Illustrative image (Source: VNA)Bangkok (VNA) – Thai exporters have asked the Government and the Bank of Thailand (BoT) to find ways to curb the baht’s rapid gains to maintain the country’s competitiveness in export.
The baht earlier this week hit a 40-month high against the US dollar at 32.10, the biggest gain among its Asian peers. In 2017, the baht was the second-best performer after the Republic of Korea's won.
The exporters said the baht is too strong and taking a toll on Thailand's exports and tourism industry.
The Thai National Shippers' Council (TNSC) recently estimated that every one-baht rise against the dollar would cause a loss of 230 billion baht worth of export income.
The central bank has joined with commercial banks to launch a foreign exchange (FX) options project to help small and medium-sized enterprises pay a lower fee when hedging against risks.
Some 2,000 SME operators have received coupons which can be used to buy options or lock in currency rates to hedge against foreign exchange risks on export value totalling 200 billion USD since the scheme kicked off late last year.-VNA
VNA
