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PROPERTY MARKET: Sales dip in third quarter

Published on October 18, 2004

Developers giving away land, cars to lure buyers

Home-buyers delayed purchasing new residential properties last quarter due to signs of an economic downturn and the likelihood of an interest-rate hike in the near future, a property expert said.

Robert Collins of property consultant Jones Lang LaSalle said demand for residential condominiums in the third quarter was slower than last year and the first half of this year.

“Home buyers are concerned about their earning potential in the future because of the economic slow down and next year’s interest-rate rise,” he said.

Kasikorn Research Centre backed up Collins comments, but still forecasts a rise in new-home purchases this year.

It expects housing demand of at least 60,000 units this year, a 9-per-cent increase on the 55,000 units last year.

The research centre has forecast housing demand of 50,000-80,000 units over the next two year, compared to a high of 117,000 units in 1996, the year before the economic crisis.

With the current market sentiment, several property firms have tried to boost sales through special deals to maintain their income in the third and fourth quarters.

Prime Nature Villa Co Ltd is offering a BMW 525i worth Bt3.8 million and a Bt1-million jewellery gift certificate to customers who buy land of 1,600 square metres and 800 square metres, respectively.

SC Asset Plc is offering Bt300,000 to customer who buy a property at its Bangkok Boulevard project, while Sansiri Plc is giving away home theatres worth between Bt100,000 and Bt280,000 to customers who buy one of its condominiums.

Sansiri will also wave the monthly instalment for a year for those who buy a property at its Sanambinnam project.

The market slowdown has resulted in property firms revising their financial estimates.

NC Housing Plc has revised down its sales-revenue estimate for this year from Bt3.6 billion to Bt3 billion due mainly to negative economic forecasts caused by rising construction costs, interest rates and oil prices.

Golden Land Plc has revised down its estimated sales revenue for this year from Bt6 billion to Bt5.5 billion.

Somluck Srimalee

THE NATION

Is this another Thaksin pipedream ???

40,000 pupils , where are they going to find the huge number of good teachers to teach the teachers ??

say 20 pupils per class , that means they need to find 20,000 good english teachers !

5555555555

looks like there could be a big demand for lowlife teachers soon , but can you get them out of the bar ?

tune in those tellies next weekend ...

they have strict new rules about visas for fiancee , if you get a tourist visa then get married on the sly or want to extend they dont like it and wont play ball.

basicaly they have been had by other guys doing this hence the strict rules.

you would think that as you are married she could remain without trouble but they dont see it like that .

one of my neighbours is married to a thai girl, she came over on a 6 month visa ,but they wouldnt extend it and she had to go back home.

he is struggling to get her over to the UK full time.

he has a place to live etc ....

you are 1 of many to have these problems ..

expats say that its getting hotter every year maybe due to global warming , Bangkok may be under water by then also.

oil supplies will be very bad by then so i wouldnt want to think how dire the situation will be by 2025.

maybe you could live without aircon ..

you may need to live somewhere very high ground by then

yes they are fine, the hostsesses are super smart with their green stockings !

tannoy announcements are curious , they are in a squeeky sickly childish voice

which tickles me ..

food is kinda weird sometimes , when you expect a breakfast you get an evening meal.

Electronic underwear warns of heart attack

By Robin Lettice

Published Friday 15th October 2004 11:27 GMT

Electronic underwear sensitive to fluctuations in the wearer's heart rate has been developed by the Philips Research facility in Aachen, Germany.

The garment will automatically call emergency services when necessary, for example if the wearer suffers a cardiac arrest. This represents a comsiderable advance on the mobile phones which tell you when you're having a heart attack, as you don't have to hold the underwear in front of your heart for it to work. It also represents a step up from the current portable elctrocardiograms, as it does not require electrodes covered with electrolytic gel to be stuck to the wearer's skin. These can be uncomfortable if worn for long.

