Floods in Thai Northeast not affect national economic growth

BANGKOK, August 2 (TNA) - The Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking (JSCCIB) says that floods in the Thai Northeast currently are unlikely to affect the national economic growth this year, thanks to the quick relieving situation and their limited impacts. JSCCIB Chair Pridi Daochai, who is also President of the Thai Bankers Assocition (TBA), made the assessment on August 1, noting that the latest inundations in the Thai Northeast are considered short-term floods, as floodwater in the affected areas, which did not widely spread out, have begun receding. Pridi said he, thus, believed that the latest inundations in the Thai Northeast would not seriously affect the national economic growth this year. According to the JSCCIB and TBA chief, JSCCIB resolved at its latest meeting to maintain its projection of Thailand's gross domestic product (GDP) growth this year at 3.5-4.0 per cent year-on-year on average and the inflation at 0.5-1.5 per cent. The JSCCIB and TBA chief revealed that the latest JSCCIB meeting also decided to maintain its projection on the country's export growth at 3.5-4.5 per cent year-on-year on average in 2017, reasoning that confidence in the Thai industrial sector has subsided and Thai farm produce prices remain low although purchasing power of trading partners have been strengthening. (TNA)