Public investment to boost Thai economy in second half of 2019

BANGKOK, June 27 (TNA) - The Fiscal Policy Office (FPO), under the Thai Ministry of Finance, says that investment projects to be implemented by the new Thai government should boost the national economy, together with a new economic stimulus package. FPO Spokesman Pornchai Thiraveja voiced the assessment on Thursday, stating that the national economic growth rate in the second half of this year should, thus, higher than the first half of this year. The FPO spokesman told journalists, however, that his office will, next month, announce its downward forecast figure of Thailand's gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate on average in 2019, from the earlier projection of about 3.8 per cent year-on-year on average, due mainly to a slowdown in Thai exports. The spokesman acknowledged that Thailand's internal economic stability remained sound last month, observed by a low inflation rate of only 1.1 per cent, and the private consumption remained expanding well in line with the rising prices of such major Thai farm products as natural rubber, tapioca, oil palm and corn despite a slight drop in international visitors to the Thai Kingdom. On June 26, the Bank of Thailand (BOT), through its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), resolved to keep its key interest rate intact at 1.75 per cent annually and adjusted downward its projection of the country's GDP growth in 2019 to about 3.3 per cent year-on-year on average. Meanwhile, the Kasikorn Research Center (KResearch), a leading Thai private think tank, has also adjusted downward the country's GDP growth this year to about 3.1 per cent year-on-year on average, citing impacts from the appreciation of the Thai baht against the US dollar and the persistent trade war between the immense Chinese and the US economies. (TNA)