Caretaker DPM:Thai economy is likely to recover quickly

BANGKOK, January 3 (TNA) - Caretaker Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kittirat Na-Ranong has acknowledged that domestic political problems are affecting confidence in the Thai economy among international investors, especially institutional one who are actively selling shares, but the national economy is likely to recover quickly due to the country's strong economic potential. Kittirat said investors are selling stocks amid the depreciation of the Thai baht, elaborating although the depreciation of the Thai currency supports Thai exports, too much depreciation will affect the country's imports of essential goods and raise oil prices. Kittirat admitted that the ongoing domestic political problems have caused the Thai government's investment in many projects to be postponed and may affect its investment budget in 2014, especially that for its 2.2-trillion-baht infrastructure development projects, and have impacts on domestic consumption. The caretaker deputy premier assessed, however, despite the ongoing political protests, the Thai economy is likely to recover quickly, thanks to its strong economic fundamentals, pointing out that the Thai economy has proved to have recovered rapidly after past crises, including a devastating tsunami in late 2004 and a severe flooding in late 2011. Meanwhile, the five-member Election Commission of Thailand (EC) was convening a fresh meeting to decide on whether it should proceed with the new general election, set on February 2, 2014, amid persistent domestic political protests. At its Friday's meeting, the election agency was also considering compensation for candidates who could not seek their registrations in 28 constituencies in the Thai South. (TNA)