BANGKOK, July 9 — Kasikornbank (KBank) expects Thailand’s economic recovery in the second half of 2014 and predicts the Thai gross domestic product (GDP) will grow by 2.3 per cent throughout the year.
KBank executive vice president Vasin Vanichvoranun said the Thai economy was likely to pick up significantly in the second half of this year because government budgets from the 2014 and 2015 fiscal years would be quickly disbursed.
Promotional privileges from the Board of Investment (BOI) will also be approved in the near future for investment projects worth Bt700 billion, and Bt92 billion has been paid for farmers’ pledged rice, he added.
The factors should allow the Thai GDP to grow by 4.3 per cent in the second half of this year and raise the GDP growth rate for the whole 2014 from 1.8 per cent to 2.3 per cent.
Other factors to support economic growth are the public’s consumption and exports.
Mr Vasin commented that government spending would directly benefit the construction and property sectors, and said that household spending spurred by the pledged rice payment would boost the growth of retail and consumer product businesses.
He predicted that the value of Thai exports would increase by 3 per cent this year compared with its 0.2 per cent recession last year.
The automotive industry and investment projects worth Bt400 billion waiting for promotional privileges from the BoI could significantly boost the Thai economy in the second half of this year, Mr Vasin said.
