More economic stimulus measures expected in new Thai administration

BANGKOK, April 3 (TNA) - The newly-elected Thai government is expected to urgently introduce more economic stimulus measures after it is formed by mid-2019 to boost the national economy amid a global economic slowdown. Nattaporn Triratanasirikul, Assistant Managing Director of the Kasikorn Research Center (KResearch), made the remarks at a business forum, organized in Bangkok on April 2, saying that the new Thai economic stimulus measures are likely to include those on rendering support to 15.6 million local farmers and to 14.5 million low-incomer earners. Besides, the newly-elected Thai government is expected to announce a new tax deduction measure for 10.3 million people, which, like those on supporting local farmers and low-income earners, can be immediately implemented in order to boost Thailand's gross domestic product (GDP) in the last quarter of 2019 by additional 0.2-0.4 per cent. Nattaporn stated, however, that KResearch has revised downward its projection of Thailand's GDP growth in 2019 to about 3.7 per cent year-on-year, from its earlier forecast of 4 per cent year-on-year, due to a slowdown in the country's exports caused by impacts from the global economic slowdown. Nattaporn assessed that Thailand's export growth in 2019 should stand at only about 3.2 per cent year-on-year, from 4.5 per cent year-on-year earlier forecast The KResearch executive cautioned that Thailand's GDP could even grow only by 3.2 per cent year-on-year on average in 2019 if there was a delay in the formation of the country's new coalition government and Thai exports expanded by only 2.5 per cent year-on-year on average. According to the KResearch executive, the Bank of Thailand (BOT) is expected to keep its key interest rate intact at 1.75 per cent annually to support the national economic recovery, while the Thai currency may become stronger at 31.20-31.50 a US dollar in late this year due to more capital inflows in response to a drop in the US key interest rate announced by the Federal Reserve (FED), if any. (TNA)