Jump to content

nigelforbes

Advanced Member
  • Posts

    3,583
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by nigelforbes

  1. The larger the better, I would use the District Office, where ever that might be for you. My experience of small office advice has not always been wonderful! Where are you located?
  2. Yes it is, tourism is regarded as an invisible export: "Inbound tourism covers all international tourist traffic entering a country. It is also known as 'export tourism' (England is the export), because although tourists enjoy their travel experience within England, they are paying for it using foreign currency". "Tourism is trade; tourism is export. It grows a country's national output and increases foreign currency earnings; it is subject to the rigours of the international market place". https://www.wto.org/english/forums_e/public_forum17_e/s36_Anton_Said.pdf
  3. Even better! 60k sounds like a huge number but most people forget the population of China is massive. Over six weeks, makes the percentage even smaller but of course, small percentages headlines, don't sell newspapers.
  4. You can ask for one but they may not give it to you, I don't know for certain. Whether or not they give you a visa seems to be determined by the type of visa, I have read that unless you have a long stay visa, they wont one but you can but try.
  5. Anecdotal evidence, let me know when there's a reliable number, not just one flight into Italy. FWIW my take on this whole business of the Chinese/opening up/covid/visiting Thailand has more to do with western racist views of the Chinese than anything concrete. There's a fair amount of fear, there's a huge amount of uncertainty that some people are trying to circumvent with negative and derogatory answers. Plus there's a substantial layer of racism and stereotyping, not untypical of this forum TBH. Anyway, have to run and go do something constructive.
  6. I want to ask how the WHO knows this but I wont go there, I'm sure they do! And indeed 60k deaths can increase 10 fold or even 20 or 30 fold, almost anything could happen, we might all even die as a result!
  7. Don't worry, no need, I found somebody to do the math. They tell me that, based on that 60,000 deaths, China's weekly rate of deaths from covid is currently 0.0042%. How does that compare with other countries, do you know?
  8. Who to slap, my neighbours WIFE'S sister (pay attention to the detail TR) or your condo neighbour, I mean, China's such a small place, one of them has to be lying!? This kinda reminds me of where an expat in the South says blah blah about the new Immi requirement and the other expats around the country cried BS, until later. Or opening a bank account is easy but for some it's impossible. Or all the other myriad of things here where even a few miles or a few days difference can present a totally different picture. Your know your problem TR, everything has to be black or white and the world isn't like that, could it be that both answers are correct...hmm, I wonder!.
  9. My math is terrible, what's 60,000 as a percentage of 1.42 billion, please?
  10. Here’s a conundrum, what does the media mean and do they actually know, and what do you think you understand from the article you just read? Let me try to step through this: An export in economics is defined as, something that is purchased using money from overseas that is brought into the country to pay for it and where the product is then taken out of the country. Simple enough in the case of say rice for example but it’s not always that simple. International Tourism is classed as an export because people from overseas bring money into the country to pay for their holiday in Thailand and then when they leave, they take that holiday experience with them. Really, that’s the way it works! So when the media writes, “Exports are Down by xx Percent”, what do they mean? Do they mean that manufacturers have stopped producing and goods have stopped being shipped or do they mean that International Tourism is down? It gets even more confusing when they write, Exports are Down and then they say, but Tourism is up! And, when they write, Tourism is Down, do they mean the 11% that is International Tourism or the 9% that is Domestic Tourism, the latter is not an export by the way? Are you confused yet, because the media certainly seems to be, yet many people form their opinions about what is happening within the Thai economy, based on what they write? It’s difficult to know whether this is an English language comprehension problem, an economics understanding problem or whether it’s a subject matter interpretation problem as the information is relayed to reporters. Which ever it is, it sure as sugar is a reader comprehension problem and it’s a very serious one because expat readers seem more confused today than they ever have been. The answer is to go to the source and read the detail information for yourself, that way you have a fighting chance of really knowing what’s really going on. Read what BOT says, BOT puts out some seriously interesting and easily readable reports. Here’s a link to a presentation given last November by BOT, on the state of the economy, all the data and graphs is right there, including the latest financial and tourism data….the information on the BAHT, exchange rates and Foreign Currency Reserves will answer lots of questions. https://www.bot.or.th/English/MonetaryPolicy/EconomicConditions/PressRelease/DocPressRelease/Slide_eng_November2022_te72nv8.pdf
  11. No, I don't think it is, that's just window dressing and a perk, I'm sure of it. But what is clear is that Japanese influence and impact on the Thai economy is huge, if ever Japan was to withdraw or experience a serious downturn, the impact would be extensive.
  12. I'd broaden my horizons if I were you, get out more, read different stuff, you know. Anyway, if you think about it, the situation with what Chinese people inside China believe, is not that different from what expats in Thailand might believe about what's happening inside also. Both parties have their own news sources and both of them believe what they read in the media and are spoon fed by their respective sources. Unless you actually go there and see for yourself, who is to know what the truth is. And even then, expats here being asked to believe what somebody in China who journey's outside says, well....you can see what the expat reaction reaction is to that. Perhaps the answer is that you all need to go there and see for yourself.
  13. Not too much. EDIT: ah, you mean the statement that was made to me. My neighbours wife's sister travels overseas frequently, she understands this very well.
