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Apple plans special event for Sept. 15, new products seen

APPLE INC. on Tuesday scheduled a special event for Sept. 15, with fans and investors expecting a refresh in the lineup of some of the company’s core products.

While Apple uses its September events to showcase its most important products, new versions of iPhone handsets might still take time as the company in July had flagged a delay of a few weeks from the usual timeline.

Other products, usually unveiled in September, include new versions of Apple Watch and iPad.

The event will be streamed on the company’s website from its campus in Cupertino, California, Apple said, without providing further details.

The iPhone maker’s typically cryptic invitation for media read: “Time flies.”

Apple, known for splashy launches packed with hundreds of journalists at its campus, would be forced to tone down some of the excitement this year with the event running virtually for the first time due to COVID-19.

Apple’s marketing chief tweeted a video teaser, with the launch date appearing in augmented reality format, hinting at a 3D element to the event.

“I wouldn’t count on the iPhone 12 being part of any unveiling. With so much hype around the expected 5G capability, timing will be everything and this delay could prove a big issue for Apple,” Investing.com analyst Haris Anwar said.

Analysts have suggested that Apple is likely to schedule a separate event later for the launch of new versions of iPhone.

“If they’re unable to launch in October, then it could seriously hurt sales in the crucial holiday season, where many will be looking to replace their phones with newer models,” Anwar added. — Reuters

Maynilad allots P350M for new treatment plants

MAYNILAD Water Services, Inc. has earmarked P350 million for the installation of two modular treatment plants in Cavite that aim to provide additional water supply for its 50,000 customers in the province.

The two water treatment plants are projected to produce an additional 13 million liters of water daily and will use ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis technology that will treat water sourced from rivers in Imus City.

Maynilad said the installation of the two treatment plants and pipe works are estimated to be complete by February 2021.

Meanwhile, the west zone water concessionaire said it also plans to install additional modular treatment plants, one in Bacoor and another in Las Piñas.

“This will yield yet another 13 million liters of potable water per day, for distribution to the southern portion of Maynilad’s concession area,” the water provider said.

Sourcing additional water from rivers in Cavite is part of Maynilad’s efforts to find a medium-term solution in addressing supply difficulties, amid the government’s plan to develop another major dam to meet rising consumer demand.

Maynilad provides water for areas in the west zone of the National Capital Region such as Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Navotas, Malabon, Manila, Makati, and Quezon City; and parts of Cavite province such as Bacoor, Imus, Kawit, Noveleta, and Rosario.

Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which has majority stake in Maynilad, is one of three Philippine units of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being Philex Mining Corp. and PLDT Inc.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

A simple recipe for oyster-sauce scallops to make at home

By Richard Vines, Bloomberg

CHING He Huang is the face of Chinese cooking for many TV viewers. In the UK, she’s known for shows such as Exploring China, while her programs in the US include Easy Chinese: New York & L.A., for which she received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination.

She was born into a farming community in southern Taiwan, where she learned to cook at her grandmother’s knee, and then raised in South Africa and the UK, where she started a catering company. As well as being in demand on TV, appearing with other chefs including Rachael Ray and Ken Hom, she has published nine cookbooks, with a 10th, Asian Green, scheduled for January.

For Bloomberg, she supplied a simple recipe for Oyster-Sauce Scallops and Mangetout (Snow Peas) that first appeared in her book, Stir Crazy.

“This is a super-easy and delicious Cantonese-inspired seafood dish that uses only a few fresh ingredients,” she says. “If you can get fresh scallops from the fish counter, that’s perfect: They are super-sweet and absorb the delicate gingery notes, umami savoriness from buying a good-quality oyster sauce and the rich subtle hits of Shaoxing rice wine that adds a silky sweetness.

“When I cook for a dinner party this is what I love to do at the last minute. I’ll have some fish steaming, some rice in the rice cooker, something roasting in the oven, some veggie tofu stew, and then just wok this little number out. It’s as reliable and as classic as your trusted little black dress.”

