Floods fail to dowse future
A top Thai economist has forecast the Thai economy to expand healthily this year as a result of a successful recovery in the flood-hit industrial sector.
National News Bureau of Thailand
Monday 14 May 2012, 11:28AM
ra, Chairman of the Strategic Committee for Reconstruction and Future Development, said that the Thai economy had shown signs of continued recovery in the second quarter, a trend he believes will continue until the end of this year.
He stated that the local economic recovery had started in the first quarter of 2012 after the manufacturing sector resumed operations that were hit hard by the floods.
Mr Virabongsa added that such a trend, backed by the government’s higher-than-expected revenue collection, led him to predict that Thailand’s GDP would stand between 6 and 6.5 per cent this year.
Other factors, which Mr Virabongsa considers as supporting his forecast, include the special 120-billion-baht post-flood rehabilitation budget and the allocation of B350 billion for the country’s flood prevention systems.
He went on to say that reports from the Board of Investment (BOI) showed that there had recently been a significant rise in the investment incentive applications.
However, he cautioned that the economic expansion during the second half of this year may be hindered by a shortage of labour, if Myanmar opens its gates to the international community and many Burmese workers return home.
