BANGKOK (Reuters) -Thailand’s finance minister will on Tuesday propose to cabinet state-owned bank head Vitai Ratanakorn as the next central bank chief, according to two government sources and two Thai media outlets.
The appointment of Vitai, 54, the president and CEO of the Government Savings Bank, would be subject to cabinet and royal approval. He would serve a five-year term starting October 1.
The government sources declined to be identified because they were not authorised to speak to media. The finance minister’s decision, from among two candidates, was reported by the Manager and Thansettakij news outlets on Tuesday.
If appointed, Vitai would succeed Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput, who could not seek a second term as he has reached retirement age.
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 new 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.
(Reporting by Orathai Sriring, Kitiphong Thaichareon, Panu Wongcha-um and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Editing by Martin Petty, John Mair)
