Special Report: Thailand and the Greek Financial Crisis

Much attention has been focused on Greece's debt crisis, as many fear that the event may trigger another global economic crisis. Many countries in the EU have been trying to solve the serious situation to control the problem and prevent it from spreading to other parts of the world.

Bank of Thailand (BoT) Governor, Dr Tarisa Watanagase, expressed confidence that the Greek financial crisis would not have any direct impact on Thai financial institutions since investments in Greece are limited. However, she noted that the situation must be monitored to see if it would affect the global economic revival or not.

Dr Tarisa added that the fluctuation of the Thai baht currency at present is caused by a lack of confidence among investors due to the unstable global economy. She admitted that there are some outflow funds from the stock market, but money is still in the country because investors have shifted to other types of investment instruments.

Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) Secretary-General, Dr Ampon Kittiampon, stated that the Greek financial crisis would not spread to other countries in Europe or other regions if it could be controlled in Greece, Spain, and Portugal. Failure to do so could harm other countries and cause a domino effect which would likely result in another global economic recession.

Meanwhile, Kim Eng Securities (Thailand) Chartered Financial Analyst, Montree Sornpaisarn, predicted that there would be more capital inflows from other countries to Asia following the Greek financial crisis. As for sales of Thai stocks in the stock market, he deemed it a change in property holding because investors usually hold less risky properties such as gold when they are worried about the situation.

Kasikorn Research Center estimated that investors would be concerned about the Greek public debt crisis and would avoid investing in risky properties. In addition, the persisting political conflict in Thailand would still have an important role in the confidence of investors.

Although there is not much direct relationship between the Thai economy and Greece, and barely any negative affects are expected from the scenario, this financial crisis cannot be overlooked. Whether we like it or not, what happens in other parts of the world affects us to an extent - it is an inevitable truth in today's era of connectivity and globalization.

-- NNT 2010-05-12

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"Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) Secretary-General, Dr Ampon Kittiampon, stated that the Greek financial crisis would not spread to other countries in Europe or other regions if it could be controlled in Greece, Spain, and Portugal."

Maybe I shouldn't be drinking....water..anymore.

LaoPo

Edited May 13, 201016 yr by LaoPo