Economics
Thailand’s Economy Forecast to Contract as Much as 6%
- First-quarter data show first economic contraction since 2014
- Exports, tourism won’t pick up until late this year or next
A member of a disinfecting crew stands in front of a closed Louis Vuitton store at Siam Paragon shopping mall in Bangkok.
Photographer: Nicolas Axelrod/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Thailand sees its economy contracting as much as 6% this year, among the worst in Asia, as the coronavirus outbreak cut off travel to the tourism-reliant nation and shuttered commerce.
Gross domestic product is forecast to shrink 5%-6% in 2020, the National Economic and Social Development Council said Monday. The estimate is “based on a limited outbreak in the second quarter,” the council’s secretary general, Thosaporn Sirisumphand, told journalists, adding that “the situation is still hard to predict.”