IMF sees rosier year ahead for nation's economy
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecast that Thailand's inflation next year should be under control at 2.5 per cent, due to the easing pressure from rising oil prices and interest rates, says an IMF official.
Patrick Cirillo, deputy chief of operations for the IMF Secretariat, said yesterday in Bangkok that the easing monetary pressure should enable Thailand to proceed with the process of privatisation and mega-project investment.He told a seminar at Chulalongkorn University that interest rates were likely to stabilise this year, which should enable Thailand to keep inflation under control. The Bank of Thailand had earlier forecast that inflation would be 5-5.8 per cent this year and 2.5-4 per cent next year. Cirillo said the IMF realised the government would find it difficult to privatise state enterprises. One solution is to encourage the state holders to participate in the privatisation. He said the government was also in a position to go ahead with mega-project investment. The risk factors that were facing Thailand have improved. For instance, oil prices are set to stabilise, interest rates seem to have reached their peak, and the budget will probably be disbursed soon. Also, the Thai financial sector is stable, unlike before the 1997 financial crisis. The IMF official nonetheless noted that the Thai financial sector should be vigilant. Asked whether the IMF had been pressuring China to revalue its currency, he said no, but it had encouraged China to liberalise capital accounts and reform its financial sector for long-term stability. Wichit Chaitrong The Nation
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