51.   The austerity plan will also use gasoline taxes to pay external debts and create a commission to investigate budget overruns.

52.   The Chamorro government earlier this year said it would try to sell the company to help pay off its external debt with Mexico.

53.   The external debt of the private companies must be restructured and reduced.

54.   The country earlier said it may seek a moratorium on the payment of external debt if promised loans are not released.

55.   The deficit measures the rate at which the country is acquiring external debt.

56.   The fifth group will discuss external corporate debt restructuring initiatives.

57.   The major concern is that Thailand has low official reserves compared to short-term external debt, so debt roll-over is crucial, he said.

58.   The ministers considered three alternative plans, but ultimately rejected them all and called for more revisions, including changes on external debt servicing and tax reform.

59.   The other four groups focus respectively on monetary policy, banking reform, structural reform and external corporate debt.

60.   The private sector has been widely criticized for its huge external debts which many have said is one of the main contributing factors to the current economic turmoil.