BANGKOK, 19 July 2012 – The Finance Minister has expressed his confidence in the Thai economic conditions and the policies implemented by the Thai central bank.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong said that the economic Cabinet meeting, on Wednesday, discussed the speculations on the US’s likely implementation of the third Quantitative Easing measures (QE3), which involves the printing of more banknotes to boost the economy.
Mr. Kittiratt said that the meeting believes that, even if such measures are implemented, the impact on the global market will be short-lived.
The Deputy PM is confident that foreign investors are still highly interested in Asia and Thailand, where economic fundamentals are quite strong. He also noted that the Bank of Thailand (BoT)’s foreign exchange and monetary policies have been appropriate.
Concerning the raise of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) prices, Mr. Kittiratt affirmed that the price charged for industrial use is already reflecting the real market cost, while that for the transport sector will have to be gradually raised by taking into consideration the probable effects on goods prices, inflation and the cost of living. He also noted that the LPG price for food business and household use will soon be slowly moved up.
The Deputy Prime Minister added that local LPG prices should be adjusted up during the next 2 years to accommodate the realization of the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015.
