Fiscal Policy Office cuts 2023 economic growth projection to 2.7%

Pornchai Thiraveja, director-general of Fiscal Policy Office, Finance Ministry

The Finance Ministry’s Fiscal Policy Office has decided to reduce its Thai economic growth forecast for 2023, from 3.5% to 2.7%, due to the tourism slowdown and export contraction.

Pornchai Thiraveja, director-general of office, said today (Friday) that the reduction is in line with the 2.7% growth projection by the International Monetary Fund and the 2.8% forecast from the Bank of Thailand.

Thailand’s exports for the whole year are forecast to contract by 1.8%, instead of 0.8% as originally projected, while tourist arrivals by the end of the year are expected to be about 27.7 million, instead of 29.5 million. As a result, revenues from tourism are estimated to be around 1.18 trillion baht, instead of 1.25 trillion baht, mainly due to the fewer than expected arrivals from China.

Nonetheless, the…