Thailands prime minister said on Friday the economy would resume growth in the fourth quarter of 2009 and the country was on track to obtain $2 billion in loans from the World Bank and other lenders. Thailand is suffering from shrinking demand for its exports owing to the financial crisis, with official data showing the economy shrank 6.1 percent in the fourth quarter from the third.
"I think that were now looking at a delay in recovery, clearly the export sector has been badly hit," Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva told reporters during a visit to London. "(We) hope to see a turnaround in terms of positive growth in the final quarter," he said. Thailands state planning agency had said it expected the economy to bottom out in the second or third quarter.
Abhisit also said that on March 24 the Thai parliament would discuss borrowing $1 billion from the World Bank, and $500 million each from the Asian Development Bank and the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
"We hope to have the money by the third quarter," he said, adding that after the parliamentary vote Thailand could begin negotiations with the lenders. The prime minister said there were no talks with the International Monetary Fund. The loans, announced in January, would be used for improving infrastructure and reviving growth.
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