Thai stocks are expected to fall next week amid uncertainty over the government's economic policy under the kingdom's new finance minister, analysts said Friday. "Investors will be cautious because the new finance minister has yet to map out a clear direction of the government's economic policy," said Kanang Duangmanee, an economist at Kasikorn Research Centre.
"They are taking a wait-and-see stance to see whether the new minister will announce fresh measures to boost the economy," Kanang said. Chalongphob Sussangkarn, a former World Bank economist, was appointed as the new finance minister earlier this week.
His appointment came amid growing concern over an economic slump as the government's think tank said Tuesday the Thai economy had slowed to 4.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2006 from 4.7 percent in the third quarter.
It also warned of further economic weakness in 2007 due to a fall in export growth, a key driver of the Thai economy, and sluggish private investment.
For the week to March 9, the Stock Exchange of Thailand composite index declined 7.85 points, or 1.2 percent, to close at 671.17 on Friday. Kanang said the market would likely fall to the 660-point level next week.
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