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 The National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA)'s dean Ekkachai Nittayakasetwat said at a seminar on Wednesday that the amount coupled with additional borrowings, based on the 1-1.5 times of multiplier effect, should help raise the gross domestic product by Bt1 trillion.

 He said that allocating foreign reserves for economic stimulus should not rock confidence and the country's finances. Moreover, keeping dollar-denominated reserves intact could mean the lower value, on the possible depreciation of the greenback.

 He said that economic stimulus measures in the first package was mainly to boost consumption, but future measures should be to promote investment and job creation particularly in the automotive, alternative energy and export-oriented food business.

 The government on Tuesday announced the plan to borrow Bt1.4 trillion.

 Sukit Udomsirikul, senior executive vice president of Siam City Bank Research Institute, said the government must be clear on how to allocate the amount. Meanwhile, amid volatility in the foreign exchange rates and US financial crisis, political instability may return.

 "The institute expects the gross domestic product to contract 0.8 per cent, on assumption that exports would fall 15-20 per cent this year and average crude price at $45 per barrel," he said. "The forecast would be revised if more measures appear more effective."