Thai economy unlikely to be seriously affected by Greece’s debt crisis

BANGKOK, June 29 (TNA) - Experts say that Greece's current debt crisis should not seriously affect the Thai economy, while gold investors are advised to delay their investment and closely monitor updates on the world market for the time being. Kritsada Chinawicharana, Director-General of the Ministry of Finance’s Fiscal Policy Office (FPO), told journalists on Monday that Greece's current debt crisis should not seriously affect the world economy, covering the global monetary and the capital markets, but it should rather affect exports of the 28-nation European Union (EU), in which Greece is a member country. Kritsada pointed out that Greece’s economy depends largely on revenues from its tourism and transport sectors. On any, probably, impact on the Thai baht and the country's exports, the FPO chief said he is confident that the Bank of Thailand (BOT) has prepared some measures to cushion any negative impact. Sukit Udomsirikul, Managing Director and head of the research unit of Maybank Kim Eng Securities Thailand Public Company Limited, admitted that Greece's debt crisis should, somewhat, affect investors' confidence in Thailand’s capital market, leading to a possible drop in the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) index this week to, probably, 1,475–1,480 points. Meanwhile, Nuttapong Hiranyasiri, Managing Director of MTS Gold Futures, advised investors to delay their new gold investment until there is a clearer picture of Greece's economic situation, assessing that global gold price could drop if the Greek economic crisis relieved or vice versa. By Monday morning, the global gold price rose to 1,187 US dollars per ounce, which was considered a positive signal for international investors. (TNA)