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Pramon Suthivong, chairman of Board of Trade, said after the meeting with the Federation of Thai Industries and the Thai Bankers Association, that one of the urgent measures is to boost domestic demand through a Bt80 billion budget.

 He noted that while the first half should be earmarked to reduce taxes for low-income earners who earn less than Bt20,000 a month, the other half should be used to create construction projects in the rural areas.

 The amount should be able to push the gross domestic product by 0.5-1 percentage point, he said.

 Meanwhile, on the capital reserve requirement, the three organisations are of the opinion that if the new government is to scrap the measure, it should have an alternative to handle the baht appreciation.

 "The measure has posted no problems to anyone," he said.

 Federation of Thai Industries Chairman Santi Vilassakdanont added that if the measure is to be revoked, it should be done in the second half.

 "At present, the global economy is highly volatile and scrapping the meaure now could lead to more capital inflows and that would push up the baht further."

 Santi also supported the new government's 7 urgent projects. He noted that some of the projects like the mass-transit and irrigation development are satisfactory. He noted that if the projects could be materialised, it would greatly benefit the industrial sector.

- The Nation