and household sectors are not highly leveraged. they have low debt and strong balance sheets. fifth, the ability of the economy to adjust to external shock has improved markedly from before, given the flexibility that we now have in our economic and financial systems. the most crucial is a more flexible policy regime, especially the exchange rate. and sixth is the low level of public sector debt, now at 39 percent of gdp. this low debt gives ample room for the authorities to use fiscal policy to support growth. such room will give the authorities better leverage to cope with any further fallout from the global turmoil. the last point i want to make is to assure you that despite the ongoing global credit crunch, and the tightened conditions in the international financial markets in terms of funding access, our policy on cross - border capital flows will remain open and liberal, and our policy on access to domestic funding by non - residents will also remain unchanged. this should help reduce any fear that you may have about policy tightening in this area, and the current policy stance should help foreign - owned thai resident companies to adjust well to the impact of the crisis. ladies and gentlemen, i hope my brief remark today has been useful in updating you on the current situations, and that it adds to the confidence that you already have in thailand, and in the ability of our economy and the banking sector to weather the current global downturn. we are now living in an exceptional time, but our caution and right action, together with a good collaboration between private businesses and the authorities, will help see us through. thank you for your attention and again thank you for the invitation.

sharply. the banking sector, however, has been resilient given the low direct exposure to the toxic assets, the low reliance on global liquidity as a source of funding, and the strong capital base. the fact that the thai banking sector remains safe and sound is no accident. it is largely the result of continuing improvement in risk management capacity of the banking sector following the asian financial crisis, under a stronger regulatory framework and risk - based supervision. compared to some countries at this time, the banking sector in thailand is functioning normally, with the financial markets remaining relatively stable despite greater volatility and uncertainty in the global economy. at the bank of thailand, we are optimistic that policy efforts at the global level will be successful in stabilizing the financial markets and in providing a comprehensive solution to the current crisis. nevertheless, our view is that the adjustment that follows, and hence the process of global recovery, will probably take time. more importantly, in the thai context, given the global nature of the crisis, and the fact that our economy has been affected mainly through contagion, it will be difficult for an economy like thailand to achieve a sustained recovery on our own, if the global economy does not recover. therefore, in the context of policy, the focus of policy response in thailand should be on helping the economy and the private sector to adjust to the impact of the crisis, while ensuring that the key economic institutions and systems 6 most importantly the banking sector 6 continue to function normally, so that the economy will be in a position to move forward quickly once the crisis storm passes. it is in this context that the bank of thailand has been shaping our response to the current economic downturn. the response so far includes an aggressive easing of monetary policy, ensuring adequate liquidity to the financial markets and the banking sector, helping banks to better manage the increased risk in lending by introducing a government - sponsored credit guarantee scheme for smes, and encouraging banks to act early in assisting customers with debt rescheduling or debt restructuring so as to ward off the pressure on asset quality and on the non - performing loans. these are the direction and the measures we have taken in our response to the crisis, and more will be done if needed to ensure a smooth adjustment in the economy and the financial sector. judging from what we are seeing in terms of the recent broad global developments, i am confident that the combined effects of the fiscal stimulus by the government and the financial measures that the bank of thailand has