Thai central bank relaxes curbs on capital flows

[BANGKOK] Thailand's central bank on Thursday relaxed curbs on capital outflows, a move aimed at weakening a strong baht that has hurt the country's exports.

Thailand will allow Thais to freely purchase foreign currencies for deposit up to a limit of US$5 million, the Bank of Thailand said in a statement.

It will also allow Thais to purchase properties overseas up to a value of US$50 million per year.

Measures that were in place to prevent Thai baht speculation by non residents will also be relaxed, the central bank said.

The central bank had no plans to impose restrictions on capital inflows, Chantavarn Sucharitakul, assistant governor of financial markets operations group, told reporters.

REUTERS