bangkok april 24 reuters  thailands economy is still seen growing at 36 this year the central bank chief said on monday in spite of some turbulence in the first half of the year bank of thailand bot governor sethaput suthiwartnarueput told reporters exports are seen down 71 yearonyear in the first half of 2023 before rising 42 in the second half recovery in southeast asias secondlargest economy has lagged some of its regional peers but a rebound in tourism is expected to give growth a boost sethaput said the country is expecting at least 28 million foreign tourist arrivals this year headline inflation which cooled to 283 in march is expected at 33 in first half and 25 in the second half the bot last month raised its benchmark rate by a quarter point to 175 to curb inflationary pressures it will next review monetary policy on may 31 when economists expect a further rate hike the bot has raised its key rate by a total of 125 basis points since august less aggressive than many of its peers reporting by orathai sriring and kitiphong thaichareon editing by kanupriya kapoor