The recipe is straightforward but you need to be very fast. The initial cooking time on the scallops is just five seconds, for example, and ditto for the snow peas, so you should have your ingredients lined up in order and ready to go. The wok must be very hot, and Ching suggests a total cooking time of five minutes. (I capped it at four, but checked the scallops were ready so as not to poison myself.) It serves four as a side, but I ate it all myself in a single seating. Yes, I’m greedy.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon rapeseed oil

knob of fresh root ginger, peeled and grated

10 medium-sized scallops

1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry

100 grams (3.4 ounces) snow peas, leave whole

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

1 tablespoon low-sodium light soy sauce or Lee Kum Kee Double Deluxe Soy Sauce

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Garnish:

1 pinch of ground toasted Sichuan pepper (optional)

1 small drizzle of Lee Kum Kee Chiu Chow Chilli Oil

Preparation:

Heat a wok over a high heat until smoking and add the rapeseed oil. Add the ginger and toss for a few seconds to release its flavor.

Add the scallops and cook for 5 seconds until seared and browned, then flip them over.

Season with the Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, then add the snow peas and stir-fry for 5 seconds.

Add a small splash of water around the edge of the wok to create some steam to help cook the snow peas, then season with the oyster sauce and light soy sauce and toss to coat well. The total cooking time is about five minutes.

Drizzle in the toasted sesame oil, then transfer to a serving bowl.

Sprinkle over some ground Sichuan pepper and a small drizzle of Chiu Chow Chilli Oil and serve immediately.

Richard Vines is Chief Food Critic at Bloomberg. Follow him on Twitter @richardvines and Instagram @richard.vines. — Bloomberg

Grab, Unilever team up for safer food delivery

A PARTNERSHIP between Grab and Unilever highlights the bigger responsibilities of both companies during this pandemic. While Grab has been instrumental with bringing our essentials right at our doorstep, the hygiene products of Unilever have been helping us keep the virus at bay. To ensure the utmost safety and hygiene at every stage of the food delivery life cycle, Unilever will be providing GrabFood merchant partners and delivery partners with hygiene kits, which includes Lifebuoy sanitizer and Cif multi-purpose cleaner. The products will be used by the partners in their respective restaurants or stores, whether for quick personal sanitation by staff members and drivers, or deep cleaning protocols within the establishment.

“Building trust across communities and consumers is a way to move forward from the challenging situation that we’re all facing right now. With our well-loved and effective hygiene and sanitation brands like Lifebuoy and Cif, we hope that families and individuals continue to trust and rely on the safe meal delivery services of Grab Philippines,” said Ed Sunico, Unilever’s VP for Communications, Southeast Asia. This campaign aligns with Unilever’s Malasakit for All, an effort launched in March 2020 to support communities, partners, and employees during these times. Among the initiatives included are providing hygiene relief packs to hospitals, NGOs, and affected groups nationwide.

The Safer Meals Philippines campaign also aligns with Grab’s broader safety and hygiene program — GrabProtect, which includes a robust suite of policies, steps, and tools to ensure safety and hygiene across the Grab platform. This would include the encouragement of cashless payments, and contactless deliveries between customer and driver. “Keeping our communities safe is core to everything we do at Grab, and we are fortunate to find a partner in Unilever that shares this philosophy and be able to make a difference through our Safer Meals Philippines campaign. At the onset of the community quarantines, we have witnessed our demand in food delivery double as Filipinos rely on food delivery services to provide them with nourishing and comforting meals while staying at home,” said EJ Dela Vega, GrabFood Philippines Head.

“We must remain committed to doing so — safely and hygienically. We believe that by working with Unilever to raise the bar of safety and hygiene in the food delivery industry — apart from providing safer meals to our customers, we continue to protect the lives and support the livelihoods of the many communities who depend on us in these trying times,” said Mr. Dela Vega.

