Is Thailand finally joining Southeast Asia’s economic boom?
BANGKOK: An economic boom that’s reverberated across Southeast Asia has finally crossed over to Thailand.
The economy, which has lagged its neighbours this decade, is projected to have grown at the fastest pace in more than four years last quarter even as the baht surged. There’s reason to be optimistic as exports post double-digit percentage gains and the end of a year-long mourning period for King Bhumibol Adulyadej bolsters the outlook for consumption.
“We’re becoming more and more optimistic as the recovery in exports is more enduring than we expected,” said Eugenia Victorino, an economist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd in Singapore. “There’s still a lot of challenges, particularly the inability of the government to ‘crowd in’ private investment. That would really re-energise the economy.”
Gross domestic product probably grew 3.8 per cent in the third quarter from a year ago, according to the median estimate of nine economists surveyed by Bloomberg. That would be the quickest pace since the first quarter of 2013, according to the data. The government will release official figures on November 20.
Southeast Asian economies are enjoying a growth resurgence with expansion in Vietnam and the Philippines quickening.
Malaysia’s economy grew at the fastest pace in more than three years in the third quarter, data showed yesterday.
Thailand’s exports are coping with the strength of the baht, posting gains of more than 10 per cent in each of the five months through September. The baht has advanced more than eight per cent this year, among the best performers in Asia.
The government approved this month tax breaks for year-end shopping and has embarked on a 1.5 trillion baht (RM187.3 billion) plan to build infrastructure and advanced industry along the eastern seaboard. The Bank of Thailand has held its key interest rate near a record low since 2015. Bloomberg