BANGKOK - THAILAND'S new prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Wednesday that there was still a possibility that the country's economy could grow despite the global slowdown.

The Thai economy was battered by a crippling week-long blockade of Bangkok's airports by protesters earlier this month and has also suffered from the economic problems of its trading partners.

The Bank of Thailand projected Tuesday that the economy will contract at 2.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of this year compared to the previous quarter and will be stable at zero per cent on a year-on-year basis.

'There is a possibility that the GDP (gross domestic product) will grow on the plus side,' Mr Abhisit told reporters, however.

He said he had held discussions with economic experts who predicted that Thailand could maintain growth with a good economic stimulus plan and that the economy could recover by next year's third quarter.

Oxford-educated economist Abhisit said in an interview with AFP last week that he had planned a 300-billion-baht (S$12.4 billion) stimulus plan for the economy.

But he also warned that the current economic crisis would be a tougher job to handle than the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

Mr Abhisit was elected as prime minister in a parliamentary vote on December 15, after a court verdict dissolved the former ruling party loyal to ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra following months of protests.

The protests peaked when the royalist, anti-Thaksin People's Alliance for Democracy occupied Bangkok's airports for around a week, causing billions of dollars of losses.

Mr Abhisit faced protests by Thaksin supporters when he tried to give his maiden policy speech this week, eventually delivering the address a day late and switching the venue from parliament to the foreign ministry. -- AFP