BOT to revise upward Thailand's economic growth projection

BANGKOK, March 16 (TNA) - The Bank of Thailand (BOT) will revise upward late this month its projection of the national economic growth this year. While delivering a speech at a seminar on Thailand's economic prospect in Bangkok on March 15, BOT Governor Veerathai Santiprabhob explained that the upward projection of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2018 is in response to the expanding Thai exports, thanks to the recovering world economy, and to the rising national tourism-related revenues despite a slower growth of the local grassroots economy. "Prompted by the positive signs, the central bank will revise upward the forecast figure of Thailand's GDP growth this year, from 3.9 per cent year-on-year on average projected earlier", Veerathai said. According to the BOT governor, the appreciation of the Thai baht currently, which is a risk factor against the expanding Thai exports, is caused by the depreciation of the US dollar, reflecting a disappointment of people over new economic stimulus measures recently announced by US President Donald Trump. The BOT governor, thus, warned business operators to work out their risk management plans, vowing that the central bank would timely step in to handle the situation appropriately if the fluctuation of the Thai currency was frequent, affecting the domestic business sector. The BOT governor stressed, meanwhile, that digital money is not the legal medium of exchange and financial institutes in Thailand are barred from supporting trade and investment of the cryptocurrency due to its high risk. (TNA)