ADB:Thai economy will likely grow by 4.9% this year

BANGKOK, April 10 (TNA) - The Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) has projected that the Thai economy should grow by 4.9 per cent this year and 5 per cent next year, boosted by the government's new 2-trillion-baht infrastructure development projects. Laksamon Atthapit, ADB’s senior economist in Thailand, unveiled the ADB's updated prediction on Tuesday, noting that the Thai government's 2-trillion-baht mega-projects will help boost confidence among international investors and the ADB, thus,forecast that the country's gross domestic product or GDP should grow well over the next two years. Laksamon said the ADB does not see the necessity for Thailand to implement any measure to control capital inflows, acknowledging, however, that the Thai economic growth projected for 2013 and 2014 were lower than the country's 6.4 economic expansion in 2012, and that the Thai government is foreseen to post a fiscal deficit worth 4.8 per cent of the country's GDP during the period. The ADB's senior economist cautioned that there would be risks if the Thai government's new mega-projects were delayed, suggesting that the government is collect more taxes to afford its spending and is to also ensure its transparent implementation of the projects. According to the ADB, Thai exports should grow by some 10 per cent this year and 11 per cent next year; while the country's inflation should stand at 3.2 per cent this year and 3.1 per cent next year and the Bank of Thailand (BOT)'s key interest rate at 2.7 per cent currently is considered suitable. The ADB, meanwhile, predicted that the economy of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc, in which Thailand is a member country, should expand by 5.4 per cent on average this year and 5.7 per cent next year, thanks to more capital inflows to Asia. (TNA)