Siam Cement revenues fall on economic decline

THE local unit of Thailand-based Siam Cement Group (SCG) saw its second-quarter sales reduced by more than half after the slowdown in the global economy due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement, SCG said it recorded revenues of P2 billion from sales in the Philippines during the three-month period, down by 53% from a year ago. This represents sales from operations in the Philippines and imports from Thailand.

The second-quarter decline brought its six-month revenue from sales down 39% to P5.34 billion, which reflects a slowdown in SCG’s cement-building materials business and exports from Thailand.

However, the global group still managed to record a 33% income growth to P14.8 billion in the second quarter, amid a 12% revenue decline to P141.39 billion, due to efforts to optimize costs. The slowdown in revenue was attributed to lower prices of chemical products during the period.

In the six months starting January, the group’s profits slid 13% to P26.17 billion, as revenues fell 9% to P322.78 billion.

“Even though SCG isn’t in industries severely affected by the pandemic, the company constantly monitors and assesses the situation to be able to respond accordingly,” SCG President and CEO Roongrote Rangsiyopash said in the statement.

“We take a dynamic approach by offering solutions, products and services that better fulfill the needs and capture the untapped market in the wake of growing trends in e-commerce, on-demand food delivery service, and health and wellness. As a result, the operating results for (the second quarter) and (the first half) were relatively less affected by the global economic slowdown,” he added.

SCG has been operating in the Philippines since 1993 through subsidiaries SCG Marketing Philippines, Inc.; Mariwasa-Siam Ceramics, Inc.; SCG International Philippines, Inc. and United Pulp & Paper Co. Its main businesses are in cement-building materials, chemicals and packaging. — Denise A. Valdez

Yields on term deposits inch up as BSP sets first bond offering

YIELDS ON the term deposits auctioned off by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) mostly inched up on Wednesday amid an increase in bond supply in the market, with the central bank set to make its maiden issue of securities next week.

Bids for the BSP’s term deposit facility (TDF) totaled P541.442 billion on Wednesday, surpassing the P360 billion on the auction block. This also beat the P502.084 billion in bids logged the previous week for the P310-billion offering.

Broken down, demand for the seven-day papers amounted to P197.394 billion, higher than the P150-billion offering as well as the P171.969 billion in bids seen on Sept. 2.

Banks asked for yields ranging from 1.7788% to 1.9%, a slightly slimmer band compared to the 1.75% to 1.9% seen a week ago. With this, the tenor’s average rate stood at 1.8276%, rising by 1.47 basis points (bps) from the 1.8129% logged in the previous auction.

Meanwhile, the 14-day papers saw tenders totaling P250.278 billion, beating the P160 billion on the auction block and the P225.55 billion in bids seen last week for the P130 billion up for grabs.

Rates for the two-week deposits ranged from  1.82% to 1.875%, a narrower margin compared to the 1.789% to 1.9% recorded on Sept. 2. This brought the average rate of the 14-day papers to 1.8479%, inching up by 0.55 bp from the 1.8424% seen last week.

For the 28-day papers, tenders totaled P93.77 billion, going beyond the P50 billion up for grabs but slightly lower than the P104.565 billion in bids seen the prior week.

Accepted yields ranged from 1.825% to 1.87%, a narrower band compared to the 1.795% to 1.8998% logged in the previous auction. This caused the tenor’s average rate to settle at 1.8518%, slipping by 0.95 bp from the 1.8613% seen a week ago.

The TDF is currently the central bank’s main tool to gather excess liquidity in the financial system to better guide market interest rates.

“Results of the TDF auction continue to show ample liquidity in the financial system. Moreover, the BSP’s calibration of monetary operations will remain guided by its assessment of market developments and liquidity conditions,” BSP Deputy Governor Francisco G. Dakila, Jr. said in a statement.

Yields went up slightly due to “increased bond supply amid the need to finance large stimulus,” said Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort.

