THAI NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - DEC 1, 2006.

BANGKOK, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers:

BANGKOK POST:

- Much to the relief and surprise of critics, the government yesterday withdrew a controversial bill to legalise the two- and three-digit lottery, saying it lacked measures to protect children from gambling.

- The Thailand Securities Depository (TSD) has sent a confirmation letter to the Office of the Auditor-General that Bannapot Damapong had actually traded shares of Shin Corp with Duangta Vongpakdi. The confirmation by the TSD, the clearing house for the stock market, would seem to contradict a ruling by the Assets Scrutiny Committee (ASC) that no actual transaction had occurred between the two.

- Under the rule of law, there is no retroactive effect to make good the previous misdeeds, unless the legislature explicitly approves that backdating.

- Widespread flooding hurt private consumption and production in October, according to the latest economic data from the Bank of Thailand. But exports continued to expand sharply, growing 20.9 per cent year-on-year to $11.37 billion as imports increased 8.9 per cent to $10.64 billion.

- The Bank of Thailand said it was monitoring possible currency speculation through short-term repurchase contracts in the bond market even as the baht yesterday rose to an eight-year high.