Now that private investors are proceeding with their own investment plans, this should reduce the impact from the disappearance of government spending, they say. Thus, there should be no problem if there is no Parliament to approve the 2007 budget, which should be disbursed in October.

But in the past five years, government spending has been a major factor in driving the Thai economy. Just look how much the Village Fund programme contributed to the rural economy during the Thaksin I administration. Though the amount, at Bt1 million per village, was rather small, think about how many times that cash changed hands. Once the money was dispatched to the village chief, the villagers who borrowed from the fund would immediately spend their dough. They could buy tools or pigs or motorbikes or TVs or whatever. And then the sellers would have money to finance their own personal spending.

So, without a government budget, how can this mechanism continue?

It is true that the economy as a whole will not suffer greatly from the delayed approval of the 2007 budget, given that private companies are dutifully expanding their operations to cope with soaring oil prices and interest rates.

But many sectors could suffer badly. One is the advertising industry.

It sounds far-fetched to say so, but you'll be surprised when you read the following paragraphs.

According to Nielsen Media Research, during the first four months of this year, the PM's Office was ranked the 8th largest advertiser with a combined budget of Bt76 million.

Ranked 7th was Beiersdorf, the manufacturer of Nivea cream products which spent Bt90 million during the same period.

Trailing the PM's Office were Osotspa and Kao Commercial. Ranked above were Unilever, Toyota Motor Thailand, P&G, Advanced Info Service, Boonrawd Brewery, and Nestle.

See something unusual here?

Except for the PM's Office, all the big advertisers are companies which deal with commercial products and services. And it seems so natural for them to reach out to target customers. In the name of what does the PM's Office need to spend Bt76 million from January to April?

Well, the government has many projects that it also needs to advertise so that all citizens would be properly informed about them. One that I can recall is the ICL (Income Contingency Loan) project that deals with scholarships for students who want to borrow state funds to finance their higher education.

Since it spends such huge amounts to advertise its programmes, the government must be worried that not all Thais are aware of them. So, one thing is worrisome: without a new government budget, how will it keep people informed? Especially such a critical sector as needy students?

achara_d@nationgroup.com