BANGKOK – The government has eased public worries over the weakened Chinese currency which has led to a global stock crash, saying that its impact on the country would be short-lived and that there were contingency measures for it.
Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak disclosed that China’s decision to let the Yuan further weaken may affect Thailand for only a few days, as the country’s economy relied mainly on the infrastructure which was still robust.
China on Thursday devalued the Yuan by over 0.5 percent, the biggest fall since August. Global stock markets saw the worst start since 2000.
Mr. Somkid dismissed the likelihood of currency war, saying the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Thailand were instructed to prepare measures to handle the currency exchange rates and values.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong said the country needed to reinforce its economy through government investments and public spending in order to be immune to global risks like China’s economy, the unrest in the Middle East and the US’ planned interest rate hike.
Mr. Apisak also asked the public not to overly worry about the Yuan devaluation, adding that the government already had plans to deal with it.
