Posted on 05 Aug 2010
Thailand's gross domestic product in the first half of 2010 could increase 10 per cent year-on-year, Bank of Thailand (BoT) governor Tarisa Watanagase said on Thursday.
"A 10 per cent growth is possible as the country's economy in the second quarter kept on expanding from the first quarter at 12 per cent. Growth is expected to continue in the second half of the year," Mrs Tarisa said.
She said the GDP for the entire year should be 6.5 to 7.5 per cent ,as the central bank projected earlier. All sectors should see improvement, especially the export sector as it had recently shot up 40 per cent.
Public consumption and spending had rebounded to almost the level before the political turbulence, and the government had continued spending to bolster the economy. Private sector investment had risen but was not as high as in 2008, she said.
"Exports are growing significantly thanaks particularly to the automotive sector and other sectors that require high production capacity. This is the time to increase production capacity to ensure continuous economic growth," the central bank chief said.
As for internal and external factors affecting the Thai economy, she said the political situation in the country will still be the main influencing factor while the public debt crisis in Europe had eased.
