DPM:Thai economy will keep growing in 2013

BANGKOK, January 5 (TNA) - Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kittirat Na-Ranong says he believes that the Thai economy will keep expanding this year, boosted mainly by domestic stimulus. Speaking during the weekly TV and radio programme of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Saturday, Kittirat acknowledged that three expanding domestic factors, including people's purchasing power, spending by the government on new public investment projects and private investment, will become main propellers of Thailand's economic growth this year. According to the deputy premier, the Thai government's new wage hike to 300 baht in all areas across the country, effective from January 1, 2013, will be boosting people's purchasing power, while the government's disbursement of state budget to fund the new mega investment projects, couple with more private investment, will also contribute to the growing national economy. Meanwhile, Bangkok-based Kasikorn Research Center (KRC) reported that the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) index, which was closed on Friday at 1,416.66 points, a 1.78 per cent increase from last week, with an average daily turnover standing at about 45.7 billion baht this week, an increase of 68.8 per cent from last week, was its highest level in 17 years, thanks to the US Congress's approval earlier this week of the Obama administration's fiscal cliff measure. The leading private think tank assessed that the SET index should keep rising next week, with the support level at 1,400 points and the resistance level at around 1,430 points.(TNA)