BoT affirms readiness to track foreign capital movement

BANGKOK, Sept 26 (TNA) – Bank of Thailand (BoT) Governor Tarisa Watanagase on Friday affirmed the central bank had sufficient tools to oversee the movement of foreign capital in Thailand.

She said the strengthening of the baht now stemmed from the foreign capital inflow into the Thai stock markets and other stock exchanges in Asia.

Although capital movements have been rather volatile, the central bank needs not come up with new measures to contain it, according to Mrs Tarisa.

What the bank could do now is to monitor the capital movement and the United States and European economies with caution.

Regarding mounting concerns that the stronger baht would negatively affect Thailand’s exports, Mrs. Tarisa said that export prospects looked better and that the currency value is not a key factor to product shipments.

She said the central bank has a duty to tame the currency fluctuation, but it could not move against the market mechanism.

Mrs Tarisa said that global trade conditions had changed considerably because the purchasing power of the United States had weakened due to the latest financial crisis.

Accordingly, she said, Thai entrepreneurs must adjust t6o the new conditions and find stronger products since the export market will become smaller.

She warned exporters and importers not to speculate on foreign exchange rates because they are volatile and risky. (TNA)