Consumer confidence in Thailand reached a 3-year high of 52.6 in February 2023, up from 51.7 the previous month, according to data released on Thursday, as the country saw its tourism industry recover and the government launched a series of stimulus measures.
According to the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC), the index has increased for nine consecutive months, reaching its highest level since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020.
Many stimulus measures, such as the “Shop Dee Mee Kuen” (shopping with refunds) scheme, land and building tax reduction, and the revival of the country’s tourism sector, as well as decreased fuel prices and a little depreciated Thai baht, all contributed to the uptick.
Consumers, however, continued to feel that the economy was recovering much more slowly than they had anticipated, and the cost of living was still a major worry. In addition, January saw a 4.5% drop in exports as weak demand hit economies around the world. Besides that, official projections for national growth this year are lowered to 2.6% from 3.2%.
Stocks in the retail, beverage, property, and banking sectors including CPALL, BJC, OSP, M, ORI, KBANK, and SCB, according to market analysts, will benefit from an uptick in the consumer sentiment index.
