Debt management planning

Bank of Thailand Governor Veerathai Santiprabhob says that businesses and governments should prepare for “the current world of volatility.” . . BANGKOK – Businesses and emerging Asian Countries must brace for a time of volatility by stepping up foreign exchange hedging and lowering their dependence on foreign currencies and financing, Bank of Thailand Governor Veerathai Santiprabhob said in an interview with the Nikkei Asian Review on Friday. Thailand recently began talks with Indonesia to promote settlement for trade and investment between the two countries in their local currencies instead of in the U.S. dollar. “This is an example of benefits of promoting one form of regional financial connectivity at a time when the global financial environment is very volatile,” Veerathai said. Much of the cross-border transactions within Asia are quoted in U.S. dollars. In 2015, 84% of trade between Thailand and Indonesia was via the dollar. But the “dollar has become very ... » Learn More about Bank of Thailand Governor Says We Must Brace for a Time of Volatility

Building on a relationship spanning two centuries, Thailand and the United States took an important step forward to work even closer together. Elevating our already strong and dynamic relationship over the Mekong River. On Friday, along with Deputy Prime Minister Don Pramudwinai and officials from the four other countries in the lower Mekong basin, the United States launched the new Mekong-U.S. Partnership, which will also build on decades of collaboration and $3.5 billion in U.S. assistance provided under the Lower Mekong Initiative over the past 11 years. In upgrading our efforts with the Mekong-U.S. Partnership, the United States will support even greater connectivity and development in the region for years to come. With more than $150 million in regional initiatives already in the pipeline, our cooperation through this partnership will also expand to include the full range of economic, security, governance, health, and environmental efforts – a fitting approach to collectively ... » Learn More about US Ambassador to Thailand: Building the Mekong River-U.S. Partnership

GRATITUDE: Buan Losuwan, 89, right, is greeted by a senior army officer who presented her with money donated by fellow military personnel to help her repay debt to the state. Buan Losuwan got the shock of her life when an official letter arrived on her doorstep demanding the return of more than 80,000 baht of pension payments she had received over the years. It turns out Buan, 89, of Chalerm Phrakiat district in Buri Ram, had been picking up two cheques each month, her official pension and a stipend granted her by the army after the death of her son, Jakkrawut Losuwan, a sergeant major first class who died guarding an arsenal depot in Nakhon Ratchasima in an explosion there in 2001. She had been receiving the monthly stipend of 5,000 baht since 2001 and the pension since 2010. But receiving both payments similarly classified as financial aid at the same time is against the law. Now, the Comptroller General's Department (CGD) wants her to hand back 10 years worth of pension ... » Learn More about Pension drama didn’t have to happen