 Thailand's currency is the baht, which is divided into 100
satang. Copper coins are valued at 25 and 50 satang, and silver ones at 1, 5,
and 10 baht. Bank notes are valued at 20 (green), 50 (blue), 100 (red), 500
(purple), and 1,000 baht (gray); all denominations of bills are in different
sizes.
Established as the central bank in 1942, the Bank of Thailand
acts as the Government's banker in local and international financial dealings.
It also supervises commercial banks and other financial institutions, controls
and maintains exchange rates, manages national debts, and gives advice on
monetary policies.
There are 16
Thai commercial banks, 21 foreign banks, and 36 representative offices that also
operate in Thailand.
The Industrial Finance Corporation of Thailand (IFCT) was
established in 1959 to be a specialized financial institution to facilitate
industrial development and to assist in the development of the capital market in
Thailand. IFCT's main business is lending medium- and long-term funds basically
to private sector industries, using a project financing approach and making
equity investments in private sector projects. Most of the Corporation's
long-term loans have been made to the agribusiness and manufacturing
sectors.
The
Securities Exchange of Thailand (SET) was established in 1974 with the
express purpose of mobilizing national capital development.
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