BANGKOK (Reuters) -Thailand’s finance minister will nominate state-owned bank head Vitai Ratanakorn as the next central bank governor, two government sources and local media said on Tuesday, with the minister to propose his chosen candidate to cabinet next week.
Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira did not disclose the identity of the candidate and said there was insufficient time to make the proposal during Tuesday’s cabinet meeting.
“It might have been a bit late for today. Next week, it will definitely be submitted,” he told reporters.
The government sources, who declined to be named because they were not authorised to speak to media on the matter, had earlier said Pichai would on Tuesday propose to cabinet Vitai, 54, the president and CEO of the Government Savings Bank.
“There’s no issue with the name,” Pichai said. “Next week, it will be the name I have selected and sent in. I cannot reveal the name because it’s still confidential.”
The next governor faces a tough task of supporting a struggling economy facing tepid consumption, high household debt and steep U.S. tariffs, with limited monetary policy room.
The chosen candidate, one of two shortlisted, must be approved by cabinet and the king and would serve a five-year term starting October 1, succeeding Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput, who has reached retirement age and could not seek a second term.
Vitai has a master’s degree in finance from Drexel University in the United States, as well as degrees in economics and law from Thailand’s Chulalongkorn and Thammasat universities.
The other candidate is Roong Mallikamas, 56, a Bank of Thailand veteran who currently serves as a deputy governor overseeing financial institution stability.
(Reporting by Orathai Sriring, Kitiphong Thaichareon, Panu Wongcha-um and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Writing by Chayut Setboonsarng; Editing by Martin Petty)
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