Rating agency’s confidence in Thailand pleases PM

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has welcomed confirmation by the Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) that the Thai economy’s outlook is stable despite the economic impact of Covid-19.

The JCR announced on Monday that Thailand had been rated as having a stable outlook and said that reflected the country’s strong economic base focused on exports, the stability of its banking system and its solid international trade balance.

The Thai economy contracted 6.1% in 2020 due to a slowdown in its exports and a large decline in the number of foreign tourists caused by the pandemic, the agency acknowledged.

However, it said the economy had begun recovering after bottoming out in the second quarter of 2020 partly thanks to the effect of the…