BANGKOK: Thailand’s economy is nearly in crisis due to declining exports and uncompetitive manufacturing, the country’s caretaker finance minister said on Wednesday ( Aug 21 ).
Pichai Chunhavajira told a business seminar that exports account for 70 % of the economy, but the manufacturing sector ca n’t meet market demand.
” We ca n’t compete. We ca n’t adapt in time”, he said.
Southeast Asia’s second-largest business grew 2.3 per share in the April-June third from a month earlier, accelerating from the 1.6 per cent rise in the previous quarter.
However, compared to the 1.2 % expansion in the previous three months, quarter-on-quarter growth decreased to 0.8 % in the second quarter.
The finance ministry predicts economic development of 2.7 per cent for 2024, after last year’s expansion of 1.9 per share, which lagged regional peers.
For a second consecutive meeting on Wednesday, the central bank is anticipated to abandon its important interest rate unchanged at a more than decade-high of 2.50 per share.