While demand was weak in tandem with confidence, government pump-priming also helped achieve the favorable growth outcome. Going forward, sustainable economic growth can be achieved through several different means. But, among them, the prerequisite is maintaining the healthy growth momentum with the right policy mix. I will elaborate on this point later. For 2008, the growth prospect hinges largely on the recovery of private consumption and investment, supported by increased government spending. This year, the strengths of these three growth engines will be particularly important, since exports – the fourth engine – is expected to moderate in line with the global economic slowdown. Overall, the Monetary Policy Committee expects the Thai economy to grow by 4.8-6 percent. Due to continued high prices of energy and food, headline inflation is expected to be in a range of 4.0-5.0 percent for the whole of 2008. Nevertheless, the MPC expects the core inflation forecast of 1.5-2.5 percent. But, there are important risks to these forecasts. On the growth momentum, data for the first three months of 2008 point to GDP growth close to 6 percent, up from the previous quarter of 5.7 percent. During the first three months of this year, private consumption and investment, which constitute almost 70 percent of total demand, are firming up. Meanwhile, the disbursement rate of central government budget during the first half of fiscal year 2008 was also up from the same period last year.
Gent Sejko: Transparency, communication and the importance of the media partnership Address by Mr Gent Sejko, Governor of the Bank of Albania, at the end-of-year meeting with the media and the Governor’s Award ceremony, Tirana, 13 December 2019. * * * Dear ladies and gentlemen, Welcome to the Bank of Albania, to spend some time together as the year end approaches. Sadly, the atmosphere at the end of this year is different from previous ones, following the devastating earthquake, which hit Albania in late November. In the aftermath, we are all heartbroken by the tragic loss of 51 lives, with hundreds of others injured and many buildings, which have collapsed or have been heavily affected by the strongest quake in decades. Yet, beyond the material consequences and psychological shock, this tragic event foregrounded another – somewhat dormant – dimension of our society: solidarity and unconditional support for each other. We all witnessed an impressive demonstration of voluntary support from fellow citizens to those affected by the devastating earthquake. In this extraordinary situation, the media played a key role in promoting solidarity and alleviating the human pain caused by this natural disaster. In light of this event, and in retrospection of 2019, let me express my sincere thanks and heartfelt gratitude to the media, to those who are present here tonight, and those that were unable to attend, for their invaluable work, reporting news truthfully and in real time.