Bangkok Post quoted Mr Paiboon Kittisrikangwan assistant governor of Bank of Thailand as saying that the Thai economy is expected to grow 4.9% in 2012 and 5.6% in 2013.

The figure is slightly up on the central bank's November 2011 projection of 4.8% GDP growth for 2012. The BoT reduced its inflation forecast for 2012 from 3.5% to 3.2% and core inflation projection from 2.5% to 2.2%.

For 2013, the BoT projects a 5.6% rise, implying that the core inflation rate stands at 1.7% and the headline inflation rate at 2.9%.

Mr Paiboon said that "2012 is the time for the Thai economy to recover from the great flood last year and this means domestic consumption, spending stimulated by state measures and investment from the state sector will play a key role in driving the economy. We cannot hope that exports will rise significantly like before because the global economy remains sluggish."

He said the global economy would likely experience slower growth because of the debt crisis in Europe.

The BoT also cut its GDP growth figures for 2011 from 1.8% to 1.0% due to the flood's impact on the economy and the industrial sector. The impact was more severe than expected. The country's economy should be fully recovered in the third quarter of 2012.

(Sourced from www.bangkokpost.com)