A lighter touch

In August, the Bank of Thailand relaxed its regulations covering the use of derivatives. Chris Wright takes a look at the effect this is having on hedging and investment in the country

A few years ago, Thailand was unpopular with foreign derivatives bankers. As the Thai baht went through a period of increasing volatility, regulators became more and more restrictive regarding the sale of derivatives, telling banks to submit lists of products they wanted to sell for approval. “At the time it was very annoying. I thought it was too draconian,” says one banker.

But Thailand’s stringency on derivatives paid off when markets turned nasty. “In the two years or so before the global