Thailand's Central Bank Warns of Structural Economic Challenges
Thailand's central bank has highlighted economic challenges including declining competitiveness, U.S. tariffs, and currency appreciation. Despite these hurdles, the bank projects a 2.2% GDP growth for 2025, with exports up 9.1% in the second half.
Insights:
The Bank of Thailand has issued a stark warning about the country's economic vulnerabilities, highlighting a confluence of structural challenges that threaten to dampen growth prospects for Southeast Asia's second-largest economy. In an official statement released on Wednesday, the central bank identified a sustained decline in competitiveness, the adverse impacts of U.S. tariffs on exports, and the appreciation of the Thai baht as key factors constraining liquidity for exporters and hindering overall economic performance.
Despite these headwinds, the Bank of Thailand remains cautiously optimistic, projecting a GDP growth of 2.2% for the full year of 2025, with the second half of the year seeing a 1.3% year-on-year increase. Exports managed to rise by 9.1% in the latter half of 2025, demonstrating resilience amid challenging conditions.
