BOT affirms that it will not sell to foreigners shares of Bank Thai held by the FIDF

The Bank of Thailand has affirmed it will not sell to foreigners shares of Bank Thai that the Financial Institutions Development Fund is currently holding.

The Central Bank Governor, Mom Ratchawong Pridiyathorn Devakula (หม่อมราชวงศ์ ปรีดิยาธร เทวกุล), said that the BOT has no policy to sell the shares, but should they be sold then the sale would be made to the general public and not to a specific individual. He also said this is not an urgent issue.

In the meantime, Mrs. Tarisa Watanagase (ธาริษา วัฒนเกส), the Deputy Governor of Thailand’s central bank, for Financial Institutions Stability, said that sale of commercial bank shares held by the fund would depend on the fund's board.

However, she said that explanation must be yielded to the public in such cases regardless of who shares were sold to.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 08 Febuary 2006

BOT says it won't sell shares held in BankThail to foreign investors

BANGKOK, Feb 8 (TNA) – Bank of Thailand’s Governor M.R. Pridiyathorn Devakula on Tuesday reiterated the central bank would not sell shares held in BankThai Plc through the Financial Institutions Development Fund to foreign investors.

He said the BOT had no policy to sell the bank’s shares. Should it decide to do that, it would sell the shares to the public. It would not offer them to a particular investor.

Also, the BOT saw no need for rush to sell the shares because FIDF is still in operation pending consideration of the establishment of the deposit insurance institute by the House of Representatives.

The BOT chief said the baht depreciation o 39.65 to the US dollar was not a result of a capital outflow. Rather, the local currency had weakened in the same direction with other main currencies including euro and Japanese yen.

The weakening of the baht would contribute to the country’s export growth, he added.

Tarisa Wattanagase, the BOT’s Deputy Governor in charge of the Financial Institution Stability Group, said the decision to dispose of shares of commercial banks held by FIDF rested with the fund’s committee.

The central bank, as a regulator of FIDF, is not in a position to make a decision on the matter.

In principle, the shares could be sold at a better price if they were offered to the public. But no matter whom FIDF would sell the bank’s shares to, it must be able to answer any questions by the public. (TNA)

The BOT chief said the baht depreciation o 39.65 to the US dollar was not a result of a capital outflow. Rather, the local currency had weakened in the same direction with other main currencies including euro and Japanese yen.

The weakening of the baht would contribute to the country’s export growth, he added.

Was it not the Bank of Thailand which only last week was telling the country that the strengthening baht was not a cause for concern, and would be good for business ?

How quickly the perceived-wisdom can change.