I have often wondered why the baht does not move when the dollar strengthens. This makes it very clear along the special privilages under review for China. There intent ignore the west bet on Asia. One thing wrong with this approach. Who does Thailand think China trades with? Well I know the west stop growth in the west through these kinds of policies will only makes the recession last longer. This is a global economy now we all depend on each other. This approach is no Differnt then "Buy American" which cost such an uproar, no one is talking about this why?

I wonder how China feels about this policy considering they have more cash in dollars these days then America does or at least it sure feels like it.

"BoT chief refutes criticism on baht

BANGKOK, Aug 1 (TNA) – Bank of Thailand (BoT) Governor Tarisa Watanagase on Friday countered fierce criticism by former finance minister Virabongsa Ramangura that the central bank had failed to manage the baht properly, saying the comment on the currency movement should not be made based on personal feelings.

Earlier, Dr Virabongsa blamed the BoT for its failure to manage the baht appropriately, which led to a continued appreciation of the currency that affected the country’s exports. He also indicated that the monetary policy could not be adopted to help stimulate the economy.

“I want to ask how improperly the central bank manages the baht. The bank has overseen the currency to ensure it moves in the same direction with other regional currencies.

“Don’t talk about the baht based on personal feeling. It must count on information. Also, the baht should neither be monitored on a daily basis nor be compared with the US dollar because the greenback tends to strengthen,” she said.

Mrs Tarisa said the baht must be considered based on currencies of trading partners.

By comparison with other currencies, the baht had strengthened only slightly. It did not make Thailand lose export competitiveness. The BoT chief affirmed the baht had strengthened because the country enjoyed a trade surplus and foreign capital had flowed into the Thai stock market.

“The baht has now appreciated to 33-34 to the US dollar from 35 early this year. We affirm the baht rise does not make Thailand lose competitiveness because it moved in the same direction with other currencies of our trading partners,” Mrs Tarisa said. (TNA)

Business News : Last Update : 10:44:16 1 August 2009 (GMT+7:00) "

Well thats BULLSHIT! Tell that to the hundreds if not thousands who have lost their jobs because the factorys where they worked have closed because their products are not being exported because they are too expensive to buy...

The export market went down (to 2005 levels by the way) because the countries they were exporting to went into a recession and people stopped buying at the 2008 and early 2009 levels.

This was compounded by the fact that Thailand is in the middle of a transition to a more skilled manufacturing base and getting away from the labor intensive areas, such as textiles, where they cannot compete with such countries as China and Vietnam.

Had very little to do with baht. Note that when the THB was at its strongest is the same year as the highest exports.

TH