Meerkat

Any news on how Malaysia and Singapore handle the ownersip of condominums issue?

Foreigners in SGP can buy condos, but not land. Actually there is provision for foreigners with PR status to buy land, but it needs specific government permission and there are certain restrictions (so I've been told by a mate in the industry over there). Leases are usually 99 or 999 years, and again I'm told that it's a fairly simply process to extend a leasehold if necessary.

dada - I must confess it is difficult for me to understand why anyone would now buy in Hong Kong, commercially Thailand is a far better bet.

I think HK is still not a bad place to invest. Foreigners can buy anything they like, and whilst properties there are all leasehold (the only freehold land in HK is St. John's Cathedral in Central - I'd love to know what that's worth now, at least in theory!), the leasehold is usually 999 years rather than the 50 as was mentioned above. There's no CGT, money is still pouring in from the mainland, and space is comparatively limited. Law is largely based on the the English model and at an everyday level, corruption is low.

The biggest downside I can see is the often-high entry price. Of course you could just buy REITs to gain exposure that way instead (and expect to see other property derivatives coming on-stream in the next year or so too).

If it is a private car you need a Thai license in order for Thai insurance to cover you. Crossy, a member here, is an expert on this subject of driving in Thailand...maybe he can add his insight.

We've had riders added to our cars' policies that validate anyone with an IDP (along with the underlying foreign license). Didn't cost us anything to do, but I wanted it tacked onto the policies just in case.

The wife bought 18 rai of land in Khao Yai last month for 200k/rai. We've been looking for well over a year for land up there and prices seemed to be spiralling upwards. There seem to be a chunk of developments under construction up there now.

completely different are cases when reserves are sold to prop up a weak currency.

Strictly speaking, that's exactly what the BOT was doing - buying USD.

[whisper] There's still always the Thailand Elite visa.[/whisper]

Anyone get caught in that storm friday rangsit was wrecked future park lost all power for hours it was like a mini cyclone man it was crazy

Yup - we're next to Rangsit Khlong 3. Brought down a tree in our garden. I'd just finished playing golf at Krung Kavee as the storm started. The car next to mine in the car-park there was hit by a large chunk of tree too. Power was off for a couple of hours.

Note to self: read the instructions on how to manually open the electric gate when there's no electricity...

No change for me - around 500-600ms lag to the European servers via True.

Dear Meerkat,

A very fair and reasonable reply . A sincere apology if you were inconvenienced.

No worries - I know you were only trying to be helpful.

I'd recommend anyone looking to go down the DIY (as opposed to UBC) path look at http://www.satellites.co.uk/satellite/index.php

It is a cracking collection of forums that go through absolutely everything you might want to know about systems, right from complete beginners and up. There are a series of forums specifically about the Dreambox receiver there too, which is the product I use and have been happy with. Whilst it obviously has a UK slant rather than Asian, the principles are the same, and there is a wealth of knowledge for anybody needing help.

They're also able to talk about some of the more sensitive issues that violate the TOS here on TV.

I'd also advise all pastry investors to go short on Bakewell Tarts, and long on Apple Strudel.

Ah yes, good call. Known to the cognoscenti of course as the Strudebaker Spread.

Aiyaa - could this be the beginning of what will go down in history as the Great Doughnut Bubble of '07?

Apology for what ? You gladly and happily told everyone in detail about your superb sat system on this very same section of this forum and then blame people for passing on the good news and recommending you as an expert . Come off it !

What do others think ? Was this a breach of TV rules or of polite behaviour or just passing on knowledge for others to benefit ? Or would you have prefered that people were told : dont pm that guy for info ...he's a nasty b****** . For Heaven's sake you were recommended as an expert, man !!

That's the whole point.

I am not an expert. My field of expertise (ironic seeing as it's you with whom I'm having this discussion) is interbank FX and rates.

I'm just a bog-standard customer of the company concerned who posted his experiences, and pointed out that interested parties should go direct to the company's site for more information. You made me out to be the expert and recommended people mail me as such - I even had somebody today mailing me as to whether he could pay me a subscription to run his system!

Thus my first post to you this evening; if you want to pump me up as an expert, perhaps you should have had the common decency to check with me first. I appreciate you were only trying to help, but your good intentions proved a pain in my backside because of your ill judgement.

To those who have pm'd me over this affair: I think I've replied to everybody, and I've tried to provide the best information that I could in a limited time-frame (a had a tee-time... ), but as I think I put in all your messages, check out Jsat (a company I have no connection with aside from being a happy custie).

Ok, so to avoid upsetting anyone by sending unwanted PMs, and to avoid discussing anything not allowed on TV (??), does anyone have a URL that can give me a better idea what alternatives I have if I want a UBC replacement...?

jsat.tv

Can you really blame people for contacting you ??

The beauty of a public forum is that one is able to divulge information to many people simultaneously, without having to rehash everything to each and all individually. If you note my post, which you so graciously cross-posted from another thread, you'll read that I referred people to the company involved rather than ask to be contacted directly. The private messages only started after you pimped my name.

A simple apology would have sufficed.

Also pm 'meerkat' if you've got broadband. From his posting he's got the best set up in town ! Cant discuss here......its against TV rules !!

If you're going to start inviting people on multiple threads to mail me for advice, don't you think it might have been polite to have asked me first? Whilst I try to be charitable with my time, I've been inundated with requests for help that have pushed even my patience, many of whom seem to be under the false impression that I work in the industry.

what are the airport codes for the two airports ?

Suvarnabhumi - BKK

Don Muang - DMK

Whilst I agree with SRJ that it would have been better to have done a search and posted on another existing TE thread, the latest news is no change so far.

I flew out of BKK last week and back in yesterday and chatted with the reps about the situation both times. Needless to say they were still bullish (and no doubt will continue to be until the plug is pulled), and say no decision has yet been made about a new, cheaper programme as was reported earlier.

I was asked to fill in a questionnaire on the way out outlining how I use the programme, what kind of money I spend in Thailand during my time here and so forth, so they are definitely still doing some kind of review.

In the meantime, I'll just carry on trying to maximise the amount of free(ish) golf I play...

Constitution chairman wants to amnesty for coup leaders included in draft

The Constitution Drafting Committee's chairman Prasong Soonsiri Tuesday asked the panel to ensure that the military junta will be given amnesty under the new constitution currently being drafted.

If so, it will be a first-ever amnesty in any of the so-called "permanent" constitutions.

"If staging a coup is wrong under the new charter, will the Council for National Security (CNS) be tried in a Military Court or what? It won't be fair to them if after the charter is adopted, they all ended up going to jail," Prasong told fellow drafters during the meeting.

source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingne...newsid=30029790

Not exactly unexpected, but it does kind of make a complete mockery of the whole aspiration of moving (back) to democracy.

Wonder what the new political system will be called in Thailand. "Constitutional Monarchy with Military Oversight" maybe?

I picked up an original boxed XP Pro in Central Dept Store. Mine was at Future Park Rangsit, but they've got branches everywhere. They had XP Home versions too.

I have a MOVE Dynasat silver box II for over 3 years and is linked with the [internet] Dreambox D500 since last October..

This is the way to go, I am very happy and get 100's of English channels out of the 1,366 channel I receive..

Forget about Agulia KU, you get all of these + more on Measat 1KU

Hi Ignis, i am up in Kanchanaburi Province but unfortunately too far out for cable etc, had a fall out with UBC over broken promises (bet ya cant believe that) so they are not on my list of possible TV providers. Point is i have two thai/uk kids and would dearly like them to have access to english speaking TV and myself, BBC news, i have tried to find a source for English speaking TV from endless Sat shops up here to no avail, mate the system you have can i erect it myself?, do i pay a subscription? and if so where do i get it from? and lastly what channels could i reasonably expect to get?. Mate if you have the time i would really appreciate your help.

Regards Ewelve

I’ll try and talk you through it as I have a similar set-up to Ignis.

My system has three parts:

1. A dish. Moveable in my case so I can point it to various satellites visible from Thailand. You could get a cheaper fixed dish, but then you’re obviously limited to looking at one sat network. You need to make sure you can see the sky to the South (ie over the equator) – that’s where the satellites hang.

2. A box to control the dish (ie to move it). I use an old Dynasat Angelbox, but there are many available. Of course if you only go with a fixed dish, you can do without this piece of kit.

3. The actual set-top box you use to watch the signal. Again tons to choose from, but like Ignis I’ve gone with the Dreambox DM500S. The reason being that there is tons of online support and a stack of free add-ons for extra functionality.

With this set-up, you will be able to watch “Free to Air” (FTA) channels from whatever satellites are in view.

The Dreambox can also do a lot more. I’ve got three of them connected to my home LAN. I can use the Hard disk on my PCs to record programmes direct from any of the ‘boxes, then later play back those programmes to any TV connected to one of them. I can also “stream” live TV from the box to my laptop over my home WiFi network. You’ll often find me in the garden with a beer, watching live cricket on my laptop – no cables to plug in!

Do bear in mind that to do some of the more complicated things with these boxes, you need to dig around with Linux, so not for the faint-hearted. But once they’re set-up, they seem to work brilliantly. I used Jsat to install my system, and whilst they’re more expensive than some of the other companies, you are paying for excellent after-sales service (in my experience), which for me is important. Check out their site – they have a comprehensive list of what’s available, along with prices.

Working fine here on True.

I use Adium X on Tiger 10.4.8 www.adiumx.com

Works a treat with most IM systems, including MSN.

P.S. I'm looking at the HSBC PowerVantage account but have found no reference to foreign holding accounts and/or rates. Would it be possible to provide a link?

-O

http://www.hsbc.com.hk/1/2/hk/banking/accounts#fcy_acc

Think this is the one he was on about. I used to have one myself - very useful.

Not sure how easy it is to get one without a HK address though.

Good call, SET downside is far greater than upside.

SET downside is approximately 700.

SET upside is infinite.

Unless there's a way for the SET to go negative that I'm not aware of.

But didn't the controls deter longer-term investment as well? If I wanted to invest THB10m in a Thai business venture, I thought that I'd have to park 30% of that money for a year without interest. At best the opportunity cost is a 12month depo rate – say 5% on 3m. At worst it's my prior projected rate of return on 30% of the initial investment. Or did I understand the controls incorrectly?

And who is to really say that it was hot-money entering the Kingdom, or that the THB was being held up artificially high? The SET – even at near its recent highs just prior to the new controls – was considerably undervalued on a P/E basis relative to neighbouring bourses – some of them absolute basket-cases. And of course with USD/THB at 36, that's still a whopping 40%-odd lower than where I remember rates being a decade ago – and don't forget that the vast bulk of the THB's appreciation was actually the USD's depreciation. I think the bigger puzzle was why hadn't more money flowed into the country before.

IMHO capital controls, fixed exchange rates, and any other form of intervention in the markets can only harm an economy in the long-term. Yes, they might appear to help in the short, but that is simply masking the symptoms rather than curing the disease. The markets are remarkably adept (or at least a lot more so than politicians) at determining which countries are more deserving than others of capital.