Five people who are candidates to be Thailand's next Central Bank governor appeared on Tuesday before a selection panel at the Finance Ministry, a Ministry official said.
The leading candidates are a Bank of Thailand (BOT) deputy governor and a member of the junta board that oversees state companies, sources at the Ministry said.
"Today all five candidates came here to show their visions," said Krisada Chinavicharana, secretary of the selection panel. He declined to identify the five, who were seen by reporters coming to meet the panel.
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Finance Minister Sommai Phasee will decide who will succeed the current governor, Prasarn Trairatvorakul, whose five-year term ends in September.
Prasarn is not eligible for a second term because under Thai law, a governor must be under age 60 at the time a term begins. In August, Prasarn will be 63.
Two of the five candidates are BOT deputy governors Paiboon Kittisrikangwan and Tongurai Limpiti. The others are junta official Veerathai Santiprabhob, Phatra Securities managing director Supavud Saicheua and Kiatchai Sophastienphong, a former central bank director.
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Tough challenge The new governor for Southeast Asia's second-largest economy will face a tough challenge - how to help stimulate growth in a country that has lost ground to regional rivals during a decade of political turmoil.
Top contenders
BOT's Paiboon is a leading candidate, according to the sources. He is in charge of corporate support services and banknote management and also is a member of the monetary policy committee (MPC).
The other prime contender, they say, is Veerathai, a member of the junta's "superboard" overseeing state enterprises. He is also on the seven-member MPC, which decides Thai monetary policy.
Paiboon, Veerathai and Tongurai declined to comment. The other candidates could not be contacted for comment.
The panel meeting the candidates on Tuesday will present a two-person shortlist to Sommai by July 2, its chairman Sompon Kiatphaibool told Reuters.
Sommai will choose the governor and seek approval from the cabinet and then Thailand's king for the appointment.
The new governor will be one of three BOT officials on the MPC.
Last week, the MPC left the benchmark interest rate steady at 1.50 percent after two surprise cuts in a row to try to spur an economy still sputtering a year after the army seized power.
Although the coup restored some stability, the junta has struggled to lift sluggish exports and domestic demand. Growth last year was only 0.9 percent, the weakest since 2011. (Additional reporting Satawasin Staporncharnchai and Pairat Temphairojana; Editing by Simon Webb and Richard Borsuk)