Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) predicts that the gross domestic product of Thailand will increase by 0.7% this year, revised downwards from its earlier anticipation of 0.9%.
SCB senior executive vice president Yunyong Thaicharoen said the growth forecast was smaller mainly because the third wave of COVID-19 outbreaks was severe and prolonged and had heavy impacts on consumption in the private sector.
Besides, SCB predicted the number of visitors to Thailand this year would be 170,000 instead of 300,000 as earlier forecast. The situation would gradually improve from the fourth quarter because the number of people receiving full doses of COVID-19 vaccines would increase significantly, Mr. Yunyong said.
SCB expected the Thai economy to grow by 3.4% next year on the recovery of internal and external demand in accordance with increasing vaccinations. International tourism would also expand and Thailand was likely to welcome 6.3 million visitors next year, Mr. Yunyong said. (TNA)
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