Mr Somchai said the forecast was based on the assumption the general election takes place on Feb 2 as scheduled and the new government is in place soon after that. He warned that the ongoing anti-government... is in place soon after that.
He warned that the ongoing anti-government protests led by the People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) could well trim gross domestic product growth in 2014 to less than 2%.
If the political turmoil is prolonged, delaying the formation of a new government, it would erode confidence of investors and manufacturers, he said.
The lowered projection of economic growth was due to the delay in the disbursement of the government's planned investment in its 2-trillion-baht infrastructure development megaprojects, Mr Somchai said about 10% of the 400 billion baht planned investment budget was scheduled but could not be disbursed by a caretaker administration, which has limited financial powers. Under the law, the caretaker govrnment has no authority to push ahead with large investment projects. Only the new government could give large investment projects the green light.