The device uses sensors woven into the fabric of the underwear. These detect electrical fluctuations on the skin, which are used to tell how rapidly and with what force the heart is beating. It also records activity and stress levels, both important factors in determining a person's risk of a heart attack. However, an obstacle for the developers is the need for software to distinguish between increased heart rates due to stress or physical activity.

The reasoning behind sticking a monitor into underwear is twofold. Firstly, it is not intrusive or noticeable - so-called "Ambient Intelligence" in which electronics do not intrude on the users' everyday lives. Secondly, the sensors must remain in contact with the skin and tight-fitting underwear allows this.

The British Heart Foundation has welcomed the development, but suggested that trials would be needed to identify any unforeseen problems. These are being planned, says project leader Koen Joosse. ®

Related stories

******************

The World's No.1 Science & Technology News Service

New malaria vaccine raises high hopes

11:38 15 October 04

NewScientist.com news service

Prospects for a malaria vaccine have been boosted by “tantalising” results from a trial in 2000 children in Mozambique. Although the vaccine reduced the risk of infection by only 30% compared with a control vaccine - this is far better than any previous result.

“With 300 million people in Africa with malaria, a 30% reduction in infection is pretty substantial,” says Ripley Ballou, vice president of clinical development at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the company co-developing and testing the vaccine.

Even more impressive, say the investigators, is that the vaccine reduced the risk that the children - aged one to four - would develop the most severe and lethal form of malaria by 57%.

Better still, the risk of severe disease in recipients aged less than two saw a 77% reduction. The investigators are delighted by this because, ultimately, they want to give the vaccine to infants in their first year of life to maximise early protection.

Orders of magnitude

“We’ve found these results to be quite tantalising,” says Pedro Alonso of the Hospital Clinic of the University of Barcelona, and head of the team. “This is clearly the best result we’ve seen with a candidate malaria vaccine,” he said in a press briefing, organised by the international Malaria Vaccine Initiative, GSK and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

“We are talking orders of magnitude better than any previously tested vaccine,” added Ballou.

The vaccine attacks Plasmodium falciparum - the parasite which causes malaria - at the early infection stage, when it has just been injected into human blood by the bite of a carrier mosquito.

Unchallenged, the parasitic sporozoites make their way to the liver where they grow and mature into the merozoites. These are potentially lethal when released from the liver into the blood.

The vaccine, named RTS,S/AS02A carries two short proteins, called RTS and S, mimicking a key surface component of the sporozoite usually recognised by the immune system.

Incorporated into the empty shell of a hepatitis B vaccine, the new vaccine is thought to trigger production of antibodies and white blood cells that recognise and neutralise the sporozoites.

Manifestation decreased

“It works by preventing the parasite from emerging from the liver, or at least diminishing the load of parasites emerging,” says Joe Cohen, inventor of the vaccine at GSK.

“The next parasitic stages are controlled and manifestation of the disease is greatly decreased,” he adds.

The development partners hope to begin larger, phase III trials as soon as possible, working steadily towards the goal of a vaccine for infants. “One million children under five die each year from malaria,” says Melinda Moree of the Malaria Vaccine Initiative.

But it might take until 2010 to get the vaccine cleared and ready for use, warns Jean Stephenne, general manager of GSK Biologicals. And the price -estimated at $10 to $20 per vaccination - may be too much for some poorer nations unless richer countries help foot the bill.

“Far greater resources are still needed for malaria vaccine research,” said Regina Rabinovich of the Gates Foundation’s Global Health Program. “We should challenge world leaders to take malaria as seriously as they do AIDS.”

Journal reference: The Lancet (vol 364, p 1411)

Andy Coghlan

Learn new language to boost your brain power

Studies find that bilingual people have more developed brains, and more so the earlier they learn a second language

LONDON - Learning a second language 'boosts' brain power, more so if one begins the process at a younger age, according to a new study.

Researchers at University College London (UCL) found that learning other languages altered grey matter, the area of the brain which processes information, in the same way that exercise builds muscles, the BBC reported.

