THAILAND TRAVEL NEWS: Thailand Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has said he believes the Thai economy will show increasing signs of recovery in the fourth quarter of this year.

Mr Abhisit said a report by the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) showed that the Thai economy had shrunk by only 4.9 percent in the second quarter, against a 7.1 percent contraction in the first quarter of 2009.

The comments by the Prime Minister follow similar ones made in a keynote address on August 21 titled “The Making of Progressive Thailand”, where he said all the indicators now confirm that the contraction numbers will become smaller and smaller, quarter by quarter.

Mr Abhisit said this progress has been due to a “progressive approach” that the Government has adopted in resolving the problems at hand, including the first stimulus package; its trade and investment friendly policies; and good governance.

He also said the “Sufficiency Economy” philosophy initiated by His Majesty the King – based on doing things in a balanced manner and living in moderation – were also assisting the economy to recover.

Mr Abhisit said that while Thailand pursued opportunities outside and tried to compete with the rest of the world, the country also wanted to make sure that its people live in moderation so that they have enough protection against the volatility of the global economy.

The PM said since taking office in December last year the Government had faced the dual problems of the global economic crisis as well as its own internal political problems forcing it to divide its attention between both issues.

He said that while the Government could not claim it had overcome these challenges it could say confidently that it had made good progress on all fronts.

“Today, the political situation is more stable and economic recovery is on the way”, he added.

By John Le Fevre

Thailand Travel News for August 31, 2009