the balance of risks shifts between the need to support growth and the duty to safeguard financial and price stability, monetary policy stance will have to be adjusted accordingly. the bank of thailand stands ready to employ the right mix of policy tools under its purview to attain these goals. ladies and gentlemen, i believe that a balanced and judicious use of monetary policy tool has and will continue to play a critical role for ensuring long - term macroeconomic and financial stability. as always, the bank of thailand will strive to create a stable economic environment in which businesses can prosper on a sustainable basis, so that thailand will continue to be the destination of choice by long - term investors. let me close my remark by thanking the netherlands business community for the substantial contribution to the thai economy. i hope that the relationship between our two nations will continue to flourish. thank you. bis central bankers ’ speeches

first, the new investment cycle in thailand may have taken off, led by both the private sector and large public infrastructure bis central bankers ’ speeches projects. many of these projects have high imported contents, and stand to gain from an exchange rate appreciation. spells of baht appreciation thus provide an incentive for many firms to implement a long - overdue technological upgrading and import more capital goods in an environment where labor is scarce and no longer cheap. in turn, these imports can help slow down the pace of appreciation and mitigate the adverse effects on export industry. furthermore, corporations that have expanded their operations overseas or plan to do so will also benefit from stronger baht which can help, to some extent, reduce the overall impact of baht appreciation on their businesses. with cooperation from all sides, including policymakers and private sector alike, thailand could seize this opportunity to strengthen the fundamentals of the economy further, and reap long - term benefits that are likely to be greater than short - term costs of adjustment. second, it is often overlooked that under flexible exchange rate, adjustments in the currency ’ s value themselves can be an effective buffer for capital flow volatility. in a wellfunctioning market, a currency that is overvalued relative to its fundamentals would be subject to market discipline that helps slow down further appreciation. indeed, estimates from both the international monetary fund and various investment banks suggest that the current value of thai baht is consistent with the underlying fundamentals. to promote a deeper foreign exchange market and foster more balanced capital flows, the bank of thailand also launched a capital account liberalization master plan, which entailed liberalization of thai investment abroad and a streamline of foreign exchange regulations. there are also continuing efforts to enhance the private sectors ’ adaptability and foreign exchange risk management. these initiatives should provide an extra layer of cushion to shield businesses against short - term market volatility. they are not, however, a substitute for structural improvement in productivity, which in the long run holds the key to success for the export industry. given that the global environment is still subject to uncertainty, capital flows may continue to be volatile, and risks to financial stability warrant close monitoring, it is more important than ever that monetary policy strikes the right balance between providing support to sustain growth momentum while ensuring long - term financial stability. in the judgment of mpc, the current stance of monetary policy remains accommodative, with the real policy rate still in negative territory. as