Bleak outlook to run to 2018: WB
Play
Thailand’s economic expansion is expected to remain anaemic at 2.4 per cent on average over 2016-18, due to challenges both external and internal, according to the World Bank.
In its “Global Economic Prospects” report, the World Bank anticipates 2-per-cent growth this year, only half of what it had projected back in June. The growth forecast for 2017 was also slashed by 1.6 percentage points to 2.4 per cent. The growth rate in 2018 is expected to come in at 2.7 per cent.
This follows 0.9 per cent in 2014 and 2.5 per cent in 2015.
“In Thailand, fragile confidence in the aftermath of political tensions in 2014 continued to weigh on consumption growth.
“Political uncertainty continues to weigh on private investment, and high household debt constrains private consumption,” the report said.
