BANGKOK, June 12 — Thailand’s private sector expects the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to increase by 2.5 per cent this year and wants to focus on a shift from production to service businesses.
Piyawat Titasattavorakul, head of the wholesale and retail business committee of the Board of Trade of Thailand, said quick economic stimulation measures by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) would increase the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) index by 5 per cent and the gross domestic product of Thailand by 2.5 per cent this year.
Sompop Manarangsan, president of the Panyapiwat Institute of Management, said Thailand’s economic growth in the second half of this year depended on the degree of success in restoring confidence.
The public had lost confidence and consumption had dropped 3 per cent in the first quarter, he said, urging proactive solutions for national administration, reconciliation and Thai economic reform.
Mr Sompop recommended that the economic reform should focus on the service sector because there were many competitors in the production sector. He praised the NCPO for solving economic problems quickly
He also urged long-term projects to enhance the capabilities of the nation, the exercise of privileges of the ASEAN Economic Community, and to pass legal amendments to improve the nation.
