The committee that will select the next governor of the Bank of Thailand will open applications next week, ahead of the end of current Governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput’s five-year term in September.
The application period will run from May 13 to June 4, Pornchai Thiraveja, director of the Fiscal Policy Office, said on Thursday.
Thai law requires the selection committee to shortlist at least two candidates for the finance minister at least 90 days before the end of the incumbent’s term. The appointment will require cabinet and royal approval.
The selection committee is chaired by Sathit Limpongpan, a former permanent secretary of the Ministry of Finance.
Potential candidates include Roong Mallikamas, a deputy central bank governor, and Sutapa Amornvivat, a former IMF economist and currently CEO of the SCB X fintech affiliate Abacus Digital.
Mr Sethaput, a former World Bank economist, has held the governor’s position since 2020 but he cannot seek a second term as he reached the retirement age of 60 this year.
His successor will face a tough task of steering the country’s underperforming economy, the second largest in Southeast Asia, through the global trade war.
Mr Sethaput has disagreed with some policies of the ruling Pheu Thai Party, which took office in 2023, and had long resisted its calls for cuts in interest rates.
He has been a critic of Pheu Thai’s signature “digital wallet” policy, a series of cash handouts, none of them truly digital so far, that could eventually cost taxpayers 450 billion baht.
He has said that the Thai economy needs fundamental reforms rather than quick fixes if the country is to remain competitive. As well, he has spoken out about the need for central banks to remain independent.
The search for a new governor follows a drawn-out process to select a new chairman for the Bank of Thailand board. The government last year attempted to manoeuvre former Pheu Thai cabinet minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong into the position. Economists and former central bank governors condemned what they saw as political interference.
In the end, a court ruled Mr Kittiratt ineligible as he had recently held a political position as an adviser to former premier Srettha Thavisin.
The selection process for the chairmanship was restarted, with economist Somchai Sujjapongse, a former finance ministry permanent secretary, proposed for the post. The cabinet approved his appointment on April 22.