BOT to cope with European debt crisis

BANGKOK, June 16 (TNA) - The Bank of Thailand (BOT) has confirmed that the central bank has already prepared instruments to cope with any impact from the ongoing European debt crisis on the Thai economy, especially on the local financial institutes and the money market, although there has not been any great impact yet. BOT Governor Prasarn Triratvorakul told journalists on Friday that he had reported the European debt crisis to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, including measures prepared to cope with any possibly impact on the Thai economy. Prasarn said that the Thai baht has depreciated by two per cent against the US dollar, but has appreciated by 7-8 per cent against euro since the last election in Greece on May 6, 2012, and that the BOT is not worried over the weakening baht against the US dollar, compared with the Thai currency's previous 10 per cent devaluation after the earlier Lehman Brothers crisis. The BOT chief assessed that there should be no party to attack the Thai baht because Thailand now has healthy foreign reserves and the value of baht has moved flexibly between 30-31 baht against US dollar although the Thai currency is likely to further depreciate against the US dollar because international investors consider the greenback as the world's safest currency amid the ongoing debt crisis in Europe. (TNA)