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The cost of Lin Ping’s new loan agreement, about 660 million baht, is not much if people take into account the annual revenue that the celebrity giant panda and its family have been generating, the president of the South East Asian Zoos Association said on Wednesday. Sophon Dumnui, former director of the Zoological Park Organisation, said the pandas have been generating about three billion baht of annual income for Chiang Mai province. The Zoological Park Organisation’s share of the revenue can be distributed to help other animal species nationwide, Mr Sophon said. Lin Ping was born in Thailand, but her parents were loaned from China on a 10-year contract in 2003. Lin Ping was due to be sent back to China after her fourth birthday on May 27, but the government asked for the new loan agreement with China to allow her to remain in Thailand for longer. Friends of the Asian Elephant foundation founder Soraida Salwala has criticised the loan agreement, arguing that the money could be better spent saving Thailand’s elephants. But Mr Sophon insisted that the government does not neglect local elephants. He said a 500 million baht budget to aid elephants at various levels was approved at a cabinet meeting in Surin province on July 31, 2012. Lin Ping’s parents, Chuang Chuang and Lin Hui, have played an important role in a previous fundraiser projects for elephants, cranes, and many exotic animals, he added. via Former zoo chief says pandas generate huge revenue | Bangkok Post: breakingnews.