Finance trims GDP growth forecast to 3.5% this year

The Finance Ministry has lowered its 2023 economic growth outlook to 3.5% from 3.6% projected earlier, as tourism gathers strength but tepid global demand crimps exports.

Exports, a key driver of the Thai economy, are forecast to contract 0.8% this year, compared with a previous forecast for a 0.5% drop, Pornchai Thiraveja, head of the  Fiscal Policy Office, told a media briefing on Wednesday.

Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy has been supported by increased domestic consumption and a recovery in the tourism sector, officials have said.

The economy…