dailyfreespins|Thailand's industrial confidence improves in July

BANGKOKdailyfreespins, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's industrial confidence improved for the first time in four months in July, thanks to an expansion in domestic demand and government spending, data showed on Friday.

The Thai Industries Sentiment Index jumped to 89.3 last month from 87.2 in June as most components of the index increased, except production costs, according to the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI).

The reading was based on a survey of 1,323 entrepreneurs from 46 industry groups under the FTI.

The uptick in confidence was attributed to the government's efforts to promote tourism, including a visa exemption policy and initiatives to boost domestic tourism during the low season, the FTI said in a statement.

Despite that, elevated household debt and non-performing loans continued to strain domestic consumption, while the real estate and export sectors both experienced a slowdown.

The index forecast for the next three months notably increased to 95.2 in July from 93.4 a month earlier, underpinned by an upsurge in government spending and investment along with the implementation of the digital wallet cash handout scheme.

However, entrepreneurs remained concerned about global economic uncertainties that threaten export growth and a national minimum wage hike that could raise manufacturing costs, said FTI Chairman Kriengkrai Thiennukul.

The group called on the government to enhance regulations on e-commerce platforms to curb the influx of inexpensive and substandard products from overseas, Kriengkrai told a news conference.■