| BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : JUNE 14, 1999 ISSUE | ||||||||
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| INTERNATIONAL -- ASIAN COVER STORY
Chatu Mongol Sonakul, Governor, Bank of Thailand, Thailand (int'l edition) CHATU MONGOL SONAKUL, GREAT-GRANDSON OF A 19TH century Siamese king, was brought up to speak his mind. ''It tends to make you a different kind of person,'' says the Harvard-educated economist, 56. With his tough talk, he is reshaping the Bank of Thailand. Last year, the prince became the third central-bank governor in as many years as part of government efforts to restore the bank's integrity and root out corruption. Since then, the former Finance Ministry official has turned the governorship into an important policymaking post. He has revamped procedures, replacing what he calls ''sit around and chat'' sessions with more formal twice-weekly meetings. Bankers sing his praises for stabilizing the baht, slashing interest rates, and recapitalizing banks. Thanks to him, confidence is coming back--and growing. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ |
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 The Stars of Asia RELATED ITEMS Chatu Mongol Sonakul, Governor, Bank of Thailand, Thailand (int'l edition) ONLINE ORIGINAL: ``We Are Actually Changing the Structure of Thailand's Economy'' INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online | |||
