Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva wants Thailand to be the creative centre of ASEAN industry, with the value of creative industry products to rise from 12 per cent to 20 per cent of gross domestic product by 2012.

"The government recognises the importance of creative industries combining the country's cultural assets with technologyl and innovation to come up with products with distinctive features," the prime minister said at a seminar on creative industries on Monday morning.

"These products will bring about sustainable development and allow Thailand to be a country of thinkers," he said.

The government planned to set up a new state agency responsible for overseeing creative industry within six months.

The government would also develop information technology infrastructure for 3G and WiMax, and provide laws to support creative industries, he said.

"This project comes under the government's economic stimulus plan in the second phase," Mr Abhisit said.

Meanwhile, the Bank of Thailand (BoT) reported that private sector investment and consumption figures in July improved over the previous month.

"The overall economy in July was better than that in June. Signs of economic recovery were clearer but the investment sector will determine its sustainability," the central bank said.

The private consumption index in July fell 1.8 per cent year-on-year but grew 3.4 per cent when compared to the previous month. The oil index also moved up in July due to the reduction of retail fuel prices.

The private investment index in July shrank 14.3 per cent compared to the same period last year, but expanded 1.6 per cent from June 2009. Although many components of the index last month had improved, the financial condition was fragile, as reflected by the declining business sentiment index.

The business sentiment index in the earlier month was still lower than 50 points because of the pressure from the rising operating cost. The index sank from 46.3 in June to 45.0 in July.

The central bank said fuel prices and the political uncertainty were main factors that dampened investor confidence.

The BoT said the overall system of commercial banks was solid, and expected the non-performing loan ratio to be below 10 per cent by the end of this year.