BANGKOK, 26 September 2014 The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has trimmed down Thailand’s GDP growth to 1.6 percent this year, down from their original target of 2.9 percent.
Senior economist of the ADB Laksamon Attaphit stated that the lowered forecast was partly due to the political turmoil in the beginning of this year and weak exports. Nonetheless, she has maintained a positive outlook for the nation’s GDP for next year, saying that it would grow by 4.5 percent.
According to Ms. Laksamon, the driving factor that would play a pivotal role in boosting the nation’s GDP includes government spending on mega infrastructure projects. In return, this would lead to a recovery for investments in the private sector and consumer spending.
Household non-performing loans (NPLs), meanwhile, accounted for 2.2 percent of the total household debts. Even though the number is still relatively low, the number of loan defaults over a three month period has increased by 30 percent. This may eventually cause household debts to rise, which will in return affect consumer spending.
