BANGKOK, Aug 20 — Thailand’s Industrial Sentiment Index (TISI) rose for the third consecutive month in July, according to the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI).
FTI Chairman Suphan Mongkholsuthee said the TISI rose to 89.7 in July from 88.4 in June, thanks to domestic political stability and an increase in orders for products of smal-l and medium-sized enterprises.
Mr Su-phan said the TISI projection for the next three months stands at 103.1 in July, rising from 101.9 in June.
He said operators want the government sector to set a policy to stimulate investors’ confidence, speed up disbursement of the budget to help bolster the economy, boost cooperation with neighboring countries to expand the market for Thai products, and support research and development.
The FTI chairman said that the upcoming appointments ofthe interim prime minister and cabinet will help boost Thailand’s gross domestic product growth to 2 per cent this year and 4.5 per cent next year.
Meanwhile, Surapong Paisipattanapong, spokesperson of the FTI’s automotive industry club, said Thailand’s automotive products and sales dropped in July due to the impact of the end of the first-car-buyer-scheme and economic slowdown.
Mr Surapong said automotive production stood at 151,339 units in July, down by 24.89 per cent from last year and down 5.33 per cent from the previous month.
Thailand produced 1.103 million vehicles in the first seven months of this year, he said, down by 28.46 per cent year on year.
He said domestic auto sales stood at 510,178 units in the first seven months of 2014, down by 39.2 per cent year on year while auto exports amounted to 651,832 units, a 4.31 per cent increase.
