BOT:Thai economy to grow 4.8% in 2012

BANGKOK, December 7 (TNA) - The Bank of Thailand (BOT) has revised its projection of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) growth next year to 4.8 per cent, instead of 4.1 per cent as earlier forecast, due to post-flood rehabilitation and consumption. BOT Governor Prasarn Trairatvorakul insisted that the national economic growth in 2012 should be higher than that of this year, but it would not reach 7 per cent. According to the central bank, Thailand's post-flood rehabilitation activities will occupy the first quarter of next year and national production is foreseen to actively resume in the second quarter, followed by full-scale production in the second half of next year. The BOT governor cautioned that a risk factor threatening the Thai economy next year is uncertainty in the world economy, which will, probably, limit Thai export growth at only 8 per cent, compared with 17 per cent this year. The BOT chief also recommended a close watch on and preparations for impacts from worldwide and inter-connected financial systems, noting that European debt problems could cause high demand for US dollar and tighter supply of the US currency, resulting in European central banks' relaxing their control on US dollar borrowing. The central bank governor said that the relaxation would relieve worldwide money markets at a certain extent, with further impacts of the issue needed to be followed up, although it would not directly affect the Thai economy, suggesting that the Thai government, therefore, save national coffers for emergency cases. (TNA)