China’s economic growth pace has been a talking point worldwide, with the pace of expansion signalling a slower rate than what several agencies had initially projected. This observation was shared by Arkhom, who pointed out that the current economic setting is plagued with limitations, despite a prophesied influx of Chinese tourists by the Fiscal Policy Office.
Historically, before the calamitous onslaught of the Covid crisis in 2020, China held the top spot as Thailand’s most significant source of international tourism. But interestingly, Thailand has not announced any downward revision for its foreign tourism targets for 2023.
“Predictions signal a definite downswing in Chinese tourism, but contrary to such predictions, we haven’t necessitated any changes to our ambitious target of registering an influx of 29.5 million foreign tourists this year. This can be attributed to the compensatory boost received from tourists hailing from neighboring countries and an increasingly promising pool of travelers coming from Europe”, shares the Finance Minister.
Meanwhile, the United States hasn’t remained unaffected by the ongoing impacts either. Although the recent data points towards minor improvements in the US economy, the overbearing concerns related to rising interest rates are stubbornly persistent, he added.
In response to the US credit rating being downgraded this month from AAA to AA+, Arkhom expressed worries that this could potentially inflate the costs associated with bond issuance – a method traditionally used by the US government to borrow funds. Even though Thailand’s economy continues to be perceived as stable, the domino effect of the US downgrade could potentially resonate with the private sectors, and consequently, the bond market.
“Government bonds retain their stability streak, irrespective of which government is in power. Contrarily, Corporates bonds carry a certain level of risk, contingent upon how the funds sourced from these bonds are managed. On an encouraging note, more and more Thai private companies are resorting to issuing corporate bonds and are increasingly leveraging the capital market – an underlying marker of the positive strides Thailand’s capital market is making”, Arkhom stated conclusively.
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