The government is looking to raise P160 billion from the domestic market this month: P100 billion via weekly auctions of Treasury bills and P60 billion via Treasury bonds to be offered fortnightly.

It is looking to borrow around P3 trillion this year from local and foreign lenders to help fund its budget deficit expected to hit 9.6% of the country’s gross domestic product.

Meanwhile, BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno yesterday said the central bank is holding its maiden offering of securities on Sept. 18 as it looks to shift to market-based monetary operations.

Mr. Diokno said they will first offer 28-day bills with an indicative volume of about P20 billion, subject to confirmation two days before Sept. 18.

“They (28-day bills) will be offered simultaneously at first, but on different days. Eventually, the 28-day TDF will be phased out,” Mr. Diokno said in a text message.

Under Republic Act 11211 or The New Central Bank Act, the BSP now has the authority to issue its own securities. — L.W.T. Noble

VMWare rolls out remote work, cloud solutions

By Zsarlene B. Chua, Senior Reporter

CLOUD COMPUTING and enterprise software solution company VMWare has introduced updates to their workspace and cloud portfolios to help businesses “as they adapt to a digital-first economy.”

“As our customers continue to adapt their business and operational models to the evolving situation, the very concept of work has also changed accordingly. In this new normal, customers need employees who are able to work seamlessly in a secure environment, anywhere, anytime,” Walter So, country manager of VMware Philippines, said in a statement.

The Palo Alto-based company introduced new work-from-home features to their VMWare Workspace ONE solution including providing employees a “more secure digital workspace across any devices, including mobile devices, desktops, and laptops.” The same solution is also said to help companies build a digital environment via curated notifications for corporate communications.

To help organizations go digital, VMWare Philippines has provided access to VMWare Workspace ONE work-from-home solutions for 90 days for “at least 100 establishments in the country” and “mobilized 10,000 employees” across several industries including education, retail, and commerce, said Mr. So during a digital conference in late August.

Some of the companies using VMWare solutions are Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., Globe Telecom, Inc., and Land Bank of the Philippines.

Among the new products announced during the briefing were VMWare SD-WAN by VeloCloud, a solution meant to give rapid access to cloud services and private data centers to give companies the ability to scale their networks swiftly and provide the workforce “optimized access” to resources “anytime, anywhere,” according to the release.

VMWare Cloud on Amazon Web Services (AWS) meanwhile, offers “better cloud economics” as it expands its access and lower the costs for organizations to migrate and modernize their VMWare-based enterprise applications to VMWare Cloud on AWS. Its Google Cloud VMWare engine also now delivers the full stack of VMWare software (VMware vSphere, vCenter, vSAN, NSX-T, and HCX) to allow easier cloud migration.

VMWare is also expanding accessibility for its vRealize Automation Cloud Service as while it is only available in Singapore, it is now accessible across the region. The automation platform manages IT requests for infrastructure, applications, etc., in a single place and process them in a common catalog.

For security, VMWare introduced the Carbon Black Cloud, a solution that provides next-generation anti-virus, endpoint detection and response, advanced threat hunting, and vulnerability management. It utilizes machine learning and behavioral analytics to allow security teams to detect, respond, and prevent threats in real-time.

“The VMWare solutions… we developed to help the customers in a remote-first, digital-first scenario, whether it is for work-from-home, on cloud or on security, all these solutions are relevant for all sectors,” Sanjay K. Deshmukh, VMWare managing director for Southeast Asia and Korea, said in the same briefing.

Salarium launches contact-free timekeeping tool to fight coronavirus transmission

A LOCAL technology startup is launching a device that uses contact-free monitoring of daily time record and body temperature to limit the transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in workplaces.

Salarium Software Philippines Inc. (Salarium) is introducing FacePass, a device that uses facial recognition for timekeeping and scanning body temperature to limit the need for human interaction.

