In December last year, the People’s Bank of China and the Bank of Thailand concluded the bilateral local currency swap arrangements during the visit of Vice President Xi Jinping to Thailand. The Agreement provides for the exchange of respective local currency upto 70 billion yuan or 320 billion baht, to facilitate bilateral trade and investment. I believe this is a crucial role that the public sector can provide to give assurance to the private sector on the availability of their access to the yuan and the baht for their trade and investment needs. In addition, the Bank of Thailand received approval from the People’s Bank of China and China Securities Regulatory Commission to participate in the interbank bond market and securities market here in China. Our investment would allow our asset allocation and diversification to better reflect the increasingly important role of the yuan in international monetary system. Last but not least, I hope that the inauguration of our Beijing representative office will be more than just another success story. I truly hope that the spirit and friendship behind this long-standing relations and successes, nurtured earnestly over centuries, will continue to serve as solid foundations that will lead to even greater and closer future cooperation between our two nations. Let me end by thanking everyone for being an important part of this success. And, with Your Royal Highness’ permission, may I propose a toast to future success and cooperation as well as to your Royal Highness’s good health and prosperity. Thank you.
Trade value between our two countries has grown tremendously over the last decade. With the highest growth recorded among our major trading partners, China has now become Thailand’s largest export destination and the second largest trading partner. For more than 30 years, Thai businessmen have invested in China and I understand that we are the first of the ASEAN countries to invest in China. Chinese investment in Thailand has also increased significantly and China is now the fourth largest foreign investor in Thailand. Thai commercial banks have long had a presence in China to better respond to the needs of their customers in China, namely Bangkok Bank, Kasikorn Bank, and Krung Thai Bank. Likewise, Bank of China and ICBC, the two largest Chinese banks, are already operating in Thailand. In addition to these bilateral relations, our cooperative spirit has also extended to the multilateral frameworks. Please allow me to name just a few important ones. related to the economic and financial cooperation. The first is the ASEAN, China, Japan and Korea or ASEAN+3. Significant achievements under this forum include the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization which pool resources within the region to safeguard against risks and volatilities, and the setting up of the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic and Research Office or AMRO to act as a surveillance unit for the region.