BANGKOK: Thailand’s prime minister said on Thursday a cabinet reshuffle will take place by next month after the resignation of members of his economic team, including the finance minister.
“We have to reshuffle the cabinet so there won’t be a gap. It must be done as quickly as possible … no later than next month,” Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha told reporters.
Earlier, finance minister Uttama Savanayana handed in his resignation, in a move that adds uncertainty to policymaking at a time when Southeast Asia’s worst-performing economy is struggling to recover from the impact of Covid-19 crisis.
The departure of Uttama, who confirmed his resignation at a briefing, comes as the government has been rolling out billions of dollars of stimulus measures in a bid to support an economy battered by the pandemic’s hit to tourism and domestic activity.
According to media reports, Predee Daochai, president of the Thai Bankers’ Association, is expected to be picked as the next finance minister.
The Thai baht fell to a one-month low on Thursday after the surprise resignation of the finance minister. Leading declines among Asian currencies, it fell as much as 0.6% to 31.69 against the greenback, while Thai stocks were flat following their best session in two weeks on Wednesday.
Christopher Wong, senior FX strategist at Maybank in Singapore, said Uttama’s departure “raises concerns if the implementation of fiscal stimuli support would be affected in the near term.” – July 16, 2020, Reuters
