NESDB forecasts 3.6-4.6% economic growth this year

 

 

BANGKOK, 26 February 2018 (NNT) – The Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) expects this year’s economic growth to be between 3.6% and 4.6% due to world economic recovery. 

NESDB Secretary General, Porametee Vimolsiri said yesterday that the country’s GDP surged by 4% in the last quarter of 2017 compared to the same period of 2016, and grew by 0.5% from the third quarter of 2017. 

Thanks to the fourth quarter’s substantial growth, the country’s GDP for the entire 2017 expanded by 3.9% year on year. 

As for 2018, Porametee believes the overall economic growth will range from 3.6% to 4.6%, attributing the continued expansion to the global economic recovery, the government’s economic policies, government spending, and expansion in the manufacturing sector. 

In 2017, he said the government had done a great job in stabilizing people’s incomes and bolstering the grassroots economy. 

Porametee forecast that in 2018, Thai exports will grow 6.8%, private sector consumption will grow 3.2%, the investment sector will grow 5.5%, inflation will range between 0.9% and 1.9%, and the current account surplus per GDP will be 7.8%.

 

-- nnt 2018-02-26

Growing an economy exports at near 7% when the baht seems to be daftly high seems at odds to me.