Economists are warning of slower growth in Thailand-英语听力

[00:00.000]From VOA Learning English, [00:02.560]this is the Economics Report. [00:05.570]Economists are warning of slower growth in Thailand, [00:10.620]southeast Asia's biggest economy. [00:13.590]A major credit rating agency recently [00:17.300]reported that continued political unrest in Thailand [00:21.750]could hurt the country's economy. [00:24.500]In its report, Fitch Ratings [00:27.910]noted a reduction in manufacturing [00:30.800]and sharply lower sales of goods and services. [00:35.050]Fitch said, the trust of both Thai consumers and business [00:41.000]is at its lowest level since the huge floods of 2011. [00:46.760]The ruling party is seeking [00:49.160]to break up the opposition Democrat Party. [00:52.200]Opposition forces accused the ruling party [00:56.470]led by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinwatra [00:59.530]of being disloyal to the king, [01:02.120]that is a serious accusation in Thailand. [01:06.630]The opposition has also questioned [01:10.470]the fairness of recent elections. [01:13.320]Now foreign investors are getting concerned. [01:18.330]The president of Toyota Motor Corp in Thailand [01:22.680]has warned that long term investors [01:26.030]may put their money in other areas, [01:28.980]like Indonesia or Vietnam. [01:32.220]Chris Baker is an expert on business in Thailand. [01:37.830]He says major foreign investors [01:41.180]are concerned about the elections. [01:43.890]They feel the lack of a clear winner will frighten investors. [01:49.290]He also says car makers and related businesses [01:54.000]are concerned the government will be unable [01:57.150]to make serious policy decisions. [02:00.300]Thailand's government is under financial pressure [02:05.100]to pay rice farmers more than $3 billion [02:09.100]for rice it promised to buy at higher than market prices. [02:14.350]Now, the government is having trouble [02:17.910]finding the money to pay the farmers. [02:21.630]Banks have been unwilling to loan money for the plan. [02:26.330]Foreign investors have also been pulling back [02:31.620]from the Thai stock market [02:33.570]since political protests began in November. [02:37.130]The leading measure of Thai stocks [02:40.580]has lost 10 percent of its value since then. [02:44.030]Andrew McBean is a partner with Grant Thornton Thailand, [02:49.980]a business advisory service. [02:53.240]He says the fact that the elections [02:56.390]were largely peaceful was a hopeful sign. [02:59.600]Still Thailand's tourist industry has been hurt [03:04.250]by the unrest in the capital Bangkok. [03:07.100]More than forty countries [03:09.850]have announced travel alerts in recent weeks. [03:12.660]And tourism officials estimated losses [03:16.510]for the month of January alone at $685 million. [03:22.930]The Thai economy has recovered from earlier political [03:27.730]and economical problems, [03:29.280]but the recent unrest may make it harder for foreigners [03:34.130]to want to return as they have in the past. [03:37.880]And that's the Economics Report from VOA Learning English.