"The economic recovery gained further traction in the fourth quarter of 2017 as export and tourism growth accelerated," he said. Fourth-quarter GDP likely expanded by 0.8% quarter-on-quarter, seasonally adjusted, Mr Somprawin said. However, a central bank senior official has said that 2017 economic growth of 4% was possible. Amonthep Chawla, head of research at CIMB Thai Bank, was more pessimistic, estimating economic growth for the fourth quarter of 2017 to match the preceding quarter's growth of 4.3%. Last year's economic growth was likely 3.9%, Mr Amonthep said.

Source: Bangkok Post February 17, 2018 01:18 UTC