Baht policy unchanged

Baht policy unchanged

BANGKOK (AFP): Thai Finance Minster Amnuay Viravan said yesterday he was confident that the baht was stable and that there would be no change in the government's policy with regard to the currency.

"I confirm that the baht policy will not be altered for the time being as the baht remains stable given the fundamentals and the proper way economic problems are being handled," he said.

Amnuay, speaking at an economic conference, said Thailand's economic fundamentals remained solid and that inflation and the current account deficit were being properly dealt with.

In a policy speech Tuesday, Amnuay said he expected the current account deficit to fall to between 7.5 and 7.9 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 1997 while the inflation rate would slow to 5.0 percent.