Thai Businesses Urge Government to Speed Study of Credit Accounts.

Jul. 28--Credit accounts, instead of mandatory cash payments, could help revive the country's exports, according to the private sector which has urged the government to speed up its study of the proposal.

Plengsakdi Prakaspesat, the vice-chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries, said private business believed the system would also help local manufacturers buy raw materials for use in making exported products.

Under the credit-account system, central banks would agree to open accounts for products traded between their respective countries. Transactions would be cleared in an agreed currency every year or in any another agreed period.

The government says it plans to reintroduce credit accounts in an attempt to reverse a decline in export receipts this year. Exports in the first half of this year dipped by 0.2 percent to US$ 32.7 billion year-on-year, while imports increased by 9.7 percent to $31.5 billion.

The Bank of Thailand estimates that exports this year will be worth about $62 billion, a decline of between 2 percent and 4 percent from last year. Mr Plengsakdi said the private sector had doubts about some aspects of the system and wanted the government to clarify its plans. For instance, he ...