Sethaput Suthiwart-Narueput

Sethaput Suthiwart-Narueput became Governor of the Bank of Thailand in October 2020, having previously worked as a senior economist at the World Bank and the Government Pension Fund of Thailand. His tenure has coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic's devastating impact on Thailand's tourism-dependent economy, the subsequent recovery, and inflationary pressures from global commodity prices. Thailand's central bank has been more restrained in tightening compared to Western central banks, reflecting the particular vulnerability of Thailand's economy to high interest rates given its tourism dependency and external sector orientation. His policy decisions are closely watched as a bellwether for ASEAN central bank approaches to the inflation-growth trade-off in emerging market economies. His academic background includes graduate training in economics and extensive applied research experience on ASEAN economic integration and financial market development, which informed a broader regional perspective in his monetary policy deliberations.