ID :
272095
Wed, 01/23/2013 - 10:51
Auther :

Thai government not to intervene currency market

BANGKOK, January 23 (TNA) - The Thai government will not intervene in the domestic currency market, but it will, instead, allow market mechanisms function. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Kittirat Na-Ranong told the Thai government's policy at a seminar on challenges of the Thai economy in 2013, organized in Bangkok by the Economic Reporters Association, saying that the value of the baht has remained close to that of other currencies in the region. Kittirat admitted, however, that the appreciation of the Japanese yen and the US dollar is affecting the balance of the world economy, suggesting that the global economic balance should be maintained and Thailand will take actions towards the effect. Kittirat said that he expects the Bank of Thailand (BOT) to stabilize the baht value and to take necessary actions to manage it. The deputy premier pointed out that the baht appreciation has both pros and cons, with, based on its bright side, Thai imports to be cheaper, especially energy, recommending that the local private sector import capital goods, machines and technology to improve their productivity. The deputy premier insisted that the ongoing baht appreciation appears to be a challenge and Thailand should take the opportunity to expand its investment to maintain the balance between capital inflows and outflows. Meanwhile, Paibul Polsuwanna, Chair of the Thai National Shippers’ Council, shared his views that the baht has appreciated too fast over the past few weeks due to currency speculation, causing the Thai baht to be stronger than the currencies of neighbouring countries like Malaysia, Hong Kong and the Philippines, urging the Thai government to seriously tackle currency speculation. Paibul warned that, without a serious solution, it would be difficult for Thailand to reach an export growth target of at least 9 per cent this year and national exports could even shrink in the first quarter of this year, as the fast fluctuation of the Thai currency could affect the costs of many industries having already suffered from a new daily minimum wage hike to 300 baht nationwide, effective from January 1, 2013. (TNA)

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