Pattarapong ChatpattarasillThe World Bank has slashed Thailand's GDP outlook for 2020 to a 5% contraction, a drastic cut from 2.7% growth projected previously, as supply chain disruptions and lockdown measures from the coronavirus crisis have triggered an economic downturn. "Factory closures and the disruption of the production of intermediate inputs have had a negative impact on supply chains in Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand," the World Bank said in the June 2020 edition of its "Global Economic Prospects" report. The World Bank's regional economic outlook is predicated on major countries in the region avoiding a second wave of coronavirus. Thailand's economy is anticipated to rebound to growth of 4.1% in 2021, up from 1.3% projected previously, according to the World Bank. "A sharp rise in the number of Covid-19 patients requiring hospitalisation could renew pressure on the most robust health care systems in the region," the World Bank said.

Source: Bangkok Post June 09, 2020 23:26 UTC