​BBL confidents loan growth at 3- 4% in 2016

BANGKOK, Oct 10 (TNA) -- Although loans offered by commercial banks grew at only one per cent during the first eight months this year, Chartsiri Sophonpanich, president of Bangkok Bank Public Co, Ltd (BBL), is confident that the growth would meet the target of between 3-4 per cent during 2016. Bank loan would increase during the rest of this year due to mega projects sponsored by the government and loans to be extended to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operators, Mr Chartsiri said. Thailand’s economy in 2017 is expected to grow larger than this year’s 3.2-3.5 per cent projections, he said. Businesses in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region are still attractive and could still sustain growth for a long time in future, said Mr Chartsiri. The ASEAN Community is the third largest market and has a combined population of 600 million in the world while the bloc is considered as gateway to China and India, but growth in ASEAN is divided into two levels – a very high growth and still developing. It opens a business opportunity to penetrate, especially in basic infrastructure projects in ASEAN, excluding Singapore, and it needs about 8.8 trillion US dollars in the next decade, he said. This is an opportunity for transnational companies to invest in the region while rates are still low, he added. (TNA)