BANGKOK, Sept 26 (TNA) – The current financial market crisis in the United States has neither adversely affected financial institutions in Thailand nor caused a severe liquidity crunch in the country's financial system, according to Permanent Secretary for Finance Suparat Kawatkul.
He made the remarks after a meeting of the Committee on Monitoring and Coordinating Efforts to Solve Economic Woes held Wednesday to discuss ways to contain the US financial turmoil.
The committee is comprised of senior officials from the Finance Ministry, Bank of Thailand, Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Stock Exchange of Thailand.
He said the committee believes that the current US financial chaos will not put Thailand's economy into crisis like that in 1997.
Therefore it is unnecessary, at present, for Thailand to prepare a large amount of capital to cope with any possible financial turmoil in a similar manner the US had done.
However, it needs to monitor a wave of secondary impacts, which stem from the slowdown in the global economy and the economies of Thailand's trading partners.
Mr. Suparat said the Thai stock market had been affected by the US financial crisis as were other markets in the region.
Since early this year, foreign investors had sold Thai stocks amounting to as much as Bt120 billion.
Yet, they had not taken funds out of the country, but opted to invest in other kinds of businesses in Thailand instead.
BoT Governor Tarisa Watanagase said local private financial institutions had taken out offshore loans amounting to US$3.6 billion.
Should foreign creditors encounter financial difficulties and ask debtors to repay the loans, it would not affect Thailand's liquidity because the outstanding loan amount is very small. (TNA)
Business News : Last Update : 09:04:23 26 September 2008 (GMT+7:00)
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