Grant Thornton’s International Business Report reveals that Thai business leaders’ confidence in the economy continues to follow an upward trend.

IBR’s survey reveals that Thai business leaders’ confidence in Q4 of 2017 that the number has risen from 8% to 10%. In addition, 18% of business leaders are expecting that business will earn more profit and 36% believe that 2018 will see greater generation of revenue. These numbers are higher than the previous quarter. However, there are some major factors that these leaders believe may affect business growth, such as economic instability (54%) and the high domestic expenses (products, services, and orders) (30%).

Mr.  Ian Pascoe, CEO and Managing Partner, Grant Thornton (Thailand) says “many global financial institutes have forecasted a GDP growth rate of 4% for Thailand. This is in accordance with the result from IBR’s survey that demonstrates an increase in the number of Thai business leader’s confidence in the economy. It is a good sign for Thai businesses, showing recovery from previous years. In 2018, we expect the Thai economy to continually grow due to government policies, for example, Thailand 4.0, Eastern Economic Corridor project (EEC), infrastructure development, taxation, and investment promotions. These factors directly impact business expansion and the confidence of both international and domestic investors. If the government can substantially and continuously operate and manage these factors, there is a high possibility that Thailand’s GDP growth this year will reach 4%.

However, although the number of Thai business leader’s confidence this year is higher than the last year, the number is still substantially less when compared to the ASEAN and global leaders surveyed. Both indicated a 58% confidence in their respective countries, the highest number ever recorded.