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People who learned a second language at a younger age were also more likely to have more advanced grey matter than those who learned later, said the team.

Scientists already know that the brain can change its structure as a result of stimulation, an effect known as plasticity. But the latest research, published in the journal Nature, shows how learning languages develops it.

The team took scans of 25 Britons who speak only one language, 25 people who had learned another European language before the age of five and 33 bilinguals who had learned a second language between 10 and 15 years old.

The scans revealed that the density of the grey matter in the brain's left inferior parietal cortex was greater in bilinguals than in those with no second-language knowledge.

The effect was particularly noticeable in the 'early' bilinguals.

The findings were replicated in a study of 22 native Italian speakers who had learned English as a second language between the ages of two and 34.

Lead researcher Andrea Mechelli, of the Institute of Neurology at UCL, said the findings explained why younger people found it easier to learn second languages.

But Cilt, Britain's National Centre for Languages, cast doubt on whether learning languages was easier at a younger age.

The BBC quoted a Cilt spokesman as saying: 'There are conflicting views about the comparative impact of language learning on different age groups, based both on findings and anecdotal evidence.'

Do not display gold

Dear Editor,

I have been a Pattaya resident for quite awhile, and am dismayed at the serious increase in crime and in particular the ride-by stealing of gold or other items while on motorcycles.

Over the past year, I have been attacked three times and the most recent was serious. It happened at 4:00 p.m. on Thappraya Road. Two Thai teenagers pulled beside me and grabbed my gold chain and pulled me off the motorcycle, in traffic, causing cars to swerve around me and it could have been fatal for me.

Last night, my wife, while driving on the same road with a Thai passenger, had the same thing happen. She was more fortunate as she did not get pulled off or lose control of her motorcycle.

Obviously, the lesson here is do not display gold. I have personally talked to numerous people and they all have had, or know somebody who has had this type of problem recently. This type of crime is not unique in Pattaya, but the recent rise is of major significance. I have had discussions with the Pattaya police and the tourist police and they both indicate the increase is troublesome and difficult to control. Perhaps the reporting on a regular basis and a careful eye will in someway contribute to a solution.

Fred Huff

GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS REPORT : Thai ranking slips down further

Published on October 14, 2004

Kingdom now 34th with poor corruption, technology gradings

Thailand’s global competitiveness rating has fallen for the second year in a row, amid worsening corruption and deteriorating technological capabilities.

A report unveiled by the internationally recognised World Economic Forum (WEF) ranked Thailand at No 34, down from 32 last year and 31 in 2002. The Kingdom now lags behind countries like Slovenia (33), Estonia (20), Malaysia (31), Malta (32) and Bahrain (28), the report announced yesterday.

Finland, the US and Sweden maintained the three most competitive economies, respectively, in the world, said the Global Competitiveness Report. The report ranks 104 economies, taking into account three major factors – the macro-economic environment; the quality of public institutions, such as the independence of the judiciary and lack of government corruption; and technology.

Augusto Lopez-Claros, chief economist at the WEF, said among the greatest concerns for Thailand in regard to its international competitiveness is the country’s poor performance in the areas of Corruption and information and communications technology (ICT).

“Thailand does well in the macro-environment (ranked 23rd), but needs to improve in some areas of the Technology and Public Institutions indexes,” said Lopez-Claros in an e-mail interview with The Nation.

“In particular, within the Public Institutions Index, Thailand ranks 52nd on the Corruption sub-index, and within the Technology Index, 55th on the ICT sub-index.”

The WCF’s reporting format for each economy usually consists of two parts – notable economic advantages, which include those areas in which a country performs well; and notable competitive disadvantages that spell out those areas in which a country performs below average. The 2004 report, however, includes not one single competitive advantage for Thailand in the Public Institutions Index.

Among the country’s notable competitive disadvantages in this year’s report are: Irregular Payments in Exports and Imports (ranked 72nd out of 104 economies); Organised Crime (58th); Favouritism in Decisions of Government Officials (50th); Judicial Independence (44th); Real Effective Exchange Rates (47th); Interest Spread (43rd); Property Rights (41st); Telephone Lines (72nd); Internet Hosts (64th); Pervasiveness of Money Laundering through Non-Bank Channels (87th); and Freedom of Press (81st).

