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Thailand mulls RMB currency swap system

By Bi Xiaoning (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-11 11:00

Thailand hopes to establish a currency swap program with China at a time when the renminbi is more internationalized and the country's bond market offers more financial instruments, said a senior Thai official.

"It's a good objective to conduct s swap program with China," Thailand trade representative Kiat Sittheeamorn said in an exclusive interview with China Daily yesterday.

"But to make things happen, the Chinese government needs to be more proactive in internationalizing the yuan, making more financial instruments available and having agreements that involve more countries to swap with," he added.

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China has already signed currency swap deals with six countries, in part to boost the amount of renminbi held overseas and to pave the way for settling international trade with the Chinese currency.

"Signing swap programs is the first thing, but both the government and all commercial banks in the system should be ready to use any currency for trade. From this point of view, it is still a long way away for this to happen," he said.

"Due to the financial turmoil, bilateral trade this year might be around $40 billion, which is close to the trade volume of $36 billion last year. But looking ahead, we expect the trade volume to reach $50 billion in 2010," said Sittheeamorn.

The Thai government is also looking to tourism to boost revenues by offering incentives including free visa fees and discounts on sightseeing, flights and hotels.

"We would like to see at least three million Chinese tourists visit Thailand each year, though last year's number was only one million," he said.

According to Sittheeamorn, the Thai government is also discussing a single visa policy with nearby countries that would enable travelers with visas for Thailand to travel to neighboring nations as well.