Govt 'should attract investment by using yuan'

Speaking at a seminar to celebrate the 34th anniversary of the Thai-Chinese relationship, hosted by the Thai-Chinese Economic and Cultural Cooperation Club, Pisanu Rienmahasarn, deputy rector of Huachiew Chalermprakiet University, said using the yuan instead of the US dollar would help the country benefit from China's survival from the economic crisis.

He said Malaysia, Indonesia and Hong Kong had already added the yuan to their foreign reserves.

However, he did not know whether the Bank of Thailand planned to follow suit although China was becoming a bigger player in the world's financial markets.

Pisanu said China's foreign reserves had increased from US$120 billion (Bt4.1 trillion) in 1998 to $870 billion in 2007 and earlier this year they had climbed to nearly US$2 trillion.

"Now, Thailand is not taking advantage of its long relationship with China by adjusting its monetary policy in order to attract direct investment from China to cushion the economic slowdown," said Pisanu.

"China has expressed interest in investing in a high-speed train project in Thailand," he said.

Also, he added, China had been least affected by the financial crisis in the United States. China this year is expected to see economic growth of 9 per cent buoyed by its economic stimulus measures, which totalled 4 trillion yuan (Bt20 trillion).

He said China's economy is forecast to expand continuously and in the next three years it could become the largest in Asia.

Meanwhile, Korn Dabaransi, a former deputy prime minister, said China is interested in building a crude-oil pipeline connecting the Gulf of Thailand to the Andaman coast. However, Thailand has not responded on this matter.

This should be seen as a bridge to boost trade between the two countries, he said.