BANGKOK : Thailand’s newly appointed finance minister said on Monday he was ready to talk to the central bank governor to drive fiscal and monetary polices in the same direction.
Pichai Chunhavajira, who is also a deputy prime minister, told reporters that he had a duty to work with the central bank over policy coordination.
He said he believed the central bank governor would speak with facts and reason, and they should be able to work together.
Pichai’s comments came amid disagreements between the government and the central bank over interest rates, which Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has said are too high and hurting the economy.
On Friday, the politician daughter of Thailand’s influential former premier Thaksin Shinawatra also said the central bank’s independence was an “obstacle” in resolving economic problems, the latest salvo in an ongoing row over interest rates.
