BANGKOK: Thailand’s economy suffered its worst contraction since the Asian financial crisis more than two decades ago, data showed on Monday, as the coronavirus shattered the country’s crucial tourism industry. But pandemic-spurred lockdowns brought the economy to a staggering halt, shrinking 12.2 percent in the second quarter growth, according to the Office of National Economic and Social Development Council (Nesdc). The outbreak “has made our economy fall by 12.2 percent, lower than during the Tom Yum Kung crisis,” said secretary-general Thosaporn Sirisumphand, using the local name for the Asian Financial Crisis that struck in 1998. The economy shrank 12.5 percent in the second quarter of that year. But “the outlook remains one of the worst in the region because of Thailand’s reliance on tourism,” he told Agence France-Presse.

Source: Manila Times August 17, 2020 10:52 UTC