SCB:Thai economy is rebounding

BANGKOK, June 22 (TNA) - Bangkok-based Siam Commercial Bank says that the Thai economy has bottomed out and its recovery should be noticeable in the second half of this year. SCB President Yol Phokasub made the prediction on Monday, pointing out that the Thai government is speeding up its spending and investing in new infrastructure development projects, while domestic tourism is picking up, which should boost the national economic expansion. Meanwhile, Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) Chairman Supant Mongkolsuthree assessed that the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) significant safety concerns (SSC) imposed on the Thai air transport safety standard should be a temporary impact and not affect the Thai economy in the long run. Supant noted that there has been only one MERS-CoV patient in Thailand and the Ministry of Public Health has brought the situation under control, with no international tourists having canceled their planned trips to Thailand. The FTI chief foresaw that MERS-CoV-related problems in Thailand should end in about two weeks. Regarding the ICAO’s red flag, or SSC, symbol against Thailand, the FTI chair viewed that the problem has existed for a while and the government has seriously solved it; so, the problem should be cleared and should not, thus, have any impact on the national economy. The FTI chair cautioned, however, that global economic problems have become a more concern because they have affected Thai exports. According to the FTI chair, the Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking will revise its forecast on Thailand's export growth early next month, after earlier predicting that Thai exports should grow by 1 per cent on average this year. The Bank of Thailand (BOT) has projected that the country's exports should shrink by 1.5 per cent this year. (TNA)