Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira said today that he hopes that the Finance Ministry and the Bank of Thailand (BOT) can work in the same direction, even though he has not yet been formally advised who the next board chairman will be.
Yesterday, however, the independent selection committee charged with selecting the bank’s new chair chose Kittiratt, a former deputy prime minister and finance minister under Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. He was proposed by the Finance Ministry and selected over Kulit Sombatsiri, former finance permanent secretary, and Surapol Nitikraipot, president of Thammasat University Council.
Pichai also noted that the roles of the board chairman and central bank’s other committees are clearly defined in law and that this ensures their independence.
He did say, however, that the government and the central bank, although independent from each other, will work together, in the same direction, and will try to meet more often.
He opined that the Finance Ministry and the central bank are not at odds with each other.
Former central bank staff, including four former governors, academics and activist groups have expressed serious concerns over the potential for political interference in the affairs of the BOT, which would endanger the credibility of the bank and the Thai economy.
Kittiratt is closely connected with the Pheu Thai party and is considered to be a political appointee, now at the top of the country’s central bank.
The current central bank governor, Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput, has been steadfastly unyielding to government pressure to cut the policy rate, to ease the financial burden on businesses.
