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, the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural
Cooperatives, The Government Housing Bank
,
the Industrial Finance Corporation of Thailand,
Corporate SMEs, Credit Foncier Companies, Insurance Companies, Agricultural Co-operatives, Thrift
and credit Co-operatives and Pawn shop.
Insurance Statistics
presented in this chapter were obtained from Department of Insurance,
Office of Insurance Commission, Ministry of Commerce. The data were about Life Insurance and
Insurance for Disasters
