BANGKOK (Bloomberg): Thailand will seek applications to appoint a new central bank governor from next week, with the successful candidate facing the twin challenges of guarding the monetary authority’s autonomy while working with the government to minimise the impact of a global trade war.
Prospective candidates to succeed incumbent Bank of Thailand Governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput will have a two-week window from May 13 to apply for the job, Pornchai Thiraveja, secretary of a seven-member independent selection panel, said in a statement on Thursday.
Applicants shortlisted by the panel, comprising of retired bureaucrats and regulators, will need to present their "policy visions” on June 24, he said.
The BOT governor selection is closely watched by investors to see if Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s administration would push a preferred nominee to tighten its grip over the central bank.
Sethaput, a staunch advocate of the monetary authority’s autonomy, has long resisted government calls to cut interest rates and often publicly aired differences over some of the administration’s populist policies.
The central bank has cut the interest rate in back-to-back meetings to deal with the shock from an escalating trade war with the US, which is threatening Thailand with a 36% tariff on its goods.
The new governor will have to work closely with the government to minimize the hit to the trade-reliant nation as the tariff threat darkens the nation’s growth outlook.
The selection committee, headed by Sathit Limpongpan, expects to submit a shortlist of candidates to Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira on July 2, according to Pornchai, who is also the director-general of the Fiscal Policy Office.
Under the rules, the panel has to submit a shortlist of at least two candidates to the finance chief at least 90 days before the incumbent’s term ends.
The new BOT governor pick then needs to be endorsed by the cabinet and rubber-stamped by a royal endorsement. The current governor is due to complete his five-year tenure in September.
Some of the names making the rounds in local media as potential candidates include Roong Mallikamas, a BOT deputy governor; Sutapa Amornvivat, a former International Monetary Fund economist; Finance Ministry official Ekniti Nitithanprapas and economist Somprawin Manprasert.
Paetongtarn’s cabinet last month appointed Somchai Sujjapongse as the new BOT board chairman after a months-long selection process that was delayed by the government’s initial bid to back controversial former finance minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong for the job. -- ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
