Government urged to halt baht gains

ECONOMY

Kittiratt counsels firms to look abroad, invest

Published: 17 Jan 2013 at 00.00
Newspaper section: Business

Thai exporters and business leaders yesterday urged policymakers to take steps to stem the baht's appreciation in order to help protect the country's price competitiveness.

But Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong played down the impact of the stronger currency on the overall economy and instead urged businesses to accelerate investment abroad.

The baht yesterday was quoted at 29.84/29.87 to the US dollar compared with 29.99/30.01 on Tuesday.

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bluebottle
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Discussion 3 : 17 Jan 2013 at 10.083
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You can not have the best of both worlds although this government seams to think it can.
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djay
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Discussion 2 : 17 Jan 2013 at 08.352
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"oil costs will decline". Strange, why then does it seem like the price for fuel is going up almost every week. Especially when it is declining in most of the rest of the world.
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boons
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Discussion 1 : 17 Jan 2013 at 04.561
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"Exporters need to adjust to ASEAN competition."

"Exporters need to adjust to higher minimum wages"

"Exporters need to adjust to the strong baht"

...At some point it becomes clear that the problem is the policy makers, not the exporters. Thailand is an 80% export economy. You don't just enact expressly anti-business legislation and then wag a finger at the sector responsible for 80% of your GDP and tell them to "adapt". That's not just arrogant, it's stupid.
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Government urged to halt baht gains | Bangkok Post: business