Thai finance ministry keeps 2016 GDP growth at 3.3%

[BANGKOK] Thailand's economy is still expected to grow 3.3 per cent this year from a forecast range of 3.0-3.5 per cent due to strong government spending and tourism while exports could perform better than forecast, the finance ministry said on Friday.

The economy is projected to expand 3.4 per cent next year, Krisada Chinavicharana, head of the ministry's Fiscal Policy Office, told reporters.

Last year's economic growth was 2.8 per cent.

The ministry now expects exports, a key driver of the economy, to contract only 0.5 per cent this year, better than the 1.9 per cent decline it predicted three months ago.

In 2017, exports are expected to increase 1.8 per cent.

REUTERS