Thai joint business group sees 3%-4.5% GDP growth next year

Thailand's leading joint-business group on Wednesday said it expects gross domestic product growth in 2022 to reach as high as 4.5 per cent, in line with global recovery.

The group maintained its growth outlook for the year to between 0.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent, and expects exports to grow up to 15 per cent before slowing down to 3 per cent to 5 per cent next year, the joint group of industry, banking and commerce said in a statement.

Thailand's government projects in 2022 to be between 3.5 per cent to 4.5 per cent.

The group said the Omicron Covid-19 variant could slow down recovery in the tourism sector, a big employer and source of revenue.

"There is still concern in the short term despite a recovery, it's slow ... we urge the government to implement more measures in time for New Year festivities so businesses can distribute products," said Chamber of Commerce chairman, Sanan Angubolkul.