This year’s report shows a drastic change from last year, when Favouritism in Decisions of Government Officials, Property Rights and Organised Crime were among comparative advantages for Thailand, with high scores in each of those areas.

Recognising growing public dissatisfaction with growing corruption, the Thaksin government last month announced a war on corruption. Many critics, however, remain suspicious of the administration’s ability and sincerity to tackle this chronic and long-standing issue.

However, Lopez-Claros noted that Thailand’s overall competitiveness score (4.6) is actually unchanged from last year. But with more countries – such as Malta and Luxembourg – added to this year’s survey, Thailand’s relative ranking has dropped.

He said for most Asean countries, Growth Competitiveness Index (GCI) scores have remained quite steady. The Philippines and Vietnam, nonetheless, have witnessed a significant decline in their competitiveness rankings, while Indonesia has climbed three places to No 69.

Japan, meanwhile, moved up to No 9, from No 11 last year, thanks partly to its strong economic recovery, which boosted business confidence, and notable improvements in several indicators that assess transparency in its public institutions, the report said.

The report also includes a Business Competitiveness Index, which found Thailand doing well in areas like Prevalence of Foreign Technology Licensing and Extent of Locally Based Competitors, but rates it poorly on Extent of Bureaucratic Red Tape, Foreign Ownership Restrictions and Availability of Scientists and Engineers.

Pichaya Changsorn

The Nation

Hong kong has an MTS though , integrated into the airport design right from the start.

Suvan is stuck in the middle of nowhere with no MTS so in spite of the High Tech claims its a lame duck from the start . Just like ADSL in LOS , a joke ...

wonder if the airport mail thieves will be transferring their operations to the new airport ?

talking to some girls on this issue , they expect a farangs to cry when he gets blown out , normally he has control of the situation because of the financial advantage .

all they have is the emotional advantage .

so do not blub in front of a girl at all costs , they think you look weak .

If you do get blown out , hit back to reverse the situation .

send them an SMS at 3am telling them you are in bed with another girl and having a great time .

this really bugs them badly .

Maybe a tha girl infected him so he wanted his revenge .

all this is very speculative , these numbers .

how many young girls would go with an old guy with a missing leg ?

in spite of the dosh ...

they would run a mile ...

Monday, October 11, 2004

Tourist electrocuted during rains

In much of Patong the flooding was knee-deep.

– Photo by Rob Williams.

PHUKET: A 19-year-old Canadian tourist was electrocuted by a downed power cable in Patong during Saturday’s torrential rains.

Gary Yelizarov, of Richmond, was found on the sidewalk near the Jintana Hotel. A broken electrical cable was nearby.

Firefighters used a piece of wood to move the cable away and retrieve Mr Yelizov’s body, but he was pronounced dead at Patong Hospital.

Hospital director Dr Taweesak Netwong, told the Gazette the hospital was unable to supply any more information about Mr Yelizarov because “it’s delicate for tourism”.

The rain – 79.8mm in the 24 hours between 7am on Saturday and 7am on Sunday, according to Vichit Phuangsombat, Director of the Southern Meteorological Center (West Coast) – caused flooding in many parts of the island and a landslide on Patong Hill and along Phra Barami Rd.

Metha Mekarat, Chief of the Phuket Office of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (ODPM) told the Gazette his office believed the rain had caused damage worth more than 10 million baht.

After a crisis meeting with Vice-Governor Winai Buapradit, emergency services provided food and other aid to 50 families affected by flooding and landslide on Phra Barami Rd, on the outskirts of Patong.

