The economy expanded 7.1 per cent on-year in July-September, beating the consensus forecast of 6.8 per cent, Economic Planning Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon said. "All things considered, our economy's strong growth in the third quarter is a very good sign of things to come," Edillon added. The country needed 6.9 per cent growth in final three months of the year to hit the top end of its 6-7 per cent target, she said. Edillon said strong investment growth, particularly in construction and infrastructure, along with upbeat consumer spending drove the expansion, encouraged by low inflation and low interest rates. While the growth of salary remittances by the country's huge overseas work force slowed, this was balanced out by a 2.9 per cent growth on-year in agriculture, reversing five straight quarters of decline caused by typhoons and drought.

Source: The Nation Bangkok November 17, 2016 06:18 UTC