Bangkok Post: The world windows to Thailand

The shock economic crash of Dubai's giant state-owned holding firm Dubai World is unlikely to have any impact on the Thai economy, Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij said on Friday.

“The broken bubble economy in Dubai is an old story and it has been a long time happening. The economic crisis in Dubai is different from what happened in Asia a decade ago,” Mr Korn said.

Thailand's economy was recovering and would not be affected.  All key economic indicators were positive, there was no sign of bubble economy in the property sector as land prices  and real estate sales volume were at normal levels.

 The prices of shares in the Stock Exchange of Thailand were up by 60 per cent from the beginning of this year  He was confident the Dubai crisis would not affect other countries in the Middle East which were Thailand’s new export markets.

Dubai World, saddled with a US$59 billion debt, on Wednesday asked creditors to defer payments for six months. Its subsidiaries include Nakheel, the construction firm famous for making country-shaped islands, and DP World, owners of five port terminals in India.