Mike Lister

It would be easier to predict the weather on 9 May 2024.

Exactly, what are they going to say, you can't stay here!

An interesting thing to ponder. No, I don't think Putin could successfully invade and take over major parts of Europe, simply because that would present a existential risk to the US who would have no choice but to get involved.

I don't believe that, no marketing department ever hits their exact forecast, last year they underestimated. The problem this year has been that the average spend per international tourist is down from 50k to 42k which magnifies an otherwise fairly small shortfall in their estimates.

I'm pretty sure this is a USD/Fed/interest rates/S&P story and investors looking for diversification in the face of a falling index back home and a strengthening dollar. https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/index/dxy

Thailand has always been a regional destination and relied on regional visitors rather than long haul visitors. Malaysia continues to be the major source of international tourists, previously it was China. Long haul visitors from the West are very much in the minority. Malaysia: 367,530 visitors China: 328,375 visitors India: 131,230 visitors Russia: 115,743 visitors South Korea: 95,229 visitors Vietnam: 84,221 visitors United States: 70,977 visitors United Kingdom: 70,089 visitors Laos: 68,204 visitors Hong Kong: 67,771 visitors https://www.thailand.go.th/issue-focus-detail/009_165 Here's the link to the stats from previous years, it's a very similar story, you have to go back to 2009 before you see European tourist levels being the same as East Asia: https://ittdashboard.nso.go.th/preview2en.php?id_project=124

That sounds like the government compulsory insurance which you have to have, in addition to nay voluntary insurance. Both of mine renew on the same date and the insurance company handles renewal of both, don't understand why yours don't. Probably because Compulsory was already in place so you have different renewal dates.

True, but enough of them do it, it has the potential save a lot of others future pain.

The 500 billion giveaway is seriously bad news I reckon, the fact that he's he's trying to borrow the money to fund it though doesn't mean government is broke. The annual budget is 3.5 trillion, the giveaway is one seventh of that so obviously the funds can't come from the budget, they have to come from somewhere else. BOT has USD 212 billion in foreign currency reserves but government can't touch that money hence borrowing is the only course open to them. I see Srettha's world tour to drum up business in a different light. I think it's very positive and the fact he's being proactive and going to business to get them to invest in Thailand can only be positive, others should have done more of the same in the past. As for young girls boosting GDP, I really doubt there's any more or less of them today than there has been in recent years.

This has the potential to put a lot of people in jail or out of business or both.....a good move I reckon.

Why do you think the government is up to their neck in debt? I think they're in a pretty good position. The new budget has been approved and starts 1 January. Government debt is only 55% of GDP, one of the lowest around. Sure, International tourism didn't meet expectations but domestic tourism beat them and after all, circa 25 mill is not a bad number, even if they do want more. But that 25 million represents only a small portion of GDP, around 12%! Government may have big plans to spend money but it hasn't happened yet and may not, as of today they look very much OK.

I like a story with a happy ending for a change.

The SWAT team was subsequently stood down and the water cannon returned to the garage.

That's correct. The combination of being single and under age 65 means you are not eligible for the two major deductions of 190k and 100k that retired pensioner are..

Understood. There are two issues, one is the longer term direction of THB and the other, investments within Thailand. The easy one is THB direction. Pre-covid THB was dipping below 30 to the Dollar and and as low as 37 against GBP. All the indicators are that THB will continue that journey sooner rather than later so I would look for a medium and long term strengthening of the Baht. You will need to form your own views on this, (I'm not willing to debate this here with other posters). If that's correct, that means you'll see an increase in value in your THB assets but that's only useful if you want to move out of THB and into another currency later. At a minimum, I would say that holding THB is safe bet rather than a risky one. The second part is more tricky. Firstly, there is very little investment oversight in Thailand which means you wont have the same protection as you would in the West. Because of that, it's sensible to restrict yourself to larger banks investment houses but that comes at a cost. If you understand investing you could try to have a chat with the likes of UOB Asset Management to see what products they have that might suit. The used to have a very good LTF product that did really well and was also a useful tax deduction but I haven't heard much else since. You might also look at people such as Aberdeen Asset Management who often have interesting offerings. But these things rely on you being somewhat investing and fund savvy and also having a clear idea about your tolerance from risk and your investment horizon. The next level down/along is the bond market which as I said earlier, it's difficult for a foreigner to enter the primary market without a broker (which is costly) so that leaves you to the secondary market and the banks where once again, profit is eaten up in fees. The final steps are investing in the SET for say dividend income, or the banks and fixed deposits. Investing in real estate and flipping inexpensive units is an other option, as the poriorposter suggested but that requires knowledge, effort and time. Maybe that's enough for now just to get you thinking.

I think you have to take a view first of all on the future of THB and whether or not you want to keep your assets in THB. As far as investments go here, there aren't any options that are comparable to those in the West, at least not at the same cost and similar risk regarding oversight. If you think THB is going to strengthen going forward, simply holding THB and taking say 2.5% in a fixed interest account may be the safest option. It also depends on what you plans are longer term and whether you plan to remain in Thailand indefinitely. It will also help to understand if you have a home currency such as GBP or USD. Personally, I think the future of THB is for a stronger baht, I think within three years we can expect to see sub 40 against GBP once again. I don't mean to try and derail your thread into a discussion about currency futures but it's important to understand what your longer term ambitions are. The Thai SET is not a great performer and the Thai bonds market restricts you to the secondary market which is expensive because of fees. Bank products such as LTF's might be useful if you want a tax deduction but that's a five or ten year proposition and again, it's mostly SET based. Some international mutual funds exist but the middle man charges are once again expensive. So perhaps you can add some more meat to your story and give us a more complete profile of your plans.

Smoking kills. 'tis true.

This is excellent. The borrower joins the government program to repay informal debts, aka loan sharks but has to identify the source of that debt first. No wonder the loan sharks are getting excited.

The jungle grape vines in China are saying that Thailand is not Chinese friendly and people are listening. Too many high profile Chinese negative crackdowns and rip offs.

High season pricing. But that's just the asking price, how much you actually pay may be much lower.

The UK really doesn't like citizens who leave the country to live overseas, now it seems they like them even less, if they return with a foreign spouse. Here's an idea, how's about they concentrate on stopping the hundred of thousands of illegal immigrants and those crossