Think tank raises Thailand's economic growth forecast for 2014

Kasikorn Research Center, a renowned think tank in Thailand, on Monday announced that it had raised its forecast for Thailand's economic growth in 2014 from the earlier 1.8 percent to 2.3 percent.

Since it took over national administration on May 22, the military junta has rolled out a string of economic policies that will help drive the country's economic growth this year up by 1 to 1.5 percent, the center's Deputy Managing Director Pimonwan Mahujchariyawong said at a press conference.

The policies include completing overdue payments to farmers who had joined the former government's rice-pledging scheme, reducing the cost of production for farmers, and accelerating the approval of investment projects and the 2014 fiscal budget and drafting of the 2015 fiscal budget, according to Pimonwan.

Meanwhile, the center said the export growth in 2014 will only stand at 3 percent, down from the earlier prediction of 5 percent. "Prospects have remained unclear for the export of Thailand's major agricultural products like tapioca, rice, rubber and shrimp, " Pimonwan said.

Despite signs of recovery, the Thai economy will remain sluggish for the second consecutive year in 2014, the center said.

In the latter half of 2014, the tourist industry will take a turn for the better, and the number of inbound tourists throughout the year will total 26.6 million, up 0.2 percent year-on-year, said a report released by the think tank on Monday.

Accordingly, the tourist revenue is predicted to rise by 2.4 percent from the previous year to about 1.2 trillion baht (37.1 billion U.S. dollars), the report said.