|
|
| • EXCH RATES |
|
Baht/$ 34.05/10 (Bid/Ask)
|
GOLD |
13,350
|
|
ECONOMY
WICHIT CHANTANUSORNSIRI
Political uncertainties and social infighting represented a direct opportunity loss for the Thai economy, according to Pannee Stawarodom, the director-general of the Fiscal Policy Office.
While it was impossible to estimate the extent of the losses in financial terms, there is little question that the political uncertainties that have dominated the headlines over the past several months have had an impact on consumer and investor sentiment.
''From my discussions with foreign investors, the question is the same: What is it that Thais really want,'' Mrs Pannee said yesterday.
''We held elections and a new government was formed. But protests to evict the government have continued.''
Anti-government protesters under the People's Alliance for Democracy yesterday maintained their occupation of Government House for the third straight day, despite court orders to vacate the premises. The PAD, which led massive protests in Bangkok in mid-2006 that ultimately led to the September military coup, has vowed to continue its protests until Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej steps down from office.
Mrs Pannee said that for many investors, they were uncertain how the process would end.
Even a dissolution of Parliament, followed by new elections, could attract renewed protests, considering that Thailand's political groups are likely to remain unchanged.
In any case, Mrs Pannee said the FPO would revise its economic projections for the year on Sept 25, and would include factors such as the impact political risk has had on investment and the economy, recent interest rate hikes by the central bank and the latest global and domestic economic conditions.
The Finance Ministry currently maintains a growth forecast of between 5% and 6%, but most analysts expect growth for the year to come at the lower end of the range considering that second quarter growth slowed to just 5.3% compared with 6.1% year-on-year in the first quarter.
For July, the FPO announced yesterday that overall economic conditions remained relatively strong, with private consumption rising as seen in a 16.3% rise year-on-year in motorcycle sales.
Exports continued to expand strongly, with July exports up 43.9% year-on-year in US dollar terms, up from 27.4% year-on-year growth the previous month. Exports for the first seven months of the year were up 26.1% from the same period last year, broken down into an 11% gain in value terms and a 12.5% rise in volume.
Value-added taxes, a proxy for domestic consumption, rose 23.3% year-on-year in July, up from a 7.6% increase the previous month.
Investment, meanwhile, also showed signs of improvement, with imports of capital goods up 36.2% year-on-year in July compared with a 15% rise the previous month.
Mrs Pannee said that exports would be the main growth engine for the economy this year, with expansion coming primarily in markets in East Asia, the Middle East and Africa even as growth to the US, Europe and Japan continues to underperform.
Prev
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
Next
