will complement structural reforms in the real sector to bring about strong foundations for further economic growth and stability. structural reforms in the real sector continue to need concerted efforts from both the private and public sectors as well as support from foreign investors like all of you here. the bot is committed to doing all the necessary work for a strong financial sector that will provide a supportive environment and infrastructure for the private sector to prosper. ladies and gentlemen, the essence of my talk today is to reassure you that the performance of the thai economy has been satisfactory and that, despite the adverse environment and challenges facing the thai economy, i strongly believe that the thai economy will be able to continue to perform favorably while moving forward. we are strongly committed to implementing the most appropriate policies to help foster growth, stability and resiliency of the economy and to further strengthen its solid foundation. in closing, i would like to express my appreciation to japanese businesses for their contribution to the progress of the thai economy over the years. here's hoping that we continue to build and strengthen the foundation of this great relationship. again, i am deeply grateful for this opportunity, and thank you for your kind attention.

our overall economic stability, and to buy some time to allow a smooth transition. let me be clear that we intended for the reserve requirement to be a temporary measure, designed to preserve financial stability and to afford the real sector time to adjust to a more volatile market condition. to this end, i believe that it has succeeded. to be sure, no measure is without its costs. the reserve requirement resulted in a wide - ranging effect on the market and the economy. in light of this, once the appreciation momentum was broken, we have been carefully modifying the coverage of the measure to allow greater flexibility for business operations. we have done this without compromising the needs to contain excessive volatility. that is, we have provided the option to fully hedge for loans and debt instruments. at the same time, we expect ongoing relaxations on capital outflow to bring about a better balance between inflows and outflows. the unwinding of global imbalances will remain with us for the foreseeable future. during the transition, monetary policy can and must play a vital role in supporting the economy in its adjustment. and should the balance of risk shifts from inflation to growth, monetary policy will continue to focus on stability while supporting long - term economic expansion. ladies and gentlemen, the second challenge comes in the form of high and variable oil prices. as the global economy grows, so does its thirst for energy. an importer of oil, thailand continues to be vulnerable to a sharp oil price shock that could abruptly exacerbate our current account. more importantly, as one of the most oil - intensive economies in asia, the high price of oil can create a substantial price pressure and the risk of persistent inflation. the continued expansion of china and india suggests that oil prices may rise yet again in tandem with the global economic cycle. nevertheless, increased productive capacity of oil suppliers and technological progress, which will enable us to decrease our reliance on oil over time, should dampen the impact in the medium run. i have so far outlined the main challenges on the external front. but the key question remains : how will the bank of thailand meet these challenges and attain the goal of ensuring low and stable inflation as well as a resilient, well - functioning financial sector that is able to intermediate efficiently between savers and investors? this leads to my second point. before we grapple with global imbalances and high oil prices, we must first realize that the key factors underlying these challenges are