MR Pridyathorn Devakula said the bulk of trade-financing deals in Asia are booked in US dollars and settled in a different time zone in London or New York, even though the deal may involve two Asian companies. This, he said, created additional risks for Asian players.

He added that a more direct link between Asian savings and borrowing without going through intermediaries in the West would also help the region in the long term.

The governor was speaking at a forum on Asian financial integration held on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings in Singapore.

Pridiyathorn said previous efforts to develop a credit market infrastructure hadn't gained traction, and groundwork should first be laid in the more manageable area of trade finance.

"I don't think it's successful yet," Pridiyathorn said. "Trade financing should be easier to promote."

Pridiyathorn said it was "impossible to have a financial centre" in Asia without its own payment-settlement system.

Trade-finance instruments include guarantees, letters of credit, and other forms of insurance on deliveries of goods and completion of services.

Meanwhile, the Bank of Thailand (BOT) announced that it would issue short-term bills with maturities of 1-15 days to institutional investors as part of its plan to boost financial-system liquidity.