Will tourism reopenings and more stimulus be enough to kick-start Thailand’s post-pandemic economic recovery?
- The IMF has predicted GDP growth of 2.6 per cent for the kingdom this year, but expects the road forward to be sluggish and uneven
- As Thailand’s third wave drags on amid a sputtering vaccination programme, experts and observers are uncertain what will drive growth
Last week Thaisho, a small bar in Bangkok, got rid of its tables, chairs, glasses and cutlery, and closed its doors for good.
“There is no way to foresee how our business can return,” said owner Em, 31. “There is not a single relief measure from the government for our business, which means they don’t think we are important. They don’t think that without us, market vendors and employees will bear the brunt [of the financial impact].”
Thailand is entering another phase of economic gloom after its GDP contracted 6.1 per cent last year. The International Monetary Fund this month said the kingdom’s economic recovery was expected to be sluggish, uneven, and subject to heightened uncertainty, with a projected GDP growth of 2.6 per cent this year. The Federation of Thai Industries, the Thai Chamber of Commerce and the Thai Bankers’ Association this week, however, issued a joint statement with a GDP expansion estimate of between 0.5 per cent and 2 per cent.
Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput, governor of Thailand’s central bank, this month said the economic recovery could be delayed until 2023. The central bank had previously projected a recovery in the third quarter of 2022.
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Thailand tightens Covid-19 measures on southern border after South African variant detected
Bangkok, the engine of the country’s economy, has been hit by Covid-19 clusters that have emerged in shopping districts, low-income communities, markets and construction sites ever since the third wave broke out in late March at an upscale nightclub.