Thai Finance Minister set to discuss policies with BOT

The freshly appointed Finance Minister today expressed his readiness to engage in discussions with the governor of the Bank of Thailand (BoT) to align fiscal and monetary policies. Pichai Chunhavajira, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, stated to journalists that collaborating with the BoT on policy coordination is part of his job responsibilities.

Pichai expressed confidence that he should be able to work with Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput, the governor of the central bank, who he believes would present facts and reason during their discussions. This comes at a time when disagreements between the government and the BoT regarding interest rates have been increasing, with Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin asserting that the current rates are excessively high and are negatively impacting the economy.

On Friday, the political daughter of Thaksin Shinawatra, Yingluck, a former premier of Thailand and a significant figure, also criticised the central bank’s independence, labelling it as an obstacle in solving economic issues. The 56 year old former PM’s statement is seen as the latest criticism in an ongoing dispute over interest rates.

The central bank is anticipating this year’s economic growth to pick up to 2.6% from 1.9% last year, with the Pheu Thai-led government beginning its 500-billion-baht digital wallet stimulus programme in the fourth quarter. The BoT, however, argued that some of the challenges restricting growth are structural and cannot be solved by monetary policy. It has also downplayed the significance of several months of negative inflation, attributing it to state subsidies, reported Bangkok Post.

In related news, KBank restricts digital personal loans to refine the business model, Kasikornbank (KBank), known for its leading mobile banking services, has strategically slowed down its digital personal loan operations. The move aims to refine its business model and enhance the quality of its loan products, according to its Chief Executive, Kattiya Indaravijaya.