Virabongsa endorsed as chairman of BOT
Former Deputy Prime Minister Virabongsa Ramangkura has received the royal endorsement as the new chairman of Bank of Thailand.
With the appointment taking effect on June 1, Virabongsa will be in office for a year and 3 months before he reaches the retirement age at 70 under the Bank of Thailand Act.
Succeeding MR Chatu Mongol Sonakul whose term ended in April, Virabongsa stirred concerns in the financial market over his ambitious plans to finance the country's infrastructure investment.
He did not hide the desire to finance the investment, estimated at Bt2.27 trillion until 2006, with the foreign reserves. The Bank of Thailand, led by governor Prasarn Trairatvorakul, vehemently opposed the idea on fear that such may prompt the need for money printing and could lead to hyper inflation.
As of June 1, Thailand's foreign reserves on the mark-to-market basis stood at about US$180 billion or over Bt5 trillion.
