Thai finance ministry cuts 2020 GDP growth forecast to 2.8%

[BANGKOK] Thailand's finance ministry cut its 2020 economic growth forecast to 2.8 per cent from 3.3 per cent it projected three months, mainly due to weaker exports.

The ministry downgraded its 2020 estimate for exports, a key driver of growth, to a rise of just 1 per cent from an earlier 2.6 per cent increase, Lavaron Sangsnit, head of the finance ministry's fiscal policy office, told a news conference.

For 2019, the ministry estimated growth of 2.5 per cent, a five-year low, sharply slowing from 2018's 4.1 per cent growth.

Official 2019 gross domestic product (GDP) data is due on Feb 17.

REUTERS