Mubasher: Thailand’s economy saw the slowest growth since more than four years in the first quarter of 2019, owing to a drop in exports and public investment.

Thailand, the region’s second biggest economy, saw its gross domestic product (GDP) rising 2.8% in Q1-19 on an annualised basis, from a revised 3.6% growth in Q4-18, the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) said on Tuesday.

This marked the slowest growth pace seen since the end of 2014.

The economy was pressured by the US-Sino trade conflict and Brexit uncertainty, the NESDC’s secretary general Thosaporn Sirisumphand said.

Thailand’s exports, accounting for two-thirds of the economy, fell by 3.6% year-on-year in the first quarter.

The state planning agency slashed its growth outlook for this year to a range between 3.3% to 3.8%, from 3.5% to 4.5% range estimated last February.  

Moreover, export growth outlook was downgraded to 2.2%, from 4.1%.

The export-dependent economy is facing heightened risks, including weaker global demand, mounting trade tensions, subdued tourism growth, and political anxieties, all of which is clouding the outlook.

However, the NESDC said that growth should pick up in the second half of the year, as exports are set to gradually rebound.

It is worth noting that every key Southeast Asian economy posted a slower annual growth in the first quarter than in the prior quarter, against the backdrop of the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies and global economic slowdown.