The Bank of Thailand (BoT) yesterday decided to keep the key interest rate unchanged at 1.25 percent during the fourth meeting of its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) this year.
BoT assistant governor Paiboon Kittisrikangwan, who announced the outcome of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, disclosed that the decision to maintain the policy rate at 1.25 percent was mainly due to the uncertainties related to the impact of sovereign debt problems in Europe and the domestic political situation which are still the key risks to Thailand’s growth outlook.
According a statement of …

Former senior executive vice president of Siam Commercial Bank Plc, Charamporn Jotikasthira, yesterday became the new president of the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), succeeding Patareeya Benjapolchai whose tenure ends on May 31.
Charamporn, selected by SET’s board of governors in March, will serve his four-year term as the Thai bourse’s eleventh president until May 31, 2014.
Charamporn, 53, earned his bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institutes of Technology and an MBA from Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration, USA.

He joined the Siam Commercial Bank Plc …

Thailand's GDP soars by better-than-expected 12 percent in Q1 ahead of recent riots in the capital city of Bangkok.
Thailand’s economy expanded by 12 percent, the highest in 15 years, during the first quarter of this year as a result from global economic recovery and the improvement in the country’s exports, tourism, and private investment and consumption collectively.
Dr. Ampon Kittiampon, secretary-general of the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB), on Monday said the higher-than-expected growth of 12 percent, compared with that of the same period last year, expanded from 5.9 …

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva (right) is seen presiding over the seminar on the privileges for ROHs while Deputy Finance Minister Pradit Phataraprasit (left) looks on.
Thailand plans to offer a package of tax benefits for companies setting their regional operating headquartres (ROHs) in this Southeast Asian country as the package will be effective from June 1.
The tax package, aimed at attracting more Thai and foreign companies to use Thailand as the base for their regional operations, includes a 15-year corporate income tax holiday for the earnings from the services these regional …

Thailand’s national flag carrier, Thai Airways International Plc (THAI), on Tuesday announced its plan to resume direct flights to Johannesburg from June 2 onward.
THAI launched its direct flights to Johannesburg, the largest city in South Africa, on October 31, 2006, but later suspended the direct flights in January 2009, stating that the long-haul flights did not meet minimum yield expectations.
According to the airline’s president Dr. Piyasvasti Amranand, the resumption of direct flights to the South African city is a part of the airline’s network expansion to increase connectivity of its …

The Bank of Thailand (BoT) yesterday decided to keep its policy interest rate, which has come into effect since early April last year, unchanged at 1.25 percent.
The central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) during its meeting yesterday still saw several risk factors which could hamper the continuation of global economic recovery despite the country’s economy has improved satisfactorily since the last quarter of last year.
Paiboon Kittisrikangwan, the central bank’s assistant governor, on behalf of the MPC’s secretary, said although the global economic outlook has improved and some countries have begun …