Thai finance chief backs 4% growth forecast in 2022

Thai Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith has concurred with the 4% growth forecast for Thailand this year by the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Thailand Development Research Institute, the Bank of Thailand, and the Fiscal Policy Office. Arkhom is confident of Thailand's economic outlook, saying it will achieve 4% growth this year as forecast by the said agencies. He, however, does not consider the forecast as too high because the tourism industry has not yet made a full recovery. A total of 7 million tourist arrivals are expected in Thailand this year, compared to 700,000 last year. Tourist arrivals in Thailand reached 40 million before the Covid-19 pandemic began and generated THB2tr (USD60.8bn) in income. Arkhom said the 1% growth projection in 2021 was due to robust exports that expanded between 15% and 20%.