Thai finance ministry raises 2025 growth forecast to 2.4%
[BANGKOK] Thailand’s economy is expected to grow 2.4 per cent this year, higher than a previous forecast of 2.2 per cent following a series of government stimulus measures and better than expected exports, the finance ministry said on Thursday (Oct 30).
Exports, a key driver of Thai growth, are expected to rise 10 per cent this year, up from an earlier forecast of 5.5 per cent, Vinit Visessuvanapoom, head of the finance ministry’s fiscal policy office, told a press conference.
The finance ministry forecast gross domestic product growth of 2 per cent for next year, with exports expected to dip 1.5 per cent. South-east Asia’s second-largest economy grew 2.5 per cent last year, lagging peers.
Foreign tourist arrivals are expected to reach 33.5 million this year, down from a forecast of 34.5 million made in July. The ministry forecast a rebound to 35.5 million in 2026, but the figure still remains much lower than the record of nearly 40 million visitors set in 2019, before the pandemic.
The ministry also forecast headline consumer prices falling 0.2 per cent this year and up 0.5 per cent next year, compared with the current inflation target range of 1 per cent to 3 per cent.
Thailand’s economy has struggled with US tariffs, high household debt, and a strong baht.
A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU
Friday, 8.30 am
Asean Business
Business insights centering on South-east Asia's fast-growing economies.
The government has introduced a series of stimulus measures to try to revive the economy, including a 44 billion baht (S$1.74 billion)”co-payment” consumer subsidy programme, aimed at lifting economic growth above 2.2 per cent this year.
But Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s government has limited time to implement its measures, with the premier planning to dissolve parliament by the end of January with a general election likely to be held in late March.
The United States set a 19 per cent tariff on imported goods from Thailand, lower than the 36 per cent rate announced earlier and in line with other countries in the region.
Thailand and the United States on Sunday reached a framework agreement on trade, in which Thailand would eliminate tariff barriers on approximately 99 per cent of US goods. REUTERS
Share with us your feedback on BT's products and services
