BANGKOK, July 31 (TNA) – Thailand’s GDP will contract by 8.5 percent this year due to the global pandemic, says the Finance Ministry.
The Ministry’s Fiscal Policy Office Director-General Lavaron Sangsnit told reporters on Thursday that the economy had passed the lowest point in the second quarter, signaling the contraction to ease in the latter half of 2020.
Earlier, the Bank of Thailand expected Thailand’s GDP would shrink by 8.1 percent.
Thailand’s export- and tourism-reliant economy had been hit hard, prompting fiscal stimulus measures to boost spending, maintain employment and promote community economy, said Lavaron.
The ministry projected the economy would grow by 4 – 5 percent in 2021, Lavaron said, with the assumption that coronavirus vaccines would become widely available.
“The Thai economy is now gradually recovering after the government has implemented a phase five of reopening. Government budgets are being disbursed to fund tourism promotion schemes,” he said. (TNA)
