BANGKOK – The Center for Economic and Business Forecasting (CEBF) has reported that Thailand’s consumer confidence index continuously increased to the highest point in seven months, mainly due to the government’s economic stimulus measures.
CEBF Director Thanawat Polwichai said the consumer confidence index in December 2015 rose in all categories as consumers felt that the economy was better. They hoped that the Thai economy would recover in the near future because of the government’s stimulus measures, said the director.
The consumer confidence index increased to 65.1 point in December 2015 from 63.4 points in the previous month.
The center also found that 20.87% of the people were benefited from the 15,000-baht shopping tax break at the end of last year. 79.13% said they were not benefited from the measure since their income was tax-free.
The shopping tax break helped increase circulating money during the New Year holiday by almost 15 billion baht and cost the government around three billion baht. The tax break helped stimulate the economy by 0.1%, said the director.
