Thailand’s economy grew at a lackluster 0.6 percent in the third quarter, prompting authorities to again trim the full-year growth forecast in a blow to a junta which has vowed to kick-start the economy following its coup.
Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former army chief who led the coup in May, has pinned the junta’s legitimacy to injecting zip into Thailand’s once-dynamic economy after months of political protests froze government spending, scared off tourists and battered consumer spending.
However, so far there have been few signs of economic revival, despite a pledge to increase government spending and push through much-needed infrastructure projects.
Between July and September, Thailand’s economy expanded 0.6 percent compared with the previous year, its National Economic and Social Development Board reported.
It grew 1.1 percent on a quarter-by-quarter basis, the board said, adding that Thailand’s economy achieved a weak 0.2 percent growth across the first nine months of the year.
“The Thai economy in 2014 is expected to grow by 1.0 percent,” the board added, trimming its growth outlook from 1.5-2.0 percent.
However, the board said Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy should rebound next year to grow from between 3.5 and 4.5 percent on improving exports, internal investment and a recovery of Thailand’s key tourism sector, which has been pummeled in recent months.
Tourists have largely avoided the nation, where martial law has been in place since the coup, which came after months of sometimes violent antigovernment protests.
The murder of two British vacationers on a resort island in September also caused concern.
Thailand’s Immigration Bureau said there had been almost a 9 percent drop in tourist arrivals between January and last month, compared with the same period last year.
However, “the calmer political climate and the government’s tourism promotion campaign should help to revive tourist arrival growth in the upcoming high season,” according to Krystal Tan of Capital Economics, an economic research consultancy.
An uptick in the US economy should also stimulate Thai exports, she added.
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