Leading businessman Chairat Sukbal, owner of the Safari Pub and Deputy Mayor of Patong Municipality with responsibility for wastewater, told the Gazette, “Patong has an anti-flood plan but it’s not always possible to resist the water.”

i think that khaosan road has more dirty scruffy farangs than pattaya .

those guys there revel in their scruffy ,dirty clothing / attire , dreadlocks abound .

unwashed and smelling dopeheads.

but then again i guess it depends on how you define "scumbags"

its open to interpretation

have gal named ting = kitten

and a gal named wak , not sure what it means,

and a bla

and a oee , spoken as E

didnt you read stickman this week on this topic ?

he says 60,000 must be a average .

if you have a family surely it will go higher ?

you cant quantify this amount , you may have crazy sepending habits , or your wife may be the same.

or you could be a frugal old bastard who can live on fresh air .

if you live upcountry you could live on little money .

will you have a car or use taxis ?

there are so many variables for each person ,depending on where you live and if your woman is a shopaholic ...

i guess you would live according to your income and savings available ...

Is this the guy who was accused of stabbing his girl 38 times ?

in Pattaya ..

i have just received a pm from chonabot which i have copied here.

Just to say cheers to all of the decent members of TV including Taxexile,Tutsi,Markt,DrPP,Plachon,Santini,Francois,Socal,Mrvietnam,Kwiz,Membrane

Due to some idiot mod my postings have been withdrawn , no explanation was given , I've had enough , TV is turning into an advert for <deleted>-r-us.

Cheers

Chon.

i, for one , will miss his short, amusing ,and always to the point postings.

the last line of his message is pretty spot on too.

things have certainly changed in the year or so that i have been a member.

it used to be a lot more fun.

now it is often like reading a middle of the road,downmarket newspaper.

its losing its edge. its losing its humour and its losing its balls.

well said , but maybe they want to pay lip service to the thais and their advertisers.

but there is an ominous cloud on TVs horizon in the shape of the new mangosauce website which will prolly swipe all their disgruntled and other posters .

mangosauce will prolly be more liberal for posters , a clone of TV without the restrictions

as has been said restrictions on what you can post are becoming ridiculous .

but you can still post idle chit-chat about nothing in particular

so watch out TV ,you are only as good as your posters .

if they all desert you ,you will lose the advertisers .

Gus Cairns, Friday, October 08, 2004

A French study of 3015 patients on first-line HAART, of whom 401 (13%) were over 50, has found that CD4 recovery is slower in older patients and that the risk of progression to AIDS or death after starting treatment is greater. This was despite the fact that older patients in the study had a better virological response to HAART.

The findings are reported in the October 21st issue of the journal AIDS, now available online.

The 3015 patients studied were patients in the French Hospital Database on HIV (FHDH), which collected data from 68 French hospitals. The study was a longitudinal one looking at all patients enrolled in the FHDH between 1997 and 2001 who initiated HAART; it excluded patients with prior treatment experience.

It only included patients who had three or more CD4 counts taken during the follow-up period, which averaged 31 months.

Among the characteristics of patients over 50 isolated by the study were:

* A third of the older patients had an AIDS diagnosis at the time of enrolment to the database compared with one in five of the under-50s (p=.0.0001)

* Their average CD4 count on enrolment was 193, compared with 252 in younger patients (p=0.0001)

* They had a higher average viral load on enrolment; 45% had viral load over 100,000 copies compared with 35% of the younger patients (p=0.0001)

* They were more likely to be male and their risk factor for HIV was more likely to be heterosexual sex(47% vs. 37%) or unknown (16.5% vs. 8%). Virtually none were injecting drug users compared with one in seven of the younger patients.

The risk of disease progression after starting HAART was almost 50% higher in over-50s during the five year follow-up period. All deaths, including ones unrelated to HIV, were included, which must inevitably bias the death rate toward the older patients; but the over 50s also had a 50% greater chance of developing a new AIDS-defining event. This difference remained almost unchanged after five years on HAART which suggests that the risk was not solely related to lower baseline CD4 counts in the over-50s but was a genuinely greater likelihood of progression while on HAART.

