Thai central bank revises down GDP forecast for 2022

Bank of Thailand flags omicron as key risk to be monitored

The Bank of Thailand's latest growth projection comes the same day that the government rolled back quarantine-free tourism, which is sure to affect the economy. © Reuters

MASAYUKI YUDA, Nikkei staff writer

December 22, 2021 17:01 JST

Updated on December 22, 2021 18:37 JST

BANGKOK -- The Bank of Thailand downwardly revised its growth projection for Southeast Asia's second largest economy, a decision that comes on the heels of the government's rollback of quarantine-free tourism due to the omicron variant's global spread.

The Thai central bank now expects the economy to grow 3.4% in 2022, according to a policy statement released on Wednesday, after the year's final meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee. In a policy meeting in September, the bank projected the economy to expand 3.9% in 2022.