In her weekly Empowering Thais programme on March 2 morning, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said the Southeast Asian country's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by only 2.5% last year because it had not invested substantially in new industries and had not prepared the people for future industries over the past decade.
Thailand's economic expansion accelerated in the second quarter on the back of stronger consumption, tourism, and exports, but analysts said policy uncertainty following a change in government clouds the outlook.
Thailand's economy grew by 1.8% in 2023, down from the 2.6% year-on-year, as the manufacturing and export sectors contracted, the country’s Finance Ministry said on January 25.
Thailand's Finance Ministry plans to revise its 2022 forecast for Thai economic growth next month, focusing on the impact of rising inflation and spiking energy prices, said a ministry source who requested anonymity.
The Thai government has freshly launched an economic stimulus package worth 21.8 billion THB (680 million USD) to deal with signs of an economic slowdown and spur domestic consumption to offset weaker exports.
The Siam Commercial Bank’s (SCB) latest review of the Thai economy reveals a healthy expansion rate despite a decrease in growth due to the global economy, trade war between the United States and China, and uncertainty among private companies on the formation of new government.
Thai baht surpassed others in Asia to rise by 4 percent against US dollar as of late February, and is predicted to be one of the best-performing currencies in the region.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised its Thai economic growth projections for this year and next from 3.9 percent to 4.6 percent and 3.8 percent to 3.9 percent, respectively.
Thailand’s consumer confidence in March 2017 climbed for the fourth consecutive month to the highest level in two years, announced the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce Economic and Business Forecasting Centre.
