Dr. Veerathai Santiprabhob, Governor of the Bank of Thailand, 1 June 2016

• Report rights infringement
• published: 02 Jun 2016
• views: 195

The government claims Thailand's economy is on the uptick with two consecutive months of increased exports. But a closer look at the numbers reveals a different story. Consumption is slowing amid tighter money flow, while foreign investments are yet to pick up. Billions of baht have been lost due to the ongoing drought. There are concerns over a possible real estate slowdown on the back of oversupply. There is a mismatch between the picture painted by the government, and realities on the ground. With these factors in play, Dr. Veerathai Santiprabhob, recently appointed Governor of the Bank of Thailand, will be sharing his views and discussing strategies to resolve Thailand's worrying economic challenges. Veerathai Santiprabhob is the 23rd Governor of the Bank of Thailand, with a five-year term starting on October 1st, 2015. He is a macroeconomist, strategist, and financial professional with more than 20 years of experiences in economic policy design, commercial banking, and capital market. He began his career in 1994 as an economist at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC before serving as a co-director of the Policy Research Institute of the Thai Ministry of Finance during the 1997 Asian financial crisis. In 2014, Veerathai was appointed to be a member of the Bank of Thailand's Board and Monetary Policy Committee. He has also been a member of the State-Owned Enterprise Policy and Supervisory Committee and was an advisor of Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI). In private sector, Veerathai was a senior executive of Siam Commercial Bank, PCL and The Stock Exchange of Thailand. He held various positions at the boards of leading corporations, including Thanachart Capital PCL, Bangkok Dusit Medical Services PCL, Thai Airways International PCL, and Central Pattana PCL. Veerathai received his B.A. (first class honors) in Economics from Thammasat University in 1988 and was awarded H.M. the King Bhumibol Adulyadej award for academic excellence. He went on to receive A.M. and Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University in 1994. His graduate study was sponsored by H.M. the King's Anandamahidol Foundation. Veerathai has actively participated in social activities. He has served as the treasurer of the Royal Initiative Discovery Foundation, a member of the executive board of the Buddhadasa Indapanno Archives, a member of the board of Mae Fah Luang Foundation, and a member of the board of the Thailand Sustainable Development Foundation. He was a member of the first Independent Expert Oversight Advisory Committee of the World Health Organization in Geneva and was awarded the Eisenhower Fellowship in 2013.