Thailand rides on back of China prosperity: BOT governor

"Thailand has been riding on the back of China's economic prosperity,"Prasarn Trairatvorakul, Governor of Bank of Thailand (BOT) said on Wednesday. Inaugurating the RMB Clearing Bank in Thailand in Bangkok, the governor said"Chinese economy has become a necessary ingredient for our secret recipe for the past decade."

China's economic prosperity and advancement provides wide range of untapped opportunities for Thailand, he said, stressing that the opportunities"are right here where we are now in our region. We should seize it and not miss it."

Prasarn said he is confident that so long as Thailand works hand in hand with China, unite together and embrace the merit of economic integration, the synergy of the two nations will surely yield fruit on the growing tree.

He said the launching of the Renminbi (RMB) Clearing Bank in Thailand had marked another important step in further development of the two countries'financial ties.

China and Thailand signed the Renminbi -- Thai Baht Bilateral Swap Agreement (BSA) in 2010 and a Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of the Renminbi Clearing Arrangements last December.

After the first signing of the BSA, the use of the Chinese Renminbi in trade and investment settlement between Thailand and China has grown remarkably.

The share of trade settlement in Renminbi quadruples between 2010 and 2014. As for investment settlement, the share climbed up dramatically from a mere 1 percent in 2010 to 14 percent in 2014.

In spite of the rapid increase, the governor said"the volumes are still small compared to other major currencies."

He said since China has been an important economic partner of Thailand and the region, further strengthening the flows of trades and investments and enhancing financial cooperation are the key. Endi