THAILAND’S FASTEST Q2 GROWTH IN 4 YEARS

3.7pc expansion on back of strong exports, tourism, farm output

THAILAND’S economy capped a solid performance for Southeast Asia in the second quarter, growing at its fastest clip in over four years thanks to strong exports — a common denominator for many countries still struggling to boost private consumption despite ultra-low interest rates.

Robust tourism and farm output also helped Thailand’s growth beat market expectations in the April-June quarter, prompting the government to raise its economic forecasts in a sign the recovery is gaining momentum.

Southeast Asia’s secondlargest economy joins other countries in the region, including Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines, which have seen growth speed up as an upturn in global demand hovered up the region’s electronics, home appliances and other consumer goods.

Thailand’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew a seasonally adjusted 1.3 per cent in the June quarter from the first, said the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) yesterday, faster than the 1.0 per cent forecast in a Reuters poll and matched the March quarter’s pace.

On a yearly basis, growth was 3.7 per cent, the quickest rate in more than four years, and easily beating the median forecast of 3.2 per cent and the 3.3 per cent pace clocked in January-March.

“We expect growth to remain relatively strong over the next couple of quarters, helped by strong external demand and loose monetary and fiscal policy,” said Gareth Leather, senior Asia economist at Capital Economics.

Citing the upbeat second quarter numbers, NESDB raised its economic growth forecast for this year to 3.5 to 4.0 per cent from 3.3 to 3.8 per cent projected earlier. Last year’s growth was 3.2 per cent.

It upgraded its export growth outlook to 5.7 per cent from 3.6 per cent.

Last week, Thailand’s central bank left its key interest rate at 1.5 per cent, where it has stayed for more than two years, and most economist expect policy to remain stimulatory for the rest of the year. Bloomberg

BLOOMBERG PIC People walking past the Siam Paragon shopping mall in Bangkok. Thailand’s growth outlook has strengthened this year on the back of a recovery in global trade.