UTCC:Thailand’s GDP will likely grow by 5.9% in 2012

BANGKOK, March 13 (TNA) - Bangkok-based University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC) has revised upward its projection on Thailand’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth this year to 5.9 per cent, from its earlier forecast of 4.7 per cent, reasoning that domestic consumption, tourism and Thai exports have all been rebounding, in the wake of the country's flooding crisis late last year. Professor Suwisudt Siriwattanakul at the Economic and Business Forecasting Center under UTCC said Tuesday that the Thai economy in 2012 should expand by 5.9 per cent on average fueled by post-flood rehabilitation, after it grew by only 0.1 per cent last year. Professor Suwisudt assessed that in a best scenario, the Thai economy could grow by up to 6.4-6.9 per cent, in a normal scenario by 5.7-6.3 per cent and in a worst scenario by 4.5-5.6 percent. The professor estimated that Thailand’s exports would expand by 10.3 per cent this year, domestic consumption by 4.4 per cent and investments by 9.8 per cent, thanks to the government’s post-flood rehabilitation and economic stimulus packages. According to the professor, the number of international tourist arrivals in Thailand should rise by 4.8 per cent to 19.8 million in 2012, earning the country's some 769 billion baht in tourism-related revenues, a 5.4 per cent year-on-year increase. Domestic interest rates, the professor said, would likely hover between 3 and 3.25 per cent, world crude oil prices between 110 and 115 US dollars per barrel; while the Thai economy's remaining risk factors would include ongoing political conflicts in the Middle East, the European debt crisis and the unstable US economy. (TNA)