Thailand economy posts brisk growth

BANGKOK - Agence France-Presse

Workers walk on the site of a new building in central Bangkok. Thai economy grew 3.3 percent in the second quarter. REUTERS Photo

Thailand’s economy has logged a second straight quarter of solid growth, buoyed by investment to repair factories damaged by last year’s devastating floods and strong domestic demand, data showed Monday.

Gross domestic product (GDP) grew 3.3 percent during the April to June period from the previous quarter, when the economy had expanded 11 percent, according to the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB).

GDP increased 4.2 percent in the latest quarter compared with a year earlier.

The Thai economy has rebounded sharply after suffering a double-digit contraction in the wake of the kingdom’s worst floods in decades.

Role of new investments, private consumption

“The main drivers were increases in private consumption as well as investment in industry zones hit by severe flooding last year,” NESDB secretary-general Arkom Termpitayapaisit told reporters.

Household consumption rose strongly as the government’s economic stimulus measures lifted spending on durable goods such as cars, the board said.

The months-long floods last year killed hundreds of people and caused widespread damage to Thailand’s industrial heartland north of Bangkok.

At their height the floodwaters affected 65 of the country’s 77 provinces, deluging hundreds of thousands of homes and disrupting global supply chains.