The Royal Thai Mint recently announced it would tour Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV) as part of its regional expansion plan.
Werawut Sripaoraya, deputy director-general of Thailand’s Treasury Department, which oversees the country’s mint, said officials would tour Laos and Cambodia this year to propose new coin designs and specifications. The treasury made similar trips to encourage the CLMV countries to reissue coins last year, added Werawut.
“These four countries used to circulate coins; we would like to invite them to visit our mint in Thailand and convince them to reissue coins,” he said. “We will mint the coins if the CLMV countries decide to reissue coins for their currencies. These countries place a high level of trust in Thailand and the logistics cost to transport the coins there won’t be that high.”
REGIONAL EXPANSION
Werawut said each year, Thailand’s Treasury Department issues about five series of commemorative coins, the latest of which features the Thai elephant and will be marketed internationally for the first time.
“We have signed several agreements with dealers from U.S., Europe, Korea and Japan on the distribution of the new series during the World Money Fair in Berlin recently,” said Werawut. “A number of coin collectors came to our booth and expressed interest in Thai releases; coins with images of the king are very popular among the collectors.”
Thailand’s Treasury Department will host its Mint Director Conference from May 1-8 in Bangkok and Phuket, where participants from 47 countries will meet to discuss the future of coins, among other things.
“Cashless payment system remains a challenge faced by the minting industry, but coins will still have a place in Thai society in the near future,” said Werawut.