Finance ministry maintains Thailand's GDP growth projection in 2016

BANGKOK, October 28 (TNA) - The Thai Ministry of Finance has maintained its projection of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 3.3 per cent year-on-year in 2016, an increase from 2.8 per cent year-on-year in the previous year. Krisada Chinavicharana, Chief of the ministry's Fiscal Policy Office (FPO), told journalists of his office's updated assessment on Friday, thanks to the government's spending and investment in infrastructure and water management projects, as well as growing consumption in the private sector. The FPO chief foresaw, however, that the number of international tourist arrivals in Thailand should drop from 33.8 million to 33.3 million this year. In 2017, the FPO chief projected the Thai economy should expand by 3.4 per cent year-on-year, also mainly driven by the government's spending on infrastructure investment projects, while Thai exports are expected to grow by 1.8 per cent year-on-year. (TNA)