All Phuekt Real Estate News Govt to seek more loans By: BangkokPost.com Published: 4/03/2009 at 05:22 PM The Council of Economic Ministers on Wednesday gave a green light for the government to borrow US$2 billion (about 70 billion baht) from the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) for use in reviving the economy, deputy government spokesman Puttipong Punnakan said. The Ministry of Finance would start negotiations with the three foreign financial institutions in April or May, he said. The ministry would propose the details of the negotiations to the cabinet and listen to public opinions and suggestions before asking the House of Representatives for approval in late May. The government should be able to borrow the money in July, he said. About half the funding would be sought from the World Bank. The government will seek US$500 million loans from both the ADB and Jica, Mr Puttipong added. However, the Council of Economic Ministers turned down the proposal to cut excise taxes on cars to boost auto sales, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said. He said the short-term measures, including offering tax breaks and covering car insurance down payment, may not be the right way to boost auto sales. The Bank of Thailand (BoT) and the Ministry of Finance will examine the loan requirements and find more appropriate solutions because they may affect other business sectors, the prime minister said. He insisted the government will take serious steps to address intellectual property issues, especially the compulsory licensing (CL) policy on inexpensive drugs. More pressure will be on Thailand, if the United States does not accept the country's CL policy, he admitted. Referring to the academics' suggestion to revise the lese majeste law, Mr Abhisit said the cabinet will look into it next week. Posted Date: 2009-03-04 06:30:25

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