Thailand and Japan have signed an agreement on use of their local currencies for bilateral business.
Bank of Thailand assistant governor Chantavarn Sucharitakul said on Friday the BoT and the Finance Ministry of Japan signed a memorandum of cooperation to promote the use of the local currencies for settlement of trade and investment in the two countries.
This would involve promotion of the direct exchange rate quotation and interbank trading between yen and baht, and other cooperative activities. It would be aided by information sharing and periodical discussions between Japanese and Thai authorities, she said.
“This collaboration marks a key milestone in strengthening bilateral financial cooperation between Japan and Thailand. The authorities believe that it will positively contribute to closer trade and investment ties between the two countries,” Mrs Chantavarn said.
Nine commercial banks are participating - Bangkok Bank, Krungthai Bank, Bank of Ayudhya, Kasikornbank, Siam Commercial Bank, CIMB Thai Bank, Mizuho Bank’s Bangkok branch, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and Standard Chartered Bank (Thai).
They would cooperate with the BoT by providing the direct exchange rate quotation and promoting foreign exchange transactions in yen and baht in the interbank markets, as well as trade with their customers, Mrs Chantavarn said.