New Thai government urged to take care of Thai baht

BANGKOK, July 2 (TNA) - The private sector has called on the new Thai administration to quickly take action to keep the Thai currency stable at an appropriate level. Ghanyapad Tantipipatpong, Chairperson of the Thai National Shippers' Council (TNSC), voiced the call on Tuesday, stating that the value of the Thai baht should not stronger than the currencies of rival exporting countries in the region. Speaking on behalf of the private sector, Ghanyapad proposed that the new government, once taking office, should give the green light for the Bank of Thailand (BOT) to implement measures to make the Thai baht stable at an appropriate level, namely a further cut in its key interest rate and a crackdown on irregular manipulations of the Thai currency by speculators. Besides, the new Thai administration should speed up negotiating and concluding new free trade agreements (FTAs) with trading partners, including the FTAs between Thailand and the European Union (EU) and Pakistan, as well as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), in order to further boost Thai exports. The TNSC chief told journalists that the new Thai government should also revise relevant laws and regulations to expand more trade opportunities for Thai business operators and exporters, along with the further development of factors of production, infrastructure and logistics systems in the country. The TNSC's calls are in response to a slowdown in Thai exports during the first half of this year due to impacts from both internal and external risk factors, including the stronger Thai baht, when compared with other currencies of rival exporting countries in the region, as well as unstable world oil prices and the ongoing trade war between the immense Chinese and the US economies, though a relieving trend is now observed. Based on TNSC updated statistics, Thailand's exports during the first five months of 2019 stood at about 101.56 billion US dollars or at 3.20 trillion baht, a 2.7 per cent year-on-year contraction in terms of the US dollar or a 2.3 per cent year-on-year contraction in terms of the Thai baht. (TNA)