BANGKOK, March 25 (TNA) - Bank of Thailand (BoT) Governor Tarisa Watanagase on Wednesday conceded the Thai economy would definitely contract this year, but whether it shrink by up to 3 per cent or not remains uncertain as the central bank needs to take into account economic figures both locally and overseas.
Thailand’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the fourth quarter of last year was worse than expected.
Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij said on Monday that Thailand's economy will shrink by a sharp 3 per cent this year, lower from its earlier projection of a zero to two per cent contraction of gross national product (GDP). He also said the government needed to continue its budget deficit policy cautiously as it needed to take into account the long-term stability of state's finances.
The central bank was ready to use monetary policy to boost national economic growth if necessary, said Mrs. Tarisa.
Thai exports in January suffered their steepest fall in decade as demand for the country's cars and electrical goods plunged amid the deepening global economic slump.
Exports for the month dropped 26.5 per cent from the same period a year earlier to $10.5 billion.
The contraction in exports was the biggest since January 1991 and followed a 14.55 per cent year-on-year decline in December and a 20.47 per cent slide in November.
Still, the central bank chief reiterated that Thailand's interest rate will not drop to zero as in some countries because an interest cut to that level has some disadvantages.
Regarding an increase in the number of non-performing loans in February from 5.6 per cent to 5.9 per cent of the total loans in the system, Mrs. Tarisa said that loan repayment prospects have declined because of the economic sluggishness. (TNA)
Business News : Last Update : 09:11:48 25 March 2009 (GMT+7:00)
|
