Bangkok - Some 1,307 companies went bankrupt last month in Thailand, up 53.7 per cent from the same period of 2008, the Department of Business Development announced Tuesday.

Most of the bankrupt firms were in the construction sector, real estate and services, while almost half of them were in Bangkok, the department revealed.

Like most export-oriented Asian economies, Thailand has already been hard-hit by the global financial crisis that has reduced demand in major importing countries such as the US, Europe and Japan.

Thailand's exports dropped 26 per cent last month, the sharpest year-on-year decline in 18 years.

The economy is expected to grow zero to 1 per cent this year, according to the National Economic and Social Development Board
(NESDB), a government think tank.

Unemployment is expected to reach 1.2 million in 2009, or 4.2 per cent of the official labour force. (dpa)