Saturday's bomb blasts in Hat Yai would have negative repercussions for the national economy as business people fear that the violence may no longer be contained within three provinces in the far South, the Bank of Thailand said yesterday.

The Bank of Thailand deputy governor Tarisa Watanagase said the blasts would have an adverse impact on the entire country, as Hat Yai was one of the country's main tourist and commercial hubs.

The blasts have already dealt a serious blow to tourism as more than 7,000 tourists have cancelled trips to Hat Yai after the blasts. The loss in tourism revenue has been estimated at Bt100 million.

The Chamber of Commerce will today call a meeting to discuss the impact of the blasts on the business sector.

While the violence has yet to affect stock market - the Stock Exchange of Thailand's index closed 0.75 per cent higher at 705.89 yesterday - the incident is likely to dampen business sentiment in the medium term.

Hundreds of foreigners fled the area following the bombs on Saturday night. Somchart Pimtha-napoonporn, president of the Hat Yai Hotels Association, estimated that more than 7,000 tourists, mostly Malaysians, had cut short holidays in Hat Yai, which had been a popular destination for Malaysians and Singaporeans.

Shortly after the blasts, the average hotel occupancy rate in the city plunged from its normal 80 per cent to single digit figures. The occupancy rate is usually 100 per cent on weekends.

"It will take about three months for the tourism industry to recover," Somchart said.

Nimitr Chaijiratheerahul, president of Songkhla Tourism Federa-tion, also feared the violence may begin to affect bigger tourist destinations in the South, such as Phuket, Koh Samui and Krabi.

"So far, most tourists are still planning to visit those areas as their trips were booked in ad-vance. Only a few are choosing to avoid the South," he said, adding that domestic travellers might switch to other provinces.

Anake Srichevachart, president of Thai Travel Agents Association (TTAA), said that the coming high season could well be affected because of the violence.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) southern region, said two major events were due to be held in the coming peak season - Tak Bat Thewo - the merit making that marks the end of Buddhist Lent, and the Vegetarian Festival. But it was too soon to say how these events would be affected, Anake said.

A Central Retail Corporation (CRC) executive said the blasts in Songkhla would certainly affect revenue at its two stores - Central and Robinson - as well as the Big C Supercenter, which the company partially owns.

But CRC did not know yet how badly revenue would be hit and was still assessing the impact and ways to survive the crisis, said Allan Namchaisiri, the firm's senior vice president and head of marketing.

Although the incident would certainly affect tourist numbers in the province, Allan was optimistic business would continue to run smoothly as over half the revenue generated comes from local customers, while Malaysian shoppers contribute 20 to 30 per cent and the rest comes from other international tourists.

CRC is checking security in all its shopping malls to see if systems need to be upgraded, he said.

The Bank of Thailand's assistant governor Atchana Waiquam-dee, said the weekend explosions would hurt business sentiment. However, the losses had not been estimated yet - they would be reflected in October's key economic indicators.

Thai economic growth for the rest of this year would not be affected by the blasts as lower oil prices and better-than-expected prices for agricultural products would cushion the impact.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said in a statement that all 18 trading rooms in Hat Yai would provide services as usual. Kim Eng Securities, Kiatnakin Securities, KGI Securities (Thailand), Sicco Securities, Syrus Securities, Trinity Securities, SCB Securities, Thanachart Securities, Bualuang Securities, BFIT Securities, Finansa Securities, Far East Securities, UOB Kay Hian Securities, and Asia Plus Securities have one branch each there. Phillip Securities and Adkinson Securities each have two branches.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand Patareeya Banchapolchai said the blasts would dampen sentiment.

"I admit it will be more difficult to achieve the target of new listings. Nonetheless, the SET will convince companies lining up to list on the stock market to proceed according to their schedules," she said.

SET executive vice president Vichate Tantivanich said some companies queuing up to list on the Market for Alternative Investment (MAI) had delayed their initial public offering following the blasts. However, the corporate tax incentive should help convince some companies to follow their listing plan as scheduled.

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