No problem if Virabongsa becomes central bank chairman, says Prasarn
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Bank of Thailand Governor Prasarn Trairatvorakul yesterday said he would welcome Virabongsa Ramangkura if he were to become the next chairman of the central bank, as he did not expect problems in working with whoever was appointed to the post.
Prasarn said he had not yet officially been informed about the nomination of Virabongsa as the successor to MR Chatu Mongol Sonakul.
Chatu Mongol’s term expired on April 30. It was reported that six of the 7 members of the selection committee voted for Virabongsa, the Finance Ministry's nomination. Bank of Thailand nominated Chatu Mongol and Thienchai Kiranan, former rector of Chulalongkorn University for the post.
“Whoever is picked as the new chairman, I expect to be able to work with him,” Prasarn said in response to reports of Virabongsa’s nomination.
“But the appointment process has not yet been completed, so I do not want to express my views about the utilisation of foreign reserves to finance government projects; when the time comes, we will exchange ideas,” the governor said.
The government and Virabongsa have expressed their intention to make use of some of the US$178 billion (Bt5.2 trillion) in foreign-currency reserves at the central bank to finance infrastructure projects worth about Bt2.3 trillion over the next five years. The move is seen by many as a government attempt to intervene in the central bank’s independence.
Bank of Thailand Assistant Governor Chanchai Boonritchaisri said the chairman selection process and two members of the board of governors had not yet been completed.
Those nominated are required by the central bank to send confirmation of their resignation from current posts in the financial and private sectors to the selection committee by May 21, said Chanchai, who is secretary of the panel.
The Bank of Thailand requires a designated chairman and directors to resign from their posts in banks, finance houses and other companies engaging in financial activities, as such businesses fall under the supervision of the central bank.
When the selection committee receives such confirmation, it will send the nominations for chairman and two directors to the Finance Ministry. The ministry will then seek Cabinet approval for the appointments, which must then be forwarded for His Majesty the King’s endorsement.
Virabongsa does not need to quit his post as chairman of the government's strategic committee for reconstruction, as the position is not deemed to be a political post that would run counter to the central bank’s regulations, said Chanchai.
Nor would Virabongsa’s position as chairman of Finansa disqualify him, since such a firm is not directly supervised by the central bank, he added.
