SINGAPORE – Thailand will receive its first batch of vaccines next month and plans to start producing its own vaccines, the finance minister said.
To begin with, about 100,000 doses will arrive, Arkhom Termpittayapaisith told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Friday.
“The first vaccines will come to Thailand next month, the first batch,” he said, adding that Thai company Siam Bioscience will partner with British-Swedish drug manufacturer AstraZeneca to develop vaccines to make it available to both Thailand. as other countries. .
He spoke to CNBC as part of the World Economic Forum’s coverage of the Davos agenda.
Thailand will begin introducing vaccines on Feb. 14 and aims to inoculate 19 million people in the first stage, the prime minister said on Wednesday, according to a Reuters report.
The Southeast Asian nation has according to the report, 26 million doses of AstraZeneca produced by Siam Bioscience and 2 million doses of Sinovac from China. It has also reserved 35 million doses of AstraZeneca, it added.
Pandemic affects tourism
Termpittayapaisith also said tourism is expected to recover by the end of the year, rather than mid-year, as previously forecast. The Thai economy relies heavily on tourism for growth, but during the pandemic, foreign tourists almost came to a halt.
The number of tourists fell 66% in the first six months of 2020 to 6.69 million as countries around the world implemented lockdowns and travel restrictions due to the pandemic.
In comparison, Thailand had a record 39.8 million tourists in all of 2019, according to Reuters. Tourist spending accounted for about 11% of Thailand’s GDP that year, the report said.
Commuters with face masks are waiting for a tour boat in Bangkok on March 2, 2020.
MLADEN ANTONOV | AFP | Getty Images
“We’re also focused on domestic consumption, so you can see the economic package … (is) promoting more spending on the basic economy,” Termpittayapaisith said, adding that it aims to offset the decline in revenues from international tourism.
Thailand lowered its economic growth forecast for this year to 2.8% on Thursday, from the 4.5% it previously forecast. According to the central bank, the economy is expected to contract by 6.6% in 2020.
The country reported a record 959 cases on Tuesday, the highest daily increase since early January, as it ramped up its testing, according to Reuters.
Thailand has one of the lowest reported cases in Southeast Asia. According to data from Johns Hopkins University, it has reported 17,023 cases and 76 deaths so far.