BANGKOK, 23 April 2013 (NNT) – The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) is urging the government to introduce more measures to curb the influx of foreign capital and to ease the appreciation of the baht.
FTI Secretary-General and acting President Thanit Sorat, on Monday, commented on the issue of strong baht and stated the Thai currency has appreciated 7-8 percent since the beginning of the year.
Mr. Thanit said the appreciation has particularly affected SME operators, whose production mostly demands local materials, and the agro-industrial sector.
He added that the continued strengthening of the baht has been evident as the impact of the 300-baht minimum wage policy remains to be alleviated.
Therefore, the FTI is urging the Bank of Thailand (BoT) and the Finance Ministry to work together in stabilizing the value of the local currency, which now trades at 28.67 baht per one US dollar.
Mr. Thanit said he will submit an official letter to the Deputy Prime Minister in charge of economy and the BoT governor to consider issuing measures to control fund movement.
He stated that tax collection for short-term speculative funds and the downward adjustment of the country’s benchmark interest rate from 2.75 percent to 2.00 percent could be effective measures.
The FTI Secretary-General also noted that the mechanism to allow SME operators access to the exchange risk insurance should also be considered.
