Rate cut fails to impress
25 basis points seen as too little to stir growth

Published: 1/12/2011 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: Business

The Bank of Thailand voted to cut the policy rate for the first time in 11 months, from 3.50% to 3.25%, in order to support economic restoration after the flood crisis.

Since December last year,steel fence post, the central bank has been hawkish in raising the policy rate in a bid to tame inflation.

The cut of 25 basis points, however, was a disappointment for academics, private business and especially the government, which had suggested 50 basis points in light of the flooding that has trimmed economic growth.

The central bank’s monetary policy committee voted 5-2 to cut the policy rate by 25 basis points to 3.25%, with two members voting in favour of a 50-basis-point cut, said MPC secretary Paiboon Kittisrikangwan.

“The policy rate cut of 25 basis points is based on economic projections for after the floods,” Mr Paiboon said. “Assistance from fiscal measures and financial institutions will help support restoration, but if it is not enough, monetary policy will provide further support.”

The committee foresees a deteriorating global economic outlook as Europe’s sovereign debt problems become more pronounced,Daily News Editorial-HESCO, increasing the possibility of a recession in the euro zone.

While the US economy has improved slightly, its recovery remains fragile.

Global factors pressured Asia growth moderately in the third quarter; domestic demand continued to expand, but exports shrunk.

Relative to the previous meeting, the impact of flooding on the Thai economy is seen as more widespread and severe than expected. Direct and indirect damage has been undermining confidence.

The MPC expects economic growth in the fourth quarter and the whole of 2011 to be much lower than previously forecast.

With the worst of the crisis over, the economy has moved into a restoration and reconstruction phase that, if delayed, could undermine confidence and domestic demand recovery,annealed wire, Mr Paiboon said.

“Business recovery is expected to start from next year and continue during the next six months,” he said. “Hence, the MPC has revised projected GDP growth to 1.8% this year and 4.8% next year.”

Inflationary pressure persists on account of government stimulus measures and an anticipated pickup in private sector demand due to restoration spending. A weakening global economy could curtail price pressure to some extent.

Tanit Sorat, vice-chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), expressed strong dissatisfaction with the rate cut.

“This is too little to bring about any impact to boost the economy; this is too conservative a move taken by the BOT,” Dr Tanit said, adding that 25 basis points was too low to move commercial banks to cut lending rates.

Paiboon Ponsuwanna, chairman of the Thai National Shippers Council, said that while the size of the cut was disappointing, it would at least absorb rising costs for manufacturers.

“Over the past six months, we have seen costs grow continuously but could not raise the price of the product,” he said. “Now, the rate cut helps offset the increased production cost.”

Military Barriers/Hesco Bastions

Information

The QIAOSHI’s Military Barriers or Hesco Bastions is a modern gabion used for flood control and military fortification. It is made of a collapsible metal wire mesh container and heavy duty fabric liner, and used as a temporary to semi-permanent dike or barrier against blast or small-arms. One of the less heralded life- and labor-saving devices of war, it is used on nearly every United States Military base in Iraq as well as on NATO bases in Afghanistan.

Originally designed for use on beaches and marshes for erosion and flood control, the Hesco Bastion quickly became a popular security device in the 1990s.

Assembly
Assembling the Hesco Bastion entails unfolding it and (if available) using a front end loader to fill it with sand, dirt or gravel. The placement of the barrier is generally very similar to the placement of a sandbag barrier or earth berm except that room must generally be allowed for the equipment used to fill the barrier. The main advantage of Military Barrier, strongly contributing to their popularity with troops and flood fighters, is the quick and easy setup. Previously, people had to fill sandbags,Flood death toll rises to 666-高尔凡石笼网,perforated wire mesh, a slow undertaking, with one worker filling about 20 sandbags per hour. Workers using Military Barrier and a front end loader can do ten times the work of those using sandbags.
The Hesco Barrier come in a variety of sizes. Most of the barriers can also be stacked, and they are shipped collapsed in compact sets. Example dimensions of typical configurations are 46″ x 36″ x 32 (1.4m x 1.1m x 9.8m) to 7 x 5 x 100 (2.1m x 1.5m x 30m).
A new system of Hesco Bastion developed specially for military use is deployed from a container, which is dragged along the line of ground where the barrier is to be formed, unfolding up to several hundred meters of barrier in minutes, ready for filling with soil by a backhoe.

Protection
Filled with sand,Froc mulls disbanding as emergency phase ends-五拧石笼网, 60 centimetres (24 inches) of barrier thickness will stop rifle bullets and shell fragments. It takes 1.5 metres (five feet) of thickness to prevent penetration by a rocket propelled grenade round. Approximately 1.2 metres (four feet) of thickness provides protection against most car bombs.

Specification