Growth seen for Indonesia, Thailand

Growth seen for Indonesia, Thailand

SINGAPORE (AFP): Indonesia and Thailand will post higher growth this year fueled by rising exports while Singapore's economy slows after two years of rapid growth, U.S. brokerage Merrill Lynch said yesterday.

Merrill Lynch said Indonesia's real gross domestic product (GDP) would probably top 7.5 percent this year against 7.1 percent in 1994 while Thailand's GDP grows marginally from 8.5 percent in 1994 to 8.5 to nine percent this year.

After two years of growth of just over 10 percent, Singapore's GDP will probably moderate to about eight percent this year.

Merrill Lynch said Indonesia's non-oil sector should grow at eight to nine percent this year, putting the country already one of Asia's fastest expanding economies, on par with Thailand and Malaysia.

"Manufacturing and construction should continue to drive growth on the back of strong exports and infrastructure investment," it said, adding that Indonesia's services sector should also stay buoyant.