BANGKOK, 25 February 2012 – The IMF has released its 2012 economic growth forecast, which pegs Thailand’s GDP target at 5.5%.
Mr. Thomas Rumbaugh, mission chief for Thailand at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said that Thai economy will likely expand by 5.5% in 2012 before growing further at the rate of 7.5% in 2013.
Mr. Rumbaugh added that he agrees with the Thai government’s big spending plan to improve the flood prevention system after the country has been hit hard by last year’s crisis. He also praised the fiscal stimulus policy that the government has been pursuing.
Thai economy shrank deeply in the last quarter of 2012, resulting in the whole year’s GDP growth rate of only 0.1%.
The IMF, however, is warning the government to realize that the measures to prevent flooding, which it plans to execute may be realized too late and the uncertainty that Thailand is facing may hit its vulnerable investment environment.
