Thai finance ministry cuts 2019 growth outlook to 3.8pc

BANGKOK: Thailand's finance ministry cut its 2019 economic growth forecast to 3.8 percent from 4.0 percent it had projected in January due to weaker exports as rising protectism dampened  trade globally during the past year.

The ministry also lowered its 2019 export growth forecast to 3.4 percent from 4.5 percent, Lavaron Sangsnit, head of the ministry's fiscal policy office, told a briefing.

The revised forecasts do not take into account measures planned to bolster the economy, which are expected to add 0.1 percentage point to growth, he said.