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BoT - private sector disagree
on fixed exchange rate regime
Bank of Thailand (BoT) Governor Tarisa Wattanagase on Friday showed that the
central bank and the private sector do not want to see the baht fixed
because it could make the currency lose competitiveness.
However, private sector executives want the central bank to supervise the
baht’s movement to rein in its volatility.
Tarisa said the baht had been traded at its real value by businesspersons.
No heavy speculation on the currency had been found for this moment.
Even so, BoT wanted exporters to rely more on hedging against foreign
exchange volatility to reduce the impacts on their revenue.
She affirmed local liquidity remains sufficient although the government’s
plan to forge ahead with an implementation of the second phase economic
stimulus measure might prompt businesspersons to mobilize funds for
additional investment.
The BoT chief said the government’s plan for local borrowing to finance
various mega-projects would not affect the local liquidity because the
borrowing would proceed gradually. (TNA)
PM Abhisit: Government
to look into export slump
The government will reassess the problems causing Thailand’s
exports to decline sharply, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Saturday.
“I’ve already asked the Finance Ministry” to probe the trend, Abhisit said.
“However, the major reason is that the purchasing power of (our) trading
partners has fallen and (our government’s) measures are expected to produce
(only) limited results.”
This is the reason why the government must focus on domestic investment to
stimulate the economy, he said.
Abhisit’s remarks were made after Permanent Secretary for Commerce Siripol
Yodmuangcharoen announced Friday that Thailand’s exports fell 26.6 percent in
May from a year earlier to US$11.7 billion, the biggest monthly decline ever.
The export value for the first five months of this year totaled $55.9 billion, a
drop of 22.9 percent.
Although the government has stimulus measures to help exporters, exports are
likely to contract 15-19 percent due to the slow recovery of the world economy,
Siripol said.
The prime minister said many exporters complained about the sharp loss of
exports and wanted the Thai baht to weaken in order to boost exports.
Any intervention on the Bank of Thailand, which closely monitors the currency,
may not produce a fruitful result, Abhisit said.
By late Friday, the baht was at Bt34.15 against the dollar compared to Bt34.11
on Thursday. (TNA)
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