The higher rate of clinical progression in older patients may be explained by poorer immune reconstitution, the authors suggest. CD4 cell count recovery in older patients was slower. Their average increase in the first six months was 14.1 cells a month compared with 17.3 in the under 50s, and 9.8 cells compared with 11.1 cells a month after the first six months (both differences p<0.0001). The rate of CD4 cell recovery was greater in younger patients after controlling for baseline CD4 count too. The researchers estimate that the average time for a patient with baseline viral load below 100,000 copies/ml to achieve a CD4 cell increase of 200 cells was just under 18 months in the older patients and 15 months in the younger.

This was despite the fact that the older patients were 23% more likely to achieve undetectable viral loads, and 77% of the older patients had reached a viral load below 500 copies by six months of HAART compared with 71% of the under-50s. The investigators comment that they could not determine whether this was due to better adherence or some other factor.

Although nearly all AIDS-defining illnesses were more common in the over-50s, certain specific opportunistic infections were much more common. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease was five times more common in over-50s, even though the average CD4 cell count at which it was diagnosed was the same for over-50s and under-50s. The authors do not offer a clear explanation for why this is so, merely citing “inadequate CD4 cell response”.

The results lead the investigators to conclude that although atrophy of the thymus gland with age may be the cause of the slower immune recovery seen in older patients, delayed diagnosis could also contribute to the higher rates of AIDS and death seen. They suggest that French doctors are less likely to suspect that older patients have HIV, as are the patients themselves, and recommend awareness campaigns targeting patients over 50.

Reference

Grabar S et al. Immunologic and clinical responses to highly active antiretroviral therapy over 50 years of age. Results from the French Hospital Database on HIV. AIDS 18: 2029-2038, 2004.

Beach road can no longer accomodate all these empty jeepneys blocking up the road.

there is simply not enough road space to cater for all the traffic plus the songthaews

The only answer is a minibus service doing the rounds on a specific prearranged routes.

Get rid of the jeepneys and beach road will be clear ,traffic will flow and the air will be a tad cleaner .

Beware of youth motorcycle gangs in Pattaya

Letters to the editor

Pattaya Mail 8. 10. 2004

Editor;

At the risk of sounding like an alarmist, I decided I needed to share

the following experiences with my farang friends who may drive on the

roads of Thailand.

I had a disturbing experience last evening when turning off south

bound Sukhumvit onto Soi Khotalo here in Pattaya. As I rounded the

corner I saw the road was blocked by several motorcycles parked askew

with lights on and folks running about. At least one pickup was

attempting to get by the motorcycles and drivers. The crowd was

shouting, pounding on the windows and kicking the doors of the pickup

hard enough to cause denting. Obviously there was some kind of ugly

confrontation going on. I didn't see any weapons, thank goodness. I

got past the area as quickly as possible without harm. I have to

admit I was frightened for myself and family, however.

Additionally, a couple times in the past month on Sukhumvit I've come

across large numbers of young Thai motorcyclists (like 50+) in a gang

convoy going slowly to block motorists then cutting recklessly back

and forth across the road, obviously hassling them and daring them

react somehow. I've backed off and gotten away from those scenes as

quickly and covertly as possible too. I've heard reliable reports

that it's popular lately for these young hoodlums to carry handguns,

home made and using 12 gage shotgun shells.

In five years of driving all over Thailand, these are new experiences

and are quite disturbing. Since the city doesn't provide any

substantial alternative activities for the local kids, and police

don't seem up to controlling these gang situations, I offer a

‘heads-up' for those of you who may confront similar situations.

Don't mess with or challenge these kids. It's not worth it.

Bobby

---

Source: http://www.pattayamail.com

asking such a question around here must bring a predictable reply .

do bears shit in the woods ? of course .

so faced with a choice of a podium with gyrating girls in swimsuits the said viewer will scan the stunners and mingers and choose a hot looker for starters .

she might have a high IQ and that might interest him but that comes later , much much later .

he might be short of cash so only choose a minger that night ..