach 220 billionTHB as targeted by the government.

However,Thailand’s exports may increase at 7.5 percent this year, below the 9percent forecast – a phenomenon which the BoT blames partly on the rapidappreciation of the baht and the sluggish global economy.

The inflation has been stable with the base rate at 1.6 percent andthe general rate at 2.7 percent, while pressure on capital has slightlyincreased due to higher crude oil prices.-VNA