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.