The Ministry of Finance expects Easy E-Receipt-Tourism to support GDP growth of 2.8-3.3% in 2014, hoping the BoT will reduce interest rates in the second quarter. Mr. Sanan Angubolkul, Chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce As the chairman of the meeting of the joint committee of 3 private sector institutions (CPF), he said that the Thai economy in 2024 is likely to expand within the original projection of 2.8-3.3% with support from economic stimulus measures such as the Easy E- project. Receipt and the continued recovery of the tourism sector, with the number of foreign tourists expected to increase to 33-34 million, while inflationary pressures continue to decrease due to the government's spending reduction policy. As a result, inflation estimates were revised down. However, the GDP estimate for 2024 does not include the results of the Digital Wallet measures. If Digital Wallet is spent this May, it is expected that it will help GDP grow by another 1%. Meanwhile, the world economy is becoming more unc ertain due to geopolitical conflicts. The recent war with Israel and Hamas has led to attacks on shipping in the Suez Canal and the Red Sea, causing freight rates to increase and putting pressure on production costs. Meanwhile, the Russian-Ukrainian war has not yet ended. Including uncertainty from elections that will occur in many countries this year, such as the presidential elections of Taiwan, Russia, and the United States. These uncertain factors aggravate the global economy, which is currently in a slowdown state. This makes it necessary to monitor the impact on the export of Thai products that depend on the European market, including agricultural products and food. Electrical and electronic products The meeting viewed that the Thai economy could still expand according to its potential. But the potential tends to deteriorate. and has not fully recovered in the K-Shape format. There are still some groups whose incomes have not recovered and whose purchasing power is weak. Therefore, there is a need for stimulation to help entrepreneurs at the middle and low levels. The government should speed up budget disbursement while waiting for the 2024 budget. The private sector sees that additional measures should be created to stimulate the economy. and there should be consultation with state enterprises and local government organizations. in using the investment budget that each agency already has and accelerating its use for the time being in order for the economy to move forward continuously And a fund should be established to support business loans for high-risk entrepreneurs. The government supports funding for establishment in the first stage. Then use the interest or money to manage and circulate the fund to meet the objectives. To help SMEs with flexibility in requesting collateral. For debt outside the system that is a problem in accessing credit and bring non-commercial debt into the system correctly It will help reduce the burden of interest which is a high cost. Thailand's policy interest rate is curren tly at its highest level. Going forward, interest rates should adjust their direction to be consistent with the economic situation in the country. and the monetary policy actions of the US Federal Reserve (Fed) that are likely to decrease this year. Amidst the increasing uncertainty of the economy from both inside and outside the country. Meanwhile, inflation is fluctuating and tends to decrease continuously in the range of 0.7-1.2%. 'The direction of interest rate increases It is expected that it will not increase more than this. As for when it will decrease, we have to wait and see, hoping that there will be a reduction in interest rates. When will the Fed adjust lower? It should be done immediately. It is expected that in the second quarter there will be guidelines for adjusting interest rates to be appropriate,' Mr. Sanan said. Financial institutions continue to help reduce financial cost burdens for customers. At present, there is still a total of over 3.4 trillion baht or more than 6.1 million account s in debt that financial institutions have assisted. And since the COVID situation, credit costs have increased. Occurred in the commercial banking system with a total value of more than 600 billion baht, or approximately 6% of loans, and financial institutions will continue to focus on providing care and assistance to target customers on an ongoing basis. The FTI meeting presented three important issues that it would like the government to drive forward in 2024 as follows: 1. Continuing to solve structural problems in 6 areas that the FTI has previously proposed: 1. Competitiveness 2. Ease of Doing Business 3. Digital Transformation 4. Human Development 5. SME 6. Sustainability 2. Transform the informal economy into the system. Thailand's informal economy is too large. It is the root cause of many problems, such as causing the economy to grow below its potential. Can't access credit in the system and there is high inequality and 3. Accelerate the solution to household debt problems, especially debt outsi de the system.-517-Thai News Agency Source: Thai News Agency
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