Berlin  - Germany's key banking association added its voice Wednesday to the growing list of groups ruling out a sharp downturn in Europe's biggest economy this year.

Bangkok - Thailand's exports are expected to increase up to 20 per cent this year, after hitting 87.11 trillion dollars in the first six months, the Export-Import Bank of Thailand forecast Tuesday.

The bank's economic information department noted that Thailand's exports to new markets surged 31.1 per cent during the first half of 2008, the state-run Thai News Agency reported.

Exports to Africa rose 60.5 per cent, while those to Indochina, a group consisting of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, rose 57 per cent, and exports to Eastern Europe were up by 31.8 per cent.

The largest private bank of India ICICI Bank is planning to make more investment in the small and medium enterprises (SME) sector. It has decided to set up a $200 million (Rs 8 billion) private equity fund exclusively for SMEs.

The head of business banking of ICICI Bank Ltd, Sanjiv Sherawat said that the bank would make the investment within the next five to six months.

Amsterdam - Dutch-Belgian bank Fortis is to hold a series of "informative meetings" for customers concerned about the bank's financial health.

The first meeting, for Dutch customers, is to take place in Amsterdam on Monday evening, followed by similar meetings in Brussels on August 20 and 21.

A spokeswoman for Fortis Netherlands told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa on Monday that "some 800 people registered for the three meetings, the majority of them in Belgium."

Frankfurt  - Germany's central bank ruled out a dramatic slump in Europe's biggest economy in its monthly report released Monday but warned inflationary expectations were becoming entrenched.

Despite fears that Germany could be edging towards a sharp downturn, the Bundesbank's August bulletin did not see the nation's economy spiralling down in the coming months.

But it said the nation was facing "an economic lean period during the second half of the year."