The government will hold a weekly cabinet meeting on Tuesday in Pattaya to check the preparation of the 14th Asean summit to be held there from Friday till Sunday.

View original here:
Cabinet meeting held in Pattaya

Private consumption in Thailand and investment also grew by more in 2008 than they did in 2007, despite the sharp increase in food and fuel prices. On the other hand, public consumption and investments in real terms have contracted in the first three quarters as a result of slow disbursement rates amidst political instability and slow project completion as raw material prices rose sharply.In December 2008, the overall economy in Thailand contracted from the same period last year.

On the supply side, manufacturing production and tourism sector continued to contract, while farm income slowed down as a result of the deceleration in both major crop production and price. On the demand side, export, investment as well as import also contracted, while private consumption slightly improved from last month due to the cease of political turbulence as well as extended New Year holidays.

Thailand’s real GDP is projected to grow by 0 to 1 percent next year. This will be the lowest growth Thailand has seen since 1998, when real GDP contracted.The major factor weighing down growth next year is the sharp slow down in the global economy, particularly the contraction of the economies that are Thailand’s major export markets – US, EU, and Japan.This will have a large negative impact on Thailand’s exports of both goods and services which has been the major source of income and the driver of the output growth in the past few years. The US dollar value of exports of goods is expected to expand by only 8 percent in 2009, compared to around 20 percent this year.

Manufacturing Production Index in Thailand (preliminary) posted a historical contraction of 18.8 percent year-on-year (yoy), compared to a contraction of 14.9 percent (yoy) in May 1998. A notable decline in both domestic and external demand resulted in the contraction in most categories including electronics, electrical appliances, vehicle, and iron products. However, beverages category saw an expansion in Thailand, mostly from an increase in beer production to build up inventory. Capacity Utilization in December 2008 stood at 58.9 percent, slightly lowered from 59.4 percent last month­mostly from the decline in export-oriented productions. For the year 2008, the Manufacturing Production Index in Thailand (preliminary) expanded 5.3 percent (yoy), decelerating from the preceding year’s rate of 8.2 percent (yoy). This was primarily attributed to the slowdown in export-oriented industries, particularly electronics and leather products. On the other hand, productions serving domestic market accelerated during the first half of the year, largely following passenger car and motorcycle production. Capacity Utilization in Thailand in 2008 was at 69.3 percent, dropping from 73.9 percent in the previous year.

Related Stories

• Red shirt protesters seek delaying of Asean Summit
• ASEAN, Indian FTA expected to be signed at Hua Hin summit
• Foreign Minister attacked in absentia