giving it an exchange rate of Baht 20.80 to one U.S. dollar. And thereafter Thailand had adjusted the
par value for the Baht for many times. The exchange rate system had been adjusted as of November
2, 1984 by pegging the value of the Baht to other currencies of Thailand’s major trade partner
countries, Later the Ministry of Finance issued notification on “Change of Foreign Exchange Rate
System”
from the “basket of currencies” to a “managed float” as enforcing as of July 2, 1997. The
foreign exchange system shall be such that the value of the Baht is set by conditions in foreign
exchange markets.
The international monetary of Thailand was based on the International Monetary Fund.
The Second Amendment of the Articles of the Agreement of the IMF on April 1, 1978 stresses the
importance of internal economic stability as a precondition for exchange rate stability. Apart from
greater flexibility in the exchange rate system, the role of gold and the reserve currencies was
reduced by promoting the Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) as the main reserve assets in the IMF.
In maintaining the stability of the exchange rate, the government earmarks the Exchange
Equalization Fund at the Bank of Thailand to determine the exchange rate.
Credit system is very important for the economy of the developing countries. The aim of
the system is to promote savings and to find the best means that give the most benefits derived from
investment. It is necessary to improve the financial institutions which are the financial
intermediaries.
The financial institutions in Thailand are commercial banks, finance companies, finance
and securities companies, the Government Savings Bank, life insurance companies, the Bank for
Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, the Industrial Finance Corporation of Thailand, the
Small Industries Finance Office, the Government Housing Bank, Bangkok International Banking
Facility, credit foncier companies and cooperatives.
The co-operative statistics of Thailand were obtained from the Co-operatives Promotion
Department, Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives. Its objective is to assemble and process data
of all types of co-operatives and their membership on the first of January in each year. Statistical
compilation also have been coordinated and checked the completion with the central co-operatives
offices concerned. Co-operatives presented in this publication have included all liquidated
co-operatives societies.
