Sanan Angubolkul, vice chairman of the Board of Trade, aims to have a discussion with BOT Governor Veerathai Santiprabhob soon. Sanan said that if the baht does not move with volatility, export growth was expected at 0-2 per cent this year.

The discussion will involve measures to deal with currency volatility that could have negatives impacts on Thai exporters, he said.

Exporters now have agreed that an exchange rate of 34.50 per dollar is acceptable, even though early this year they wanted 36.00 to the dollar, he said.

“If the baht does not fluctuate or appreciate to the level that could affect competitiveness, export growth is believed to be [forecast at] 0-2 per cent. However, if the baht continues its appreciation, Thai exports could see a negative [growth] figure this year,” he said.

Thailand’s gross domestic product is forecast to grow by 3.5 per cent this year, Sanan said.

He said he expected the economy to make a good recovery, given more domestic political stability as seen from more investment from foreign and Thai investors and consistent expansion in tourism.

Droughts have not yet had much impact on the economy despite low prices of agricultural products, he said.

He urged the government to launch tax measures to encourage the Thai private sector to make more investments outside the country, as previously government promotion has been directed more to lure foreign investment into Thailand.

Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong yesterday accepted that the baht was appreciating too much, which could be bad for the export sector.

The central bank should oversee the baht to keep it at a proper level, he said, but added that he believed the BOT had already been monitoring the currency to see that it moves in line with its peers in the region.

Apisak said there were signs of the economic recovery that got under way in the second quarter of this year continuing in the current quarter. GDP growth is expected to be close to or more than that of the second quarter at 3.5 per cent thanks to the government’s economic stimulus and consistent investment promotion.

In maintain these growth expectations, the Finance Ministry plans to submit the Cabinet a plan to maintain the value-added-tax rate at 7 per cent for one more year. The earlier deadline for the low rate was September 30, 2016.

Tax deduction of three times will also be proposed for all private enterprises that join hands [with whom?] for research and development activities that benefit small enterprises, Apisak said. Initially, the planned development will start in five “S-curve” groups including agriculture and food.

He said exports were still sluggish because a number of economies around the world had not yet recovered while the domestic export sector had not yet undergone structural adjustment. Earlier, Thailand had faced domestic conflicts without development and investment for several years.

The government has launched measures to enhance the country’s production efficiency and entice the private sector to invest.

“I’d like you to think about |it. There are several ways to invest. |One is we invest when the |over all market is going well. Another is we invest for market expansion as we believe it should start now.

“If we believe in economic cycles, with a down cycle of eight to 10 years, now we have been in the down cycle for seven years.

“That means that the global economy should grow in the next two to three years. If it expands, are we ready to capture that growth or make investment then?” Apisak said.