The financial art of fortune-telling

Those not on the central bank beat may not know the story of a well-known fortune-teller. This savant - who has strictly required reporters to withhold his name from the general public - is an official at the Bank of Thailand. But he has a special skill in predicting the future.

He became popular because he has managed to make the right predictions about the ups and downs of the government. Some former central bank governors even asked him to read their palms to find out if they would be able to stay in office until retirement.

And when he told some of them that they wouldn't and even gave the exact month of their departures, the fortune-teller was always right.

Now comes Pridiyathorn's fate. The reporters remembered that a few months ago, this fortune-teller said Pridiyathorn would leave the Finance Ministry in February.

At first, people were sceptical. Of course, who would believe this ridiculous prophecy when Pridiyathorn seemed to receive solid support from Surayud? After all, Pridiyathorn was the Surayud government's economic czar.

As February was drawing to an end, reporters started to bet whether the fortune-teller had got it wrong.

But when Pridiyathorn made his abrupt announcement to quit yesterday, they gushed in disbelief.

Now, we are telling you this not because we wholeheartedly believe in astrology.

But the thing is, this

fortune-teller also said some time ago that, coincidentally, the stars of Pridiyathorn and the Bank of Thailand Governor Tarisa Watanagase were intertwined.

In short, if Pridiyathorn's star rises, so does Tarisa's.

Now that Pridiyathorn is set to go, the question now is what the future will hold for Tarisa.

Oh dear, we just hope that the fortune-teller's not right again.

Anoma@nationgroup.com