Thai officials rush home: IMF chief

SINGAPORE: Thai financial officials attending an annual IMF-World Bank meeting in Singapore were rushing home following a military coup in Bangkok early on Tuesday.

International Monetary Fund chief Rodrigo de Rato said he was monitoring the situation.

"We have certainly not seen up to now any financial consequences but as I said before we are following developments very closely," de Rato said. "We look forward to an evolution and the benefits of democracy and stability in the country."

Thai delegates to the meeting were "very surprised" by the news of the coup, said Pannee Sathavarodom, director- general of Thailand's Public Debt Management Office said in Singapore.

She said Thai officials at the IMF-World Bank meeting were rushing back to Bangkok.

News of the coup sent the Thai baht lower against the US dollar, which rose to 37.75 baht from 37.30 baht at the end of Tuesday's Asia session. Earlier, the dollar rose as high as 37.95 baht.

Thai Finance Minister Thanong Bidaya canceled plans to present a speech at the morning session the IMF-World Bank meeting, which closed on Tuesday after endorsing reforms that granted a greater say to China, South Korea, Turkey and Mexico.

The hotel where Bidaya was staying said he had not checked out yet.

A member of the Thai delegation to the meeting, Gongtot Asvinvichit, predicted that any impact on Thai financial markets would be "temporary."