The committee has revised upwards its economic-growth forecast range for this year from 3-3.5 per cent to 3.3-3.5 per cent, while expecting the economy to expand by between 3.5 per cent and 4 per cent next year.
“The stimulus measures that have been implemented, recovering export growth and more investment by both the government and private sectors, will contribute to better economic expansion this year and next,” said Isara Vongkusolkit, chairman of the Board of Trade of Thailand and the Thai Chamber of Commerce, who chaired yesterday’s meeting of the JSCCIB.
For this year, the joint panel now predicts the country’s export shipments posting a contraction of 2 per cent, representing essentially flat growth.

Exports started to recover in August and should continue to grow, driven mainly by cross-border trading and increasing prices of farm crops.
However, there are still some worrying factors, including China’s economic slowdown and uncertainty over the recovery of the European Union’s economy.
Predee Daochai, chairman of the Thai Bankers’ Association and a member of the JSCCIB, said there were fears in some quarters that Deutsche Bank might not be able to withstand the impact of a US$14-billion (Bt485 billion) settlement to end a mortgage-backed securities mis-selling case in the United States.
However, the case should not affect Thai commercial banks, which have few financial transactions with the German bank, he said.
Predee said he believed the beleaguered bank would be able limit the impact of the settlement by getting more money from shareholders or finding another way to prevent bankruptcy.
On the export front, Isara said the structure of Thai shipments had continued to change in recent years, from relying mainly on domestic manufacturing for exports, to manufacturing in other countries and re-exporting to third markets.
The Kingdom’s export figures would therefore likely continue to shrink, but the country would at the same time gain from investment overseas, not least in neighbouring countries, including China, he added.
Each year, the value of new Thai direct investment in other countries is worth more than Bt10 billion, with major industries having gone down this path including cement, garments, processed foods and beverages, the JSCCIB chairman said.
Meanwhile, Isara insisted that Thailand’s decline to 34th place in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index rankings was not a matter for serious concern, as the country had commenced investment in many major state projects that the forum’s annual survey had not been able to take into account.
Once the pace of government investment in infrastructure development picks up, many large companies will follow suit, while stalled investment by small and medium-sized businesses will then also be stimulated, he explained.