Thai deficit to fall in 1997

Thai deficit to fall in 1997

BANGKOK (AFP): Thailand's current account deficit in 1997 is expected to narrow to between 6.5 and 7.0 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) from 8.0 percent this year, a finance ministry official said yesterday.

The 1997 current account deficit is expected to fall by between 40 and 60 billion baht (US$1.6 and $2.4 billion) from this year, said Somchai Ruchupun, secretary general of the ministry's fiscal policies department.

Somchai said the 1997 deficit will fall, despite a slowdown in private investment, as government investment continues to accelerate.

He said the government was already committed to a number of large infrastructure projects and it would be wasteful to defer them.

The government would continue to control consumption expenditure to help finance the current account deficit and will also cut non-productive investment, he said.

Thailand's current account deficit in 1995 stood at 337.6 billion baht, or 8.1 percent of GDP, according to the Bank of Thailand.