* Cabinet approves 15 percent withholding tax
* Smaller firms get help for soft loans, forward contracts
* Baht bounces back after earlier small fall
* Bond prices also recover after a sell-off on Monday
* Government under pressure to act from exporters (Adds measures to cope with baht, updates market moves)
By Kitiphong Thaichareon and Orathai Sriring
BANGKOK, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Thailand will impose a 15 percent withholding tax on interest and capital gains earned by foreign investors on Thai bonds, the finance minister said on Tuesday, the latest bid by an emerging economy to tame its currency.
From export-dependent Thailand to fast-growing China and Brazil, governments are moving to rein in their currencies as investors, turning their backs on low interest rates in the developed world, pour money into higher-yielding markets.
"Foreign investors have used the bond market to park their money, therefore it's not necessary to grant them privileges," Thai Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij said. "Foreigners will understand if their tax burden is similar to that borne by Thai investors."
He conceded the baht could rise further, given the prospect of more monetary easing in the United States. Analysts agreed.
"It won't change its direction because the strong baht is in line with other currencies worldwide," said Thiti Tantikulanan, head of capital markets at Kasikornbank Pcl.
Exporters at the heart of Thailand's economy are alarmed at the baht's 11 percent rise against the dollar this year to levels not seen since the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
The baht's real effective exchange rate, which measures its value against trading partners' currencies after adjusting for price changes, is near a record high.
The baht rebounded to 29.98 per dollar at 0909 GMT after touching a low of 30.15. Government bond prices also rose.
Ten-year yields were off 18 basis points in afternoon trade at 3.12 percent after jumping 30 basis points on Monday because of speculation about the withholding tax.
A currency trader attributed this to last-minute inflows before the tax becomes effective on Oct. 13, applicable to bonds issued by the government, central bank and state enterprises
"But we have many questions on whether the funds rushing in today to buy Thai bonds will be taxed after tomorrow if they generate profits later. These implementation details need to be clarified," the trader added.
Thailand is treading carefully after imposing tough capital controls in late 2006 that triggered the biggest one-day sell-off in the stock market. Those have since been lifted.
Korn said the government would consider more measures if there was "excessive speculation" in the currency.
PRESSURE FROM EXPORTERS
Rahul Bajoria, an economist at Barclays Capital in Singapore, doubted Thailand would respond with draconian measures this time.
"The prime minister and the finance minister at various forums have made it clear that policymakers can try to smooth volatility but not change the fundamentals, which are for an appreciation in the Thai baht," he said.
Tuesday's cabinet meeting approved measures, including soft loans, to help small businesses cope with the baht's rise.
The government will also help smaller exporters take out forward contracts of up to $50,000 with state banks for a year, Korn said, adding these measures should benefit 17,000 firms.
Apart from currency intervention to smooth fluctuations, the authorities have recently focused on relaxing capital outflows, after foreign investors ploughed more than $4 billion into Thai bonds in the first nine months of 2010, compared to just $730 million for all of last year..
That raised their holdings to about 200 billion baht ($6.7 billion), still only about 3 percent of the total 6.6 trillion baht ($220 billion) market, compared to just 1 percent last year.
Foreigners have also snapped up $2.2 billion in Thai stocks since July 23, after weeks of selling due to civil unrest on Bangkok's streets in which 91 people died in April and May.
Net foreign stock buying this year totals $1.6 billion.
The Thai authorities are facing even greater pressure to act after meetings of world finance leaders in Washington at the weekend ended with no quick fix for global currency tensions.
Korn told Reuters in Washington on Saturday that the authorities realised "the era of cheap currency for us is over and we need to make the necessary adjustments". (Additional reporting by Jason Szep, Vithoon Amorn and Arada Kultawanich; Editing by Alan Raybould)