The Ministry of Finance says it expects the Thai economy to fully recover by 2023, driven mainly by the tourism sector.
Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said 2022 should see the start of the rebound, with the economy expected to expand 4% next year amid strong export growth and the injection of 1 trillion baht in state funds into economic circulation.
Roughly 600 billion baht will be drawn from the state investment budget while about 300 billion baht will come from state enterprise investment funds. Another 100 billion baht remains from the 250 billion baht that the government borrowed through the second emergency loan decree.
The Minister added that private and domestic consumption should also help drive the recovery, with the government boosting consumer confidence to further encourage spending.
The government is also slated to open a new round of registrations for state welfare cards in 2022.
According to Bank of Thailand (BoT) Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput, the nation’s economy could return to pre-pandemic levels by the first quarter of 2023. He added that fiscal and monetary policies must continue to support the national recovery.
Siam Commercial Bank Economic Intelligence Center (SCB EIC) has meanwhile downgraded its 2022 economic growth forecast to 3.2%, down from 3.4%. It based its projection on the expected impact of the Omicron coronavirus variant on the global economy and Thailand’s tourism industry.
SCB EIC said it expects the Thai economy to return to pre-pandemic levels by mid-2023. (NNT)
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