The company started taking orders for the product on Tuesday, which it said it hopes will help the country’s fight against COVID-19.

“As we prepare ourselves for the new normal, we want to help companies create the safest and secure environment for their staff and, at the same time, adapt to the rapidly changing working set-ups,” Salarium Founder and CEO Judah Hirsch said in the statement.

Aside from facilitating contract-less monitoring, the device also uses a technology that requires employees to wear a face mask before being registered for time-in. This is seen helping the strict enforcement of safety protocols, thus limiting any possible spread of the virus, Mr. Hirsch said.

“With the seamless integration of FacePass to Salarium, it’s the perfect timekeeping solution for any business as we move towards the new normal and beyond,” he added.

Salarium currently offers payroll and timekeeping systems that use technology such as biometrics, mobile phones, and a bundy clock. It is incorporated in the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Singapore, and has had clients such as franchisers of 7-Eleven convenience stores.

The FacePass device is available for a minimum 24-month subscription at P5,000 per device. — Denise A. Valdez

Grab and partners step up efforts to help small businesses 

GRAB Philippines on Wednesday announced a new initiative in partnership with Procter & Gamble (P&G), Unilever, Nestlé, Ultramega, Citibank, Agoda, and Booking.com, among others, aimed at boosting support for small enterprises amid a pandemic crisis.

Grab and its partners will have special offerings from Sept. 11 to 25, including discounts and rewards on GrabMart, GrabFood, and GrabPay.

“What sets this campaign apart from the other sale events happening this month, is the fact that this enables a longer and more meaningful support to the thousands of livelihoods, small businesses, and partners from every transaction made through the Grab app,” it said in an e-mailed statement.

Grab also said it wants to help “facilitate the recovery of local industries.”

GrabMart will offer up to P250 discount (with free delivery) on pantry and food supplies, toiletries, medicine, and special goods, among others.

GrabFood will offer up to P159 discount on orders from its participating merchants such as Wildflour Cafe + Bakery, Gino’s Brick Oven Pizza, Bad Bird, Single Origin, Marugame Udon, Wee Nam Kee, and Frankies.

Customers who pay via GrabPay will also earn 1,000 points if they complete a total cumulative spend of P2,500.

Grab said its app had been downloaded onto more than 185 million smartphones in Southeast Asia.

Grab users have access to more than 9 million drivers, merchants, and agents.

The company is engaged in on-demand transport services, food, package, grocery delivery services, mobile payments, and financial services. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Dining In/Out (09/10/20)

Ayala Malls holds BuyANI Fresh Produce Market

THE AYALA Malls, in partnership with the Department of Agriculture (DA), Ayala Foundation, and the Restaurant Owners Association of the Philippines, is launching the BuyANI Fresh Produce Market. With rigid safety protocols in place, customers can enjoy safe shopping for the freshest produce and regional food favorites. Local farmers will offer organic vegetables and fruits, fresh dairy products, herbs, wines, coffee, and other locally cultivated items in stalls at DA-controlled prices. The BuyANI Market will be held from Sept. 11 to 13 at Glorietta, Sept. 18 to 20 at the Alabang Town Center, Sept. 25 to 27 at UP Town Center, Oct. 2 to 4 at Ayala Malls The 30th, Oct. 9 to 11 at TriNoma, Oct. 16 to 18 at Market! Market!, and Oct. 23 to 25 at Bonifacio High Street. All shoppers should follow health protocols such as physical distancing and wearing of face masks and face shields, also, as purchases are plastic bag-free and shoppers must bring their own ecobags. For more information about the BuyANI Market, visit and follow @iloveayalamalls on Instagram and Ayala Malls on Facebook for more information.

