Thailand further cuts basic interest rate to help economy
The Bank of Thailand (BoT) has further cut its basic interest rate by 25 percentage point to the record low of 0.75 percent in an effort to buffer impact on the economy.
Security forces conduct temperature checks in Bangkok, Thailand (Photo: AFP/VNA)
Bangkok (VNA) – The Bank of Thailand (BoT) hasfurther cut its basic interest rate by 25 percentage point to the record low of0.75 percent in an effort to buffer impact on the economy.
This marks the fourth cut since August last year, approvedduring a special working session of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) onMarch 20.
In a statement, the bank affirmed the cut will also ease theburden for borrowers who are affected by the COVID-19 and the tension onliquidity in the financial market. The MPC viewed that the pandemic will becomemore severe in the immediate future than previously predicted and it will taketime for the situation to normalise, which will have a strong impact on theThai economy.
The MPC is scheduled to have a policy meeting on March 25and issue update forecasts on the economy.
Thailand is described as one of the economies most vulnerableto COVID-19 as its main sources of revenue from trade with and tourism fromChina are affected. Foreign tourism occupies up to 11 percent of Thailand’s2019 GDP. Last year, the country welcomed a record 39.8 million foreign touristarrivals, with those from China spending about 18 billion USD, or one-third of thetotal spending by foreign tourists in Thailand./.
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Security forces conduct temperature checks in Bangkok, Thailand (Photo: AFP/VNA) 
