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Published on April 26, 2008

The Nation

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Surapong Suebwonglee, accompanied by Patareeya and 11 listed firms, conducted a two-day roadshow in Singapore, which ended yesterday. Eighty managers from 60 funds with a combined investment size of Bt100 billion in the Southeast Asia region attended the event.

Patareeya said Surapong had assured the group that Thailand was now a truly democratic country.

"Having listened to the deputy prime minister's speech that the government is moving towards economic plans, including mega-infrastructure projects, investors are more confident in the Thai economy," said Patareeya.

Foreign investors are optimistic about the Thai economy and believe listed companies' earnings this year will grow after failing to do so last year, she said.

The stock exchange's next roadshow destinations are Dubai and Abu Dhabi from May 20-22.

Meanwhile, a former central bank deputy governor said yesterday that the Bank of Thailand could not afford to cut interest rates because headline inflation is excessively high.

"My expectation is that there is no room to cut interest rates," Pakorn Malakul Na Ayudhya, who is now the chairman of the Stock Exchange of Thailand, told Dow Jones Newswires.

Pakorn said core inflation was within the central bank's target range of zero to 3.5 per cent but that headline inflation should be considered as well, given that food and energy prices around the world are surging.

Thailand's core inflation is about 1.5 per cent, but the most recent headline rate was more than 5 per cent.