Thailand relaxes rules on non-resident baht transactions

    • The NRQC scheme will now allow non-residents to undertake cross-border payments related to the baht with onshore financial institutions without the requirement to provide a supporting document for each transaction.
    • The NRQC scheme will now allow non-residents to undertake cross-border payments related to the baht with onshore financial institutions without the requirement to provide a supporting document for each transaction. PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
    Published Tue, Sep 26, 2023 · 08:52 PM

    THAILAND’S central bank said on Tuesday (Sep 26) it was relaxing some foreign exchange rules for non-residents to improve the ease of doing business in the country.

    More flexibility will be given under the non-resident qualified company (NRQC) scheme, the Bank of Thailand (BOT) said in a statement.

    The relaxation is part of the BOT’s effort to develop the country’s foreign exchange ecosystem to provide more flexibility and reduce the cost of non-residents’ foreign exchange transactions.

    The NRQC scheme will now allow non-residents to undertake cross-border payments related to the baht with onshore financial institutions without the requirement to provide a supporting document for each transaction, thus reducing bureaucracy.

    They can also manage baht liquidity in their non-resident baht accounts without being subject to the end-of-day outstanding balance limit, it added.

    Besides the NRQC scheme, the requirements on supporting documents have also been eased to allow non-residents with trade and investment in Thailand to conduct transactions related to the baht with onshore financial institutions more flexibly.

    “This will also allow non-resident investors (end beneficiaries) investing in securities in Thailand to be able to conduct such transactions directly without proceeding through global custodians,” the central bank said. REUTERS

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