The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) does not agree with the Labour Ministry's plan to enforce a new minimum wage hike on Oct 1, which is earlier than originally anticipated, as businesses will be flooded with too many financial burdens, notably a rise in the Bank of Thailand's policy rate and higher electricity bills.
Kriengkrai Thiennukul, chairman of the FTI, made the comment yesterday when the central bank's Monetary Policy Committee resolved to raise the rate by 25 basis points to 0.75% as the Thai economy is on track to recover.
The higher interest rate will lead to higher financial costs for businesses if commercial banks follow the central bank by increasing their interest rates.
