TOKYO. Oct 9: Thai Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaly-udh asked Japanese executives Thursday to help repair his nation's battered economy by buying more Thai products and giving breaks to Thai borrowers, reports AP.

"Japanese corporate headquarters should actively use their marketing networks to promote more exports from their industrial ventures in Thailand, to third countries as well as back to Japan." Chavalit said in a luncheon speech to a group of Japanese business leaders.

Chavalit arrived in Tokyo Wednesday for a three-day visit. His schedule is packed with meetings with executives of a dozen of Japan's biggest companies. including Sony Corp. Toyota Motor Corp and Sumitomo Bank Ltd. He also is to meet with Prime Minister Ryu-

taro Hashimoto and representatives of the Export-Import Bank of Japan.

Many Japanese manufacturers have built plants in Thailand to take advantage of lower wages there. In his speech Thursday. Chavalit appealed to those companies to help revitalise the Thai economy, now suffering from a dramatic fall in the value of its currency and a glut of bad property loans.

Chavalit asked Japanese automobile and electronics makers to help tip the trade balance in Thailand's favour, encouraging them to increase exports from Thai plants while buying more parts from local companies.

"I also encourage you to increase your efforts to assist small and medium Thai suppliers with technical assistance and technology transfer," he told the businessmen.