WB:E.Asia-Pacific should grow over 6% in 2016-2017

BANGKOK, April 11 (TNA) - The US-based World Bank predicts that the collective economy of East Asia and the Pacific should grow by over 6 per cent in 2016-2017. Sudhir Shetty, the World Bank's chief economist for East Asia and the Pacific, on Monday told journalists of the prediction, which is included in the World Bank's latest analytical report on East Asia and the Pacific. Shetty quoted the World Bank report as saying that the economic growth rate of East Asia and the Pacific should stand at 6.3 per cent this year and 6.2 per cent next year. Sudhir explained that the ongoing economic recovery in East Asia and the Pacific would be continuing, but the pace should be slightly slower from this year to 2019 due to fluctuations in the global economy. According to the World Bank report, if China is excluded, the economic growth rate in East Asia and the Pacific should run at 4.8 per cent this year and 4.9 per cent in 2017 and 2018. In Southeast Asian large developing countries, like the Philippine and Vietnam, the World Bank report indicated they should show the fastest growth rate of about 6 per cent this year, but about 5.1 per cent for Indonesia, while Cambodia, which has a smaller economy, should see the expansion rate of less than 7 per cent due to the low prices of local farm products. For the Chinese economy alone, the World Bank report projected that it should grow by 6.7 per cent this year, down from 6.9 per cent last year, due to its economic restructuring. In case of Thailand, the World Bank assessed that the country's growth rate should stand at about 2.5 per cent this year because Chinese and Japanese economic slowdowns should reduce Thai exports, the prices of Thai farm products are low and the Thai economy is unable to produce complicated products and has insufficient product diversity. The World Bank suggested that Thailand further improve production technology and education, while also carefully implementing fiscal and monetary policies to cope with negative factors, including impacts from global economic problems, fluctuations at worldwide money markets, domestic political problems and its upcoming aging society. Kiatipong Ariyapruchya, a World Bank senior country economist, acknowledged that the Thai economy should depend on rising domestic consumption this year, as well as government investment in mega infrastructure projects which would induce private investment. Earlier, the Bank of Thailand (BOT) and the private Kasikorn Research Center (KRC), projected that the Thai economy should expand about 3 per cent this year. (TNA)