BOT:Thai economy keeps growing

BANGKOK, August 22 (TNA) - The Bank of Thailand (BOT) reports that the national economy grew higher than an earlier projection and is likely to keep expanding in the coming months. A BOT senior director for macro-economy, Don Nakornthap, told journalists of the positive prospect on August 21, saying that the Thai economy in the second quarter of this year grew 3.7 per cent year-on year, or further grew 1.3 per cent from the first quarter, thanks to expanding Thai exports in line with the recovering world economy and growing domestic private consumption and investment. Noting that the domestic private consumption and investment in the second quarter of this year also expanded more than an earlier expectation, Don projected that the Thai economy is likely to keep rebounding in the coming months. The BOT senior director cautioned, however, that there are remaining risk factors against the growing Thai economy that need to be closely monitored, including an uncertainty of the United States' economic and trade policies and impacts from global geo-political conflicts on the economies of Thailand's trading partners and on the continuation of the Thai government's new mega-investment projects. The Bangkok-based Kasikorn Research Center (KRC) acknowledged, meanwhile, that Thailand's economic growth at 3.7 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of this year is better than its earlier forecast of 3.2 per cent year-on-year during the April-June period, which also cushioned the country's gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the first half of this year higher than its earlier anticipation as well. According to the leading private think tank, Thailand's average GDPgrowth for the whole 2017 is, thus, approaching 3.0-3.6 per cent year-on-year. Nonetheless, KRC has maintained its forecast of Thailand's average GDP growth this year at 3.4 per cent year-on-year due to remaining risk factors, namely impacts from the stronger Thai baht and recent floods in the Thai Northeast and North. (TNA)