Thailand raised its key interest rate by one-quarter point for a third straight meeting as an economic recovery aided by tourism revival risks stoking prices.
The Bank of Thailand’s monetary policy committee yesterday voted unanimously to raise the one-day repurchase rate by 25 basis points to 1.25 percent, as seen by 20 of 21 economists in a Bloomberg survey.
One economist predicted the rate would be kept unchanged.
Thailand’s gradual tightening approach, once regarded by some analysts as too little to cool price gains at a 14-year high and a currency hitting a 16-year low, now looks more appropriate as pressure on both fronts eased.
Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy is gaining momentum as foreign tourists return, while GDP growth in the third quarter rose 4.5 percent from a year earlier, the fastest pace in more than a year.
Thailand is likely to buck the global trend of slowing growth next year, powered by a resurgent tourism sector that is helping boost local demand, Bank of Thailand Governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput said earlier last month.
The baht posted its biggest one-day gain in more than 15 years last month, bolstered by the possibility of slower US Federal Reserve tightening and easing COVID-19 restrictions in China.
Separately, Indonesia’s central bank stands ready to further raise interest rates and boost short-term bond yields to support the rupiah into next year, Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo said.
The rupiah, Asia’s worst performer this quarter, should bounce back next year on the back of Indonesia’s recovery momentum and cooling inflation, Warjiyo said at the central bank’s annual meeting yesterday.
The monetary authority would continue its “triple intervention” strategy and buy up bonds in the secondary market to maintain “competitive” yields, he said.
Indonesia’s currency has weakened to a two-year low even as the central bank tightened by another half-point earlier last month, taking the benchmark rate to levels seen before COVID-19.
Amid global turmoil, the governor doubled down on Bank Indonesia’s “front-loaded, pre-emptive and forward-looking interest rate policy” to anchor “overshooting” inflation expectations, with the goal of wresting the core gauge back to its 2 to 4 percent target earlier in the first half of next year.
Policymakers would also continue using macroprudential measures to support growth. Bank Indonesia is extending looser rules on home and auto loans, as well as lower reserve requirements for banks lending to priority sectors.
It reaffirmed its estimate for GDP to expand 4.5 to 5.3 percent next year, driven by exports, consumption and investment.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said its materials management head, Vanessa Lee (李文如), had tendered her resignation for personal reasons. The personnel adjustment takes effect tomorrow, TSMC said in a statement. The latest development came one month after Lee reportedly took leave from the middle of last month. Cliff Hou (侯永清), senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer, is to concurrently take on the role of head of the materials management division, which has been under his supervision, TSMC said. Lee, who joined TSMC in 2022, was appointed senior director of materials management and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Thursday met with US President Donald Trump at the White House, days before a planned trip to China by the head of the world’s most valuable chipmaker, people familiar with the matter said. Details of what the two men discussed were not immediately available, and the people familiar with the meeting declined to elaborate on the agenda. Spokespeople for the White House had no immediate comment. Nvidia declined to comment. Nvidia’s CEO has been vocal about the need for US companies to access the world’s largest semiconductor market and is a frequent visitor to China.
Hypermarket chain Carrefour Taiwan and upscale supermarket chain Mia C’bon on Saturday announced the suspension of their partnership with Jkopay Co (街口支付), one of Taiwan’s largest digital payment providers, amid a lawsuit involving its parent company. Carrefour and Mia C’bon said they would notify customers once Jkopay services are reinstated. The two retailers joined an array of other firms in suspending their partnerships with Jkopay. On Friday night, popular beverage chain TP Tea (茶湯會) also suspended its use of the platform, urging customers to opt for alternative payment methods. Another drinks brand, Guiji (龜記), on Friday said that it is up to individual
READY TO BUY: Shortly after Nvidia announced the approval, Chinese firms scrambled to order the H20 GPUs, which the company must send to the US government for approval Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) late on Monday said the technology giant has won approval from US President Donald Trump’s administration to sell its advanced H20 graphics processing units (GPUs) used to develop artificial intelligence (AI) to China. The news came in a company blog post late on Monday and Huang also spoke about the coup on China’s state-run China Global Television Network in remarks shown on X. “The US government has assured Nvidia that licenses will be granted, and Nvidia hopes to start deliveries soon,” the post said. “Today, I’m announcing that the US government has approved for us
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