Ayala Malls introduces personal shopping service

AYALA Malls introduces A.N.A. or the Ayala Malls Neighborhood Assistant. Customers can now access items from their favorite stores within the mall virtually, and the Ayala Malls’ pool of personal shoppers will do the rest. Whether it’s school or office supplies, hardware essentials, fashion desires, hobby tools, tech requirements, sporting needs, home improvement musts, food cravings, or grocery shopping, A.N.A. can assist. First, find A.N.A. through your preferred mall’s Facebook page or Viber (the full list and details can be found at www.ayalamalls.com/promos-and-events/whats-on/shop-your-Ayala-malls-neighborhood-assistant-100). Order your items through the mall ordering form, then A.N.A. will reach out to process your orders. Pay for your orders, including a minimal service fee, through the mall’s cashless payment channels. The service fee for retail/food stores is P50 for one store, P100for two to three stores, and P200 for four or more stores, plus a flat rate of P200 for supermarket and/or department store purchases. Orders can be delivered or can be picked up at the mall’s DriveBuy stations.  A.N.A.is currently available in 25 Ayala Malls and will roll out across more in the coming weeks. For details bit.ly/AyalaMallsANA and follow @iloveayalamalls on Instagram and Ayala Malls on Facebook.

Kuya J reopens three more restaurants

KNOWN for its Filipino comfort food, Kuya J has reopened three additional restaurants — SM Seaside Cebu, Robinsons Galleria South, and SM BF Paranaque — for dine-in, take-out, and delivery orders. With the lifting of  ECQ, Kuya J has reopened a total of 27 stores nationwide, so customers can enjoy its signature dishes such as Crispy Pata, Lechon Baka, Beef Kare-kare, and Caldereta. Kuya J also offers pickup and delivery via www.centraldelivery.ph. For the latest news and promos, like and follow @kuyajresto on Facebook and Instagram.

Oreo has just released its seasonal flavors

THROUGH the years, Oreo has come out with a  range of Oreo Seasonals, with flavors like Coconut, Dark and White, Peanut Butter and Chocolate, Golden Oreo, and many more. This year, it decided to release not one, but two flavors inspired by iconic desserts the whole world loves. Due to insistent public demand, it is bringing back Oreo Red Velvet, a red velvet-colored Oreo cookie encasing a cheesecake flavored crème center, and Oreo Salted Caramel, a sweet, creamy caramel punctuated by a hint of saltiness from sea salt. The two limited edition Oreo Seasonal variations are available at all leading stores and e-commerce platforms nationwide until December or while supplies last. Available for P76.50 for a nine-pack multi-pack and P41.50 for a 14-piece slug.

Tourism department cooks up online food fest

THE DEPARTMENT of Tourism’s (DoT) food and travel festival, Kain Na!, is back — this time, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it will be held online from Sept. 15-18. After 12 successful legs in the past two years, Kain Na! 2020, The Blended Edition will continue to be a venue to create awareness and interest in food and farm tourism. The four-day virtual celebration will feature food tourism exchanges, an online selling platform, digital business training and e-learning modules. This year’s edition will feature a thematic approach highlighting the country’s distinct Filipino food culture. Philippine Coffee, Tea, and Chocolate will take the spotlight for the month of September and there are a variety of virtual talks and activities lined up. The Food Tourism Exchange will feature a webinar series and experiential sessions such as virtual tours and food demos by Malagos Chocolate, Auro Chocolates, The Chocolate Chamber, El Union Coffee, Henry & Sons, Bo’s Coffee, Gourmet Farms, Nurture Farmacy, Yamang Bukid, REFMAD Dragonfruit Farm, and the Oolong tea farmers of Gingoog City to showcase various destinations and products. The online learning modules will offer e-commerce training for food and farm tourism stakeholders and other MSMEs in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry’s CTRL+BIZ Reboot Now program. Food Tourism 101 will be top-billed by Margarita Fores, JJ Yulo, Ivan Man Dy, and Michelle Cruz of Klook who will present share-worthy food tourism experiences from food walks, market tours, bar crawls, and other inspiring food tourism experiences. The Kain Na! Trading Post, an online shop housing partner merchants, as well as the Ayala Malls foodie pop-ups will be launched on Sept. 15. Ayala Malls’ Pasyal TV will also unveil its Philippine Coffee, Tea, and Chocolate video produced in partnership with the DOT. The succeeding legs of Kain Na! will explore the different culinary treasures of the country. In October, Food Trips will be the highlight, followed by Slow Food, Slow Travel in November, and finally Christmas Cravings in December. 

