Commerce, industry and banking group worried over Thailand's declining inflation
The Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking (JSCCIB) on Wednesday maintained its gross domestic product growth prediction for the year at 2.8-3.3%, but warned that continuous decline in inflation rates were a sign of a weak economy.
Thawee Piyapatana, vice president of the Federation of Thai Industries, said the JSCCIB agreed in its meeting to maintain its earlier prediction of 2024 GDP growth at between 2.8 to 3.3%.
But the growth prediction did not take into account the impact from a massive stimulus package of 500 billion baht if the government goes ahead with the digital wallet scheme, Thawee said.
The government has vowed to implement the project despite warning from several economists that it would cause economic risks due to massive public liabilities. The government has so far declined to commit when the project will be implemented.
Thawee said the JSCCIB saw that the Thai economy was still recovering at a slow rate.
It noted that though the tourism sector was contributing to the growth, the manufacturing sector continued to contract so the growth was not equally enjoyed by all sectors.
Thawee said the JSCCIB regarded the continuous decline in inflation rates for four consecutive months as a sign of a weak economy, which needed urgent attention.
He added that the JSCCIB saw structural economic issues as dragging down growth and many Thai products were no longer wanted by the global market.
He added that although Thai exports were still expanding, several global risks and geopolitical conflicts could affect exports so the JSCCIB was predicting export growth at 2-3% this year.
The JSCCIB expected global economic growth at 3% this year, Thawee added.
