Thailand: Govt hopeful of 4% annual growth

• The government plans to achieve economic growth of 4% in 2021, Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said.
• However, he said the outcome depended on several factors, including local investments, the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) development project, the economic stimulus schemes and the reopening of the country.
• Mr Arkhom said the US government’s USD1.9tr coronavirus relief package should also benefit the Thai economy.
• The minister said the economy appeared to be on the road to recovery since plumbing the depths in 2020, but economic activity was still curtailed following the second virus outbreak in Dec 20.
• He said external factors would largely determine when the economy fully recovers because the country was still missing revenue from tourism and exports were only slowly picking up.
• “By the 4Q22, income from tourism will flow in, both inbound and outbound,” said Mr Arkhom. “We need to promote outbound tourism too because it is related to the aviation industry.
• The minister said there were no plans to cut the 20% corporate tax ceiling as tax revenue was the government’s main source of income and the tax ceiling was low compared with neighbouring countries.
• The IMF projects Thailand’s economic growth at 2.6%, slightly below the ministry’s own forecast of 2.8%.

External Link : https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2085311/govt-hopeful-of-4-annual-growth