Thailand’s Economy Expands Less Than Estimated as Exports Falter

By Suttinee Yuvejwattana and Supunnabul Suwannakij

Photographer: Dario Pignatelli/Bloomberg

Vendors hold poles that support the awnings of their market stalls as a train travels... Read More

Thailand’s economy grew less than analysts estimated in the third quarter as improving consumption and investments failed to counter falling exports.
Gross domestic product rose 0.6 percent in the three months through September from a year earlier, the National Economic and Social Development Board said in Bangkok today. The median of 21 estimates in a Bloomberg survey was for a 1 percent gain.
Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy is experiencing its weakest conditions since the 2011 floods that inundated thousands of factories. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha, who
seized power in a May coup, has unveiled a stimulus package of about $11 billion that included cash handouts to farmers, and pledged to accelerate budget spending to boost local demand.
“We expect the economic recovery to gain traction in the fourth quarter on the back of government spending,” Usara Wilaipich, a Bangkok-based economist at Standard Chartered Plc, said before the report. “Once the execution of public investment projects has taken place in the coming months, we expect the Thai economy to resume a normal growth trend as soon as the first half 2015.”
The Thai baht has slipped almost 3 percent in the past three months against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark stock index has gained more than 20 percent this year.