  14. ...having lived in China for some years, obviously something very different from you!
  15. Possibly, although she has no reason to do so since she's moving here to live with her son. The next day I bumped into our neighbour and thanked him for inviting us to the party. He mentioned that his wife's sister told him afterwards that I had asked that question, apparently she said, "how should I have answered" because she was not used to being questioned by foreigners and our neighbour explained this? He didn't say, one way or the other but I've had some pretty nitty gritty conversations with him about China so I'm inclined to believe her.
  16. Our next door neighbour is Chinese, he invited us to a party for Chinese New Year and very good it was too. His wifes sister had arrived from Beijing a couple of days before and speaks perfect English. I asked her, what's the real story about covid and what's happening with it in Beijing presently? She said, "pretty much everything is normal, life continues there as though nothing much has happened, hardly anything has changed". Some people have covid/flu but it's winter, that's to be expected. She went on to say, the media is making up all sorts of stories, particular western media.
  17. Perhaps it’s time to dispel yet another myth that Thailand is dependent on China for trade, and always acts in China’s best interests, it is not, Japan is the main focus of Thailand’s attention. “Between 1985 and 2016, Japanese investment in Thailand cumulatively totalled 2.9 trillion baht (US$85 billion; 2017 rates), more than double the next biggest investor—the USA—which stands at 631 billion baht ($18 billion). Cumulative investment from all investors into Thailand for this period was 6.8 trillion baht, meaning that investment from just Japan represented 43 per cent of all foreign investment into the kingdom. Moreover, this interest in Thailand has been shockproof, remaining a consistent annual average of 42 per cent of total FDI with a peak of 69 per cent in 1989”. FDI plunged in 2019 because of the covid pandemic and in 2020 FDI was negative as funds were withdrawn and repatriated. By 2022, Japan was once again the biggest (BOI) foreign investor in Thailand at THB 40 bill., whereas Chinese (Taiwan) investment was just over half of that amount at THB 23 bill. At the same time as Japan has been investing in Thailand they have been reducing their investments in China. So what does this have to do with the Baht you ask? The first point to make is that Japan is the biggest investor in Thailand by a huge margin, not China, and since the Japanese YEN is a major currency, the relationship between THB and JPY is arguably just as important as the THB link to USD and in the future will be more so. The Baht has strengthened against JPY since 2016 and in 2022 has gained almost 16%. Trade with Japan results in large capital inflows, significant increases in Foreign Currency Reserves, job creation, business tax generation plus the continued economic support of a major currency, all factors that cause the Baht to strengthen. https://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=THB&to=JPY https://fulcrum.sg/the-ones-to-watch-chinese-investors-in-thailand-trends-and-opportunities/ https://www.lloydsbanktrade.com/en/market-potential/thailand/investment
  18. You don't have to pay tax in Thailand to register for a tax ID, you simply have to be resident here for tax purposes and hold the necessary visa that will allow that. Even if you only have a small savings account that pays interest, tax will be with held and that can be the basis for wanting the tax ID, if necessary.
  19. Economies in different countries earn their GDP in different ways, the way in which it is earned determines the extent to which that economy is affected by a downturn. Exports are the major contributor to Thai GDP (over 65%), this is very different from say an economy that earns a majority of its GDP via Services which is more dependent on consumer spending. In an export led economy, during a downturn, manufacturers and producers large and small continue to produce and farmers continue to grow and harvest, this is particularly true of an economy where there is little by way of social support, unemployment benefits etc. International Tourism is also classed as an export which took a substantial hit during the downturn, hence, when exports are reported as being down, that doesn't necessarily mean that manufacturers have stopped producing or that farmers have stopped growing and harvesting. Before you compare the things you think you see here with the results you would export to see in another country, make sure you are comparing apples and apples, export led vs export led economies.
  20. As was my response! Stop knocking Thai banks, if you're not happy with the banking rules in Thailand, bank in your own country.
  21. That's OK, they don't trust you either, this is why you have to report every 90 days and have photographs taken with your wife in the living room, just to extend your marriage visa.
  22. Nonsense, I have internet banking from both UOB and Bangkok bank and have had so for many years. And, the DPA rules are very clear about amounts that are covered and at what banks in what types of accounts, nowhere does it even hint that the rules only apply to Thai's, only in the minds of a few farangs is this the case.
  23. That looks right. Have you looked at what deductions you can take? Medical insurance premiums can reduce taxable income by up to 25K. Wife? Children? Oh, a pedicure wouldn't go amiss. :)) https://www.rd.go.th/english/37748.html
  24. Indeed, interesting and surprising. I read something many moons ago about the Japanese car companies and their Baht holdings in Thailand that apparently are massive, but I can't remember the details....I'll try and dig it out! The implications as I recall were that if ever they sold those holdings, perhaps because of a change in business strategy, massive currency problems would follow. Another Baht strengthening event is at the start of the month when US Social Security payments are issued to claimants in Thailand, mostly retirees such as myself. Wiki says there's 40,000 American expats here, FOR EXAMPLE, let's generously assume only half are retirees who receive SSc payments. The average SSc payment is USD 2,500 per month, let's call it USD 2,k per month in Thailand. That's a total of USD 4 mill which at 32 is THB 128 mill., big enough I would think to move a very small currency, at least somewhat. Perhaps watch the charts around the 4th of the month.
×
×
  • Create New...