BANGKOK: The Thai economy is expected to expand by 3 per cent in 2016, according to the Asian Development Bank. In the “Asian Development Outlook 2016: Asia’s Potential Growth”, the bank forecasts 3.5 per cent growth rate in 2017.
As exports remain weak, the bank said that growth is seen picking up this year and next if planned infrastructure investment proceeds as scheduled and the political climate is calm around national elections proposed for the second half of 2017.
Private consumption is expected to increase at a modest pace in 2016 but then quicken next year. The stimulus measures will help, but consumption remains suppressed by household fi nances battered by drought, low prices for agricultural products, and already high household debt. Risks to the outlook come from a possible worsening of the drought, which would hit incomes, private consumption, and exports, the bank said.
