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With the current normal three-month bank deposit rate at about 2.75 per cent, the recent offer of an Australian-dollar currency account for a three-month fixed rate at 6.5 per cent is a very interesting option for savers.

Standard Chartered Bank (Thai) (SCBT) yesterday offered the new choice of investment for people whose appetite is for high investment returns, claiming that 6.5 per cent is the highest in the industry.

Since the Bank of Thailand has allowed individuals who have no obligations to foreign countries to deposit in foreign currencies of not more than US$100,000 (Bt3.32 million) or the equivalent in commercial banks, several banks have offered deposits in foreign currencies. Among these foreign currencies, the Australian dollar is considered a star, with a high interest rate and potential for strengthening further.

However investors need to understand about their risk, especially in foreign-currency exchange, which may not be stable during the deposit maturity. Depositors can get either profit or loss from foreign exchange.

But SCBT forecasts that the trend of the Australian dollar will be stronger against the US dollar because all fundamental factors in the country are good, such as stable politics, foreign exchange, interest rates and exports, while Thai baht will likely be weaker against the US dollar. Therefore customers probably would take this advantage. That's why the bank chose Australian dollars for the first currency to introduce to the market, the bank reported.

 The deposit and withdrawal must be done in Thai baht only because the bank also wants to support domestic savings.

The minimum saving deposit is A$2,000 (Bt62,900), while the minimum for three-month fixed saving deposit is A$10,000. Yesterday, A$1 could be exchanged for Bt31.59.

Aside from Standard Chartered Bank (Thai), Bangkok Bank, Kasikornbank, Krung Thai Bank, Siam Commercial Bank, TMB Bank, Bank of Ayudhya, Siam

City Bank, and Thanachart Bank also offer Australian-dollar deposits.

But other banks offer lower rates than the foreign bank: over4 per cent for savings and over 5 per cent for three-month fixed deposits.

Bank of Ayudhaya (BAY) provides for customers' convenience by issuing them a foreign-currency deposit ATM card, while other banks need the customers to contact the bank counter for withdrawals and deposits.

 Aside from Australian dollars, banks also provide other foreign-currency deposits, such as US dollar, euros, yen, Singaporean dollars, pounds sterling and Swiss Francs.

Noticeably, the foreign-currency deposits that offer high interest rates are Austraian dollars, New Zealand dollars and pounds sterling, which are in the range of 3.5-4.85 per cent. These may be good choices for investors who should not forget the foreign-exchange risk.

Meanwhile, Auraratana Jutimitta, general manager for Consumer Transaction Banking and Wealth Management at SCBT, said investing in the Australian dollar was a promising market.

Total deposits in the Thai market at the end of last year were Bt6.5 trillion, of which only two per cent, about Bt140 billion, was in foreign-currency deposits.

And more than 90 per cent of the depositors in the foreign-currency deposit accounts were corporations with obligations with foreign trading countries as exporters and importers, while individual savers shared only 2o per cent of foreign-currency deposits.

"The bank will focus on individual customers who have no obligations with foreign countries but are interested in investment. By offering a high interest rate of 5 per cent for savings accounts and 6.5 per cent for time deposits of three months, we expect to receive Bt5 billion in deposits by the end of the year," said Auraratana.