The strong baht remains a problem for Thailand's industries and exports

Industry minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit said on Tuesday that the big baht is still a problem for Thailand's industries and exports, which are a major driver of the country's growth. Industry Minister Suriya promised that he would do more to help the exporters.

The ministry wants assist exporters with currency hedging while also discussing further measures to promote investment and machinery imports, Industry Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit told reporters following a meeting with the central bank Governor on Tuesday (13 August).

The strength of the baht is due to Thailand's large current account surplus of $ 17 billion this year, and the central bank has already written to the appreciation of the currency, he added.

"I just found out today." Said Industry Minister Suriya, referring to the current account surplus.

Otherwise, Thailand wants to be a currency manipulator for trading benefits, "he added.

Baht is the best-performing currency in Asia, up 5.5% against the dollar this year.

Earlier Tuesday, Thai central bank governor Veerathai Santiprabob said the central bank was still worried about financial stability.

He added that a new Joint Political Committee would have no impact on the central bank.

This is especially true in times of lower interest rates, "said Governor of the Thai Central Bank, Mr. Veerathai, without giving any further details.

Surprisingly, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of Thailand (BoT) unexpectedly voted 5-2 on Wednesday (7 August) to raise the benchmark rate by a quarter (25 basis points) to 1.50% to lower. The MPC aims to further support economic growth against the background of worsening Sino-US trade tensions. The two dissidents did not advocate a change in politics.

Mr. Veerathai said the interest rate cut was due to the growing impact of increasing trade protectionism on Thailand's trade-driven economy and lower fuel prices, which could push inflation below this year's target.

So he said the establishment of the Fiscal and Monetary Policy Committee wants to have no impact on central bank decision-making, as it only wants to act as an advisory council.

Finance Minister Uttama Savanayana said on Friday (9 August) that there would be no interference in central bank policy.

However, not only Thailand's industries and exports suffer from the strong baht. The tourism industry complains more often about the unfavorable for most tourists exchange rate.

Just last week, Mr. Wichit Prakopkoson, head of the Thai travel agency ATTA, commented on the strength of the Thai baht. Mr Wichit said that the money tourism in Thailand, and that it would not make any sense to the previous tourist visitor numbers from China this year.

Thailand may be happy to see 11 million visitors from China this year, he said. Due to the absence of Chinese visitors alone, the head of ATTA expects a hefty drop in sales of 20 to 40 billion baht this year.

He further warned that if the baht continues to appreciate, there may be only 10.5 million visitors from China visiting Thailand this year. At the same time, it means a step back to the level of 2018, he added.

He said that Thailand should learn the lessons and make the necessary decisions. In his opinion, the government should just make a small and medium-sized operators who really feel the pinch and decline of tourists.

Sources: beschaffung-aktuell-industrie.de, thailandtip, thailandspezialisten.de