Thailand initiates search for new central bank chief as governor Sethaput prepares to depart

BANGKOK, THAILAND: Thailand named a panel to pick a new central bank chief, kick-starting a month-long process to find a successor to incumbent Governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput, whose rocky five-year tenure comes to an end in September.

Finance Minister Pichai Chumhavajira has appointed former bureaucrat Sathit Limpongpan to chair the seven-member selection committee, said Pornchai Thiraveja, a ministry spokesman, who has also been named the panel’s secretary. The other members are also retired bureaucrats.

Sathit, a former permanent secretary in the Finance Ministry, previously headed a group that picked Somchai Sujjapongse as the new chairman of the board of Bank of Thailand. Somchai’s appointment has yet to be endorsed by the cabinet and came after a lengthy selection process which saw extensive debate over whether the government was undermining BOT’s independence.

The panel may hold its first meeting “as soon as possible” as the chair wants to get down to the task quickly, Pornchai said.

The governor selection is being keenly watched by investors to see if Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s administration pushes its own nominee to tighten its grip over the central bank. Sethaput, a staunch advocate of the monetary authority’s autonomy, resisted government’s calls to cut interest rates for about a year and often publicly aired differences over some of the administration’s populist policies.

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BOT-government tensions have eased in recent months with Sethaput, who was appointed by a military-backed regime in 2020 and chairs the Monetary Policy Committee, cutting the policy rate by a total of 50 basis points as the nation’s economic outlook dimmed and financial conditions tightened. The central bank and the finance ministry earlier this week agreed to closely coordinate their policy responses to the fallout of the threatened 36 percent US tariff on its goods.

The central bank expects the blow from the possible tariff and escalating trade war on Thailand’s growth to be significant, and a scheduled meeting of the rate panel on April 30 will assess the impact on growth, inflation and trade and the rate path, BOT Assistant Governor Sakkapop Panyanukul said Thursday.

The governor selection process will start with the panel inviting applications from aspirants before holding interviews and shortlisting at least two candidates for the consideration of the Finance Minister. Under the rules, the shortlist should be submitted to the minister at least 90 days before the incumbent’s term ends.

Some of the names making the rounds in local media as potential candidates to be the new governor include Roong Mallikamas, a BOT deputy governor, Sutapa Amornvivat, a former IMF economist; and Santitarn Sathirathai, an independent member of the rate panel.