The Finance Ministry expects merchandise shipments to grow by more than 8% this year. A source at the Finance Ministry said that Moody's Investors Service, which recently met Finance Ministry officials while surveying Thai economic data, has changed its view and says politics is no longer a headwind for the economy. The shortfall was narrowed by petroleum tax revenue being 283% higher than targeted and corporate income tax revenue coming in 2.3% higher than expected. The Excise Department gathered 322 billion baht for the seven months to April, missing the target by 2.28 billion baht or 0.7%. Foreign investors were net sellers of 4.7 billion baht, with brokerage firms selling 134 million baht worth of shares.

Source: Bangkok Post May 24, 2018 23:26 UTC