Bank of Thailand head sees stronger fiscal role for recovery

THAILAND’S OUTGOING central bank governor said public debt restrictions should be eased to allow the government to spend more as monetary policy options dwindle with interest rates already at an all-time low.

Given the severity of the pandemic-driven downturn, Governor Veerathai Santiprabhob said his “personal view is that the 60% public debt-to-GDP limit can be relaxed.” The limit was set up during “normal times” and the level isn’t high compared to other emerging markets, he said on Tuesday in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Haslinda Amin.

“At this point in time, the government is the only sector that can help stimulate the economy and minimize the long-term impact on the economy and the society from the pandemic,” Mr. Veerathai said. If government spending can create jobs in rural areas, which have absorbed unemployed family members returning from major cities and tourist areas, “that’s more important than the debt-ceiling limit.”

In any case, the debt limit isn’t yet close to breaching the 60% limit: The Finance Ministry’s Public Debt Management Office said last week it’s at 46% of GDP now and may take another five years to reach the limit, unless there’s a massive government borrowing program in the meantime.

Thailand’s economy is forecast to suffer one of the biggest contractions in Asia of more than 8% this year, and central bankers are running low on ammunition to deal with the fallout. The Bank of Thailand has brought its benchmark interest rate to a record low 0.5% in three interest-rate cuts this year, and has been on hold since June as it tries to preserve policy space.

Mr. Veerathai, 50, will leave the central bank at the end of this month when his five-year term ends. He’ll hand over to Sethaput Suthiwart-Narueput, a member of the monetary policy committee.

Current monetary policy is accommodative enough and further interest-rate cuts would be less effective in reviving the economy from its pandemic-driven downturn, Mr. Veerathai said. While all options, including interest-rate cuts, remain on the table, targeted policies that can get funds to sectors that need them can be more effective, he said.

“The problem now is not so much on illiquidity. I think we have to focus more on insolvency problems that will occur across different sectors and segments of the economy,” he said. “The policy rate is already quite low.”

The bank has been studying unconventional monetary policy options such as yield-curve control, but Mr. Veerathai said he doesn’t think it’s needed right now.

“We have to assess the situation on a regular basis,” he said. “If there is steepening of the yield curve to the point that it might affect the economic recovery, then yield-curve control might come in.”

YOUNGEST LEADER
A former International Monetary Fund economist with a doctorate from Harvard University, Mr. Veerathai was the Bank of Thailand’s youngest leader in four decades when he took office in 2015. During his term he dealt with a military government, US-China trade tensions, currency volatility and the pandemic.

He’ll leave the bank at a time of heightened uncertainty about fiscal policy following the sudden resignation of Finance Minister Predee Daochai less than a month into his term. After some local media reports said Mr. Veerathai would be approached to replace Predee, the governor said Tuesday that he’s “not ready to take up any position” yet when his term at the central bank ends.

“Veerathai’s legacy would be very interesting. He’s basically the first ASEAN central bank governor who has had to confront the zero-bound interest rate” with an economy experiencing weak growth and virtually no inflation, said Taimur Baig, chief economist at DBS Group Holdings Ltd. in Singapore.

Mr. Veerathai remained “fairly conservative” with inflation targeting, financial stability and asset price issues, he said.

“That all makes sense from the Central Bank 101 playbook, but the world is changing so dramatically that you could ask whether the Bank of Thailand could have been more proactive in cutting rates,” Baig said. — Bloomberg

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