BANGKOK, 18 November 2013 Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong has dismissed the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB)’s report of shrinkage in economic growth during the third quarter of this year, saying that the country needs to focus on the present and the future.
The NESDB said Thailand’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the third quarter, from July to September, stood at 2.7%, declining from the previous quarter when a 2.9% growth was recorded. As a consequence, the economy expanded only 3.7% in the first nine months of this year while it is expected to grow 1% in the fourth quarter.
The NESDB has also revised down the growth outlook for the whole year of 2013 for the third time to 3%, as opposed to 3.8-4.3% predicted earlier. Moreover, this year’s export is expected to turn up with no growth.
Mr Kittiratt has commented on the report, saying that the economy is not on the decline as the forecast suggested. He said that revenue collection in October, the first month of fiscal 2014, exceeded its target by 6.7%, which signals an economic recovery. He claimed that Thailand does not have to be preoccupied with achieving high growth as it now has a low unemployment rate.
