Mike Lister

Exactly how does it, "appear not to be the case and in reality they are deliberately targeting foreigners"? What have they said r done to make anyone believe this is the case? The stated aim was to apply tax against taxpayers with overseas earnings that were previously not being taxed. Edited

I don't believe it. Wait, I just googled the subject, now I believe it....how sad

I cannot remember ever seeing anything like this in Thailand in over twenty years, people simply don't get physically mugged like this, especially in daylight, except perhaps on Beach Road at night when a necklace is snatched and even that is rare. I think there is more to this, it was targeted and there is more to the story. Whichever idiot said this was the most common crime is full of it, perhaps in New York but not here, not in a million years.

Funny. Actually not entirely true, their muggings are more subtle and on a much larger scale.

Proof, link, source of that, "fact", please.

Muggings are very rare, historically, in Thailand, something's changed/ing

Very possibly, but my question was not about where was safer.

Show me any city in the world where similar things don't happen!

Far too much information!

I live in Chiang Mai, I'm wearing thermals and a parka as I type.

Fundstrat is notorious for promoting their own calls, regardless of what markets are doing, I'd take them with a pinch of salt. That said, small caps do typically bounce first out of a bear market, my VG Global Small Caps is up 6.4% in three weeks.

That's because your calculation is wrong, they're not looking for an additional 25 million tourists (your number), they're looking for 2.5 trillion baht, which, when domestic tourism is included is probably not that difficult.

An index can contain lots of things you don't want or need but it depends on which one you buy. I hold HSBC FTSE All World because it doesn't contain many small caps which I prefer to hold separately because of their nature. Similarly, I hold Vanguard's Agg tracker which doesn't hold any junk which means it doesn't truly reflect the entire bond market. Holding Strategic Bond funds that do hold junk offers a higher return, include junk and is more representative of the market as a whole. Lastly, global equity funds usually hold 5% in Developed Asia and a few percent in EM, they do that for completeness as much as anything else. That doesn't mean the buyer is actually invested to any meaningful degree in EM or Dev Asia, which is why I hold Asian funds separately. Is the primary purpose of holding investments in all those markets really diversification or is the prime reason more about investing across a wider spectrum of markets, for me it's the latter.

I agree, it also helps to understand what level of ROI is acceptable, rather than merely hoping for a large amount. Understanding your own rules for when to sell a losing fund or take profit on a winning fund is important, just because "buy and hold" is what some people think you're supposed to do. doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. If markets are heading down and a fund turns negative by 5%, it's cheap and easy enough to switch into something else.

Soft target, sign of a bad economy.

I'm a bit more philosophical about things. The chances of me being able to guess which number on a roulette wheel is going to win, is almost zero hence I'm never going to win the big odds and it's too risky to even try. But I will play red or black because the odds are 50/50 and if I win I'll double my money. It's all about risk/reward, isn't it. A 15% return per year is nice but 9% is OK too, especially if it means I sleep soundly at night. :) I have a friend who invested heavily in Baillie Gifford funds such as Scottish Mortgage, Monks and Edinburgh etc and on paper he was seeing a huge profit, unfortunately he had no downside protection and all the funds lost up to 50%. Three years on and he's still not recovered his position, I couldn't live like that.

27 million is international tourism only, it doesn't include domestic which is equal to a further 8% of GDP. I believe they referred to tourism overall rather than just international tourism.

Everyone, Thais and foreigners, has 15% tax with held, it's not determined by whether you file a tax return or not. If you pay social security in Thailand you become eligible to join the health insurance scheme, to do so you need a work permit and a job, it is not a function of paying tax or having a TIN.

How do you figure that?

Over age 65 allowances and deductions total over 500k per year. 60k personal allowance, 190k over age 65 allowance, 50% or 100k pension allowance, 150k zero rated tax.

Zero impact, don't expect a slump in property prices because it wont happen, guaranteed.

Using a broker is merely an excuse for doing some work and learning about the industry, all the information is right there, if you want to look for it.

Try opening your eyes when you travel, you'll see more! https://www.archdaily.com/934531/how-black-concrete-is-made-and-its-application-in-7-projects

You should post this in the Health Forum for a better response.

Thailand's economy is driven by three things, Customs Exports, International Tourism and Consumer Spending or Domestic Consumption. Customs Exports and International Tourism are both Exports that are equal to 58% of GDP whereas International Tourism by itself is equal to only 12% of GDP which I don't view as being a big number. Domestic Consumption is increasingly dependent on Tourism, both International and Domestic which combined are equal to about 20% of GDP. It is not too far fetched to think Thailand might increase tourism to equal 25% of GDP but 30% seems unrealistic. Thailand's economy has always been based on goods exports, this is the area that needs to increase but to do that requires large scale capital investment and a relaxation of foreign competition rules in country. Those things will improve Consumer Spending and improve quality, International Tourism is merely a short cut to improving Consumer Spending, the problem is, the volume of tourist arrivals is not driven by Thailand nor is it under their control.