Thai c.bank relaxes foreign exchange rules amid volatility

* C.bank removes $50 mln caps on property purchase overseas

* Thai firms allowed to buy forex for domestic transfers

* Firms allowed to conduct more hedging
(Adds detail from paragraph 2 onwards)

BANGKOK, April 18 (Reuters) – Thailand’s central bank said
on Monday it had further relaxed foreign exchange regulations to
allow for easier capital movement and risk management amid
volatility as the baht hit a two-week low against the
dollar.

The latest changes https://www.bot.or.th/English/PressandSpeeches/Press/2022/Pages/n2265.aspx
include measures to reduce limits on transfers, facilitate
hedging, and remove a requirement for supporting documents, the
Bank of Thailand (BOT) said in a statement, and follow similar
moves last year when forex measures were eased to encourage
capital outflows and cope with volatility.

Limits on yearly lending to unaffiliated companies, which is
currently capped at $50 million, will be removed, as will limits
on purchases of immovable properties abroad.

The rules, effective once published in the government’s
gazette, also allow outward transfers for more purposes, and
remove requirements for prior approval from the BOT.

Thai firms will be allowed to buy foreign currencies for
transfer domestically as necessary. Previously, transfers were
allowed only through foreign currency deposit accounts, it said.

Resident companies will be allowed to manage their foreign
exchange risk exposures in a broader scope, such as hedging
forex exposures arising from domestic payment for goods whose
price is linked to the global market.

Fewer supporting documents will be required in foreign
currency transactions to lower costs and a paperwork burden, the
BOT said.

“This would enable exporters, importers, and those in the
supply chain to better manage their foreign exchange risks more
efficiently,” it said.
(Reporting by Orathai Sriring and Kitiphong Thaichareon;
Editing by Martin Petty and Kanupriya Kapoor)