Special Report: Global Financial Crisis

    BANGKOK, April 22 (Xinhua) -- The Bank of Thailand (BoT) has downwardly adjusted its projection of this year's gross domestic product (GDP) from an expansion trend to a contraction of up to negative 3.5 percent, Thai media reported Wednesday.

    According to Bangkok Post's website, the latest projection of BoT for Thailand's GDP growth 2009 is negative 1.5 percent to negative 3.5 percent.

    The central bank initially forecast that the country's economy would expand zero to 2 percent this year.

    It said, however, the GDP could fall further by 4-5 percentage points if the global economic crisis and the domestic political instability worsen, which echoed the earlier remarks of Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who said after the weekly cabinet meeting on Tuesday that Thai economy could contract in a range of 2 percent to as much as 5 percent for this year.

    The BoT also adjusted the economic growth projection in 2010 to1.5 to 3.5 percent from the earlier projection of 2-4 percent.