BANGKOK, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's investor confidence improved in April but remained neutral, mainly boosted by the Southeast Asian country's upcoming general election, a survey showed on Tuesday.
The investor confidence index (ICI), which anticipates the market condition over the next three months, rose 15.1 percent to 110.09 in April from a month earlier, according to the Federation of Thai Capital Market Organizations (FETCO).
Only foreign investors' confidence was positive in April, jumping 66.7 percent from the previous month, while all other types of investors, retail and proprietary were down, FETCO Chairman Kobsak Pootrakool said in a statement.
Respondents viewed the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy rate hikes as a key factor hindering the Thai stock market, while the parliamentary election scheduled for May 14 remained the most influential.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) index dropped 5 percent last month from a month earlier, dragged down by a slower-than-expected economic recovery in several countries, Kobsak said.
Thailand's economic growth is forecast at 3.6 percent this year, down from the 3.8 percent the Fiscal Policy Office projected earlier.
Kobsak noted that the financial situation in the United States and Europe, the slowing U.S. economy and the weakening greenback would impact Thailand's exports, whose trade is denominated in the U.S. dollar.
Investors are keeping an eye on the tourism rebound and expansion of private consumption, which will sustain the country's economic growth momentum, as well as the central bank's policy rate revision scheduled for May 31, he added. ■
