Thai jobless may double without urgent action -PM

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-12-30 17:07

BANGKOK -- Thailand's new prime minister said on Tuesday unemployment could double and the export-driven economy could slip into recession if action was not taken quickly to revive confidence among investors and tourists.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva delivers his maiden policy speech at the Foreign Ministry in Bangkok December 30, 2008. Abhisit said on Tuesday unemployment could double and the export-driven economy could slip into recession if action was not taken quickly to revive confidence among investors and tourists.[Agencies]

Illustrating the problems that will face his government, Abhisit Vejjajiva was forced to make his speech to lawmakers at the Foreign Ministry rather than parliament, which was blockaded by anti-government demonstrators for a second day.

"Political conflicts that have spread to civic groups could push the economy, along with the tourism industry, into recession if action is not taken quickly to resolve them and revive confidence among investors and foreign tourists," he said.

"These conflicts are the country's weakness, especially at a time the world economy is entering its worst crisis in a century," he added.

Slowing exports, falling tourist arrivals, weak commodity prices and delayed private investment would be major problems facing Thailand in 2009 as the global economy weakened, he said.

"With these problems, the outlook is for the number of unemployed to double from 500,000 now to a million, which would aggravate social problems, including those related to poverty and crime," Abhisit said.

Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij, an Oxford-educated former investment banker, said last week the economy would shrink in the fourth quarter. For 2009, he forecast growth of between zero and 2 percent, which would be the worst in a decade.

Abhisit said the global slowdown had hit Thailand sooner than expected, and preliminary data showed exports plunged 18.6 percent in dollar terms in November from a year before.

Revenue to All

The prime minister has previously said his government planned to implement a 300 billion baht ($8.6 billion) stimulus package to soften the impact of the economic downturn, with funding to be outlined in a supplementary budget bill.

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