Thai Recovery Waning

Thai military government can look to 2017 for the economy’s best performance in five years, but the strength of the recovery is expected to wane. Gross domestic product probably increased 3.8% last year, the fastest pace since 2012, before easing to 3.7% this year and to 3.6% in 2019, according to a Bloomberg survey. Once prized in Southeast Asia for its economic strength, Thailand’s growth is lagging peers with economies in Vietnam and Philippines expanding more than 6%. “2017 and 2018 will certainly be better compared to the last few years but the underperformance of the industrial sector, particularly manufacturing, will likely continue,” said Rahul Bajoria, a senior economist at Barclays Plc in Singapore. “What’s really missing here is the lack of private investment before we see growth closer to 5%.” Thailand’s expansion has slowed this decade, averaging 3% through 2016 compared with 4.6% in the 10 years through 2010. Rising exports and tourism are also giving the economy a boost and the state planning agency forecast growth of as much as 4.6% this year.