Governor of the National Bank Emphasize the 85% money problem comes from external factors. While within the other 15% are structural problems. Solving must be on point For long term effect Confirm and take care of the currency so as not to hinder the recovery of the fragile economy.
The sharp appreciation of the baht during the past week. There are some periods when the baht appreciates at the level of 30 baht per dollar. To move around 29.98 baht per dollar Which is the highest appreciation level in almost a year and creates a disturbance to the business sector Especially for export enterprises It is expected that exports will become a hero to help support the Thai economy from the economic crisis. Therefore, the baht should not be an obstacle to the recovery.
Sethaput Suthiwatnaruput The Governor of the Bank of Thailand (BOT) told THE STANDARD that the BOT was not complacent about the appreciation of the baht. Because they understand that the economic recovery is still fragile. Therefore, he did not want the Thai baht to be an obstacle to the economic recovery.
“Regarding the value of money, we are not complacent. I have always looked after And didn’t worry about it just recently But we are worried every time the baht appreciates too quickly that operators can’t adjust to it. Which these are things that we always care about Reflected through the issuing of various measures to take care of “
However, we must admit that 85% of the baht movement over the past five years is due to external factors. Of these, 60% came from the movement of the world’s major currencies, 25% from the Asian currency movement, the remaining 15% from our own specifics.
“What it means is that the major currencies, such as the dollar, will weaken other currencies. Including the baht appreciation As we can see that after the baht appreciation comes from the depreciation of the dollar. Therefore, we can see that all regional currencies are appreciating as well, such as the yuan appreciating in 2 years, or the South Korean won at its strongest in 3 years, reflecting that this issue is facing everyone. Caused by the depreciation of the dollar “
Settaput reiterated that the BOT was not complacent. And in the past, I tried to issue various measures to take care of, but to do any measure It is also necessary to look at the side effects of such measures, because in the past it has been seen how much more severe the measure is, the side effects.
As for the competitiveness of the baht appreciation Settiput pointed out that Competitiveness does not depend only on money. Because there are other factors Get involved From wages to production costs Or even lower efficiency of economic growth These problems have been around for a long time in Thailand.
“We can see that in the past, Thailand’s foreign direct investment (FDI) was so great that Vietnam didn’t see our dust at all. But now it turns out that he significantly overtook us. These things reflect that the problems we face with the money are things that are not met only to us. But as a result of external factors The management that we can do is limited. “
However, the BOT governor agrees that even 85% of the currency movement comes from external factors, 15% is our own. But when the dollar weakens, the baht strengthens We often see the baht appreciation more than anyone else. Or when time will weaken, it is often less weaker than others This is partly because Thailand has a very high current account surplus. Which is a unique factor within our own
Settiput said When it comes to the current account surplus People tend to think of exports rather than imports. But in another dimension, Thai investment is relatively small. Giving us a high current account surplus In which case, in other countries, it uses a ‘recycling’ method or spins out the money. Through pushing to invest abroad
“The case of South Korea and Taiwan He had a problem similar to us, but his money was able to drain better than us. By him, a large institutional investor, be it insurance companies or various pension funds. Often go out to invest abroad Unlike Thailand that still has characteristics, Home Bias is not afraid to invest abroad. Or go, they tend to do currency hedging, which does not help weaken the baht. “
The Governor of the Bank of Thailand stressed that the problems that arose were structural matters. The solution is to look at the structure. Of course, short-term results may not be instant. But if we do not come down to solve these problems In the future, we will face the same problem. In the past, the Bank of Thailand has already started doing some Whether it is to encourage more people to invest abroad Or to be able to open a foreign currency deposit (FCD) account more easily, or even for foreign investors if they are investing in the country, they have to show their true identity who they are and where they come from.
For other currency care measures Sethaput said that the BOT has studied continuously. But its use must be considered appropriate The good and the bad must be weighed. As well as various side effects That could happen Of course, everyone would like to see the measure to weaken the baht. But every measure has its own side effects, so the BOT needs to study and weigh them well.
Proofread: Pornnaphat Chamnankha
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