Thai PM says economy could grow 6.5% in 2012

BANGKOK, March 12, 2012 (AFP) - Thailand's economy could grow by up to 6.5 percent in 2012, recovering from the impact of months of devastating floods last year, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said Monday.

Government stimulus measures as well as post-flood rehabilitation and disaster prevention spending will drive the recovery, she told representatives from the US-ASEAN business council.

Last month her finance minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong said the kingdom's gross domestic product (GDP) could grow by 7.0 percent in 2012.

The months-long floods took a heavy toll on Thailand's industrial heartland north of Bangkok, with many factories forced to close temporarily.

Thai GDP shrank 10.7 percent in October-December of last year from the previous quarter, official figures showed last month.

For the whole of 2011, Thailand's economy expanded by 0.1 percent, after an increase of 7.8 percent in 2010, the figures showed.

-- Dow Jones Newswires contributed to this story --

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2012-03-12

Deputy PM Firm against Pattani State

BANGKOK: -- A deputy prime minister insists that he has never agreed with the idea of a Pattani state establishment. However, if the Pattani state proposal is passed along to him, he will be send it to the National Security Council to review the information.

Deputy Prime Minister in charge of national security, General Yutthasak Sasiprapa stated that it was not his idea to establish a Pattani state comprising the three southernmost provinces, saying that this was just a rumor.

However, he said that because it is a sensitive issue, if such a proposal is presented to him, he will pass it to the National Security Council, which will consider it in further details.

The deputy prime minister went on to say that it is not necessary to discuss the Pattani state case with the army chief. He made clear his view on the matter in an announcement at a House meeting four months ago when he said that he has never agreed with the idea of establishing Pattani state.

He said that the army chief is the person who can best explain the issue should it come up again in the future.

-- Tan Network 2012-03-12

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Thailand Live Tuesday 13 Mar 2012