The Fiscal Policy Office (FPO) has downgraded Thailand's economic outlook to 2.8% this year and 2.5% last year after taking into account the impact of the deadly virus epidemic and the further delay in the annual budget bill for fiscal 2020.
The Finance Ministry's think tank previously predicted GDP growth to expand 2.8% in 2019 and 3.3% this year.
Thailand's 2020 export value growth forecast has been slashed to 1% from 2.6% projected earlier, while the import growth estimate is halved to 1.7% from 3.4% over the same period, director-general of the FPO Lavaron Sangsnit said.
Private investment projection for this year is cut to 3.5% from 4.2% predicted previously, while the private consumption forecast is trimmed to 3.2% from 3.5%.
The FPO also lowered its forecast for public investment growth this year to 6.5% from 6.6% estimated earlier, while maintaining state consumption growth at 2.5%.
If the 2.5% growth projection for last year holds true, it will be the slowest growth in five years, and the 2.8% growth estimate for 2020 will mark the second consecutive year of subpar growth.
The FPO's latest forecasts for the country's economic growth in 2019 and this year are the same as the Bank of Thailand’s.
