THAILAND: Bank of Thailand Relaxes Forex Rules to Facilitate Capital Flows

In an 18 April 2022 press statement the Bank of Thailand (BOT) announced three relaxation measures for foreign exchange. The changes will enter into force the day after publication in the government gazette. 

The first measure removes Thai residents’ yearly US$50 million cap on lending to unaffiliated companies and for overseas property purchase. It also expands outward transfers that can be made without prior approval, such as depositing funds into own accounts abroad and companies purchasing foreign currencies with Thai baht for transfer. 

The second measure broadens resident companies’ foreign exchange risk management, including hedging local payments of global market-priced goods; hedging on behalf of other resident affiliated firms; hedging anticipated foreign revenues or expenses with a tenor exceeding one year; and hedging balance sheet exposures. 

The third measure simplifies online foreign exchange by removing the requirement for Thai residents to provide supporting documents when making regular foreign exchange transactions.