williamgeorgeallen

Hi William,

I don't know if you were being sarcastic or not but I'll try to explain quickly why the Baht is strong.

Thailand is sitting on over $160 billion of foreign reserves, it also has large Gold holdings ( sorry I can't remember exactly how much) . This is just below Germany on the "rich list" and just above the UK.

At the moment interest rates are very low all around the world, in some countries they are at zero and in some now negative. This means that the interest rates on the Thai 10 year bond is attractive to many investors (2.070%) hence why there is strong demand and therefore keeps the Baht strong.

Tourism is just 16% of GDP , it's important but not the most important although it seems it's all TV forum members talk about. Again Condo sales are not as important in the scheme of things, it's Thai buyers that keep the housing market going not expats.

If the US does not raise interest rates this year ( and I don't expect they will) then we can expect the Baht to remain strong or even stronger.

Hope some of this helps you to understand more.

Regards

GIK.