BANGKOK: Thailand's finance ministry on Thursday slashed its 2021 economic growth forecast to 2.8%, from the 4.5% growth it projected earlier, after fresh waves of COVID-19 cases in the Southeast Asian nation and other countries, an official said.

However, the ministry slightly raised its 2021 forecast for exports, a key growth driver, to a 6.2% rise from the 6% increase it predicted in October, ministry spokeswoman Kulaya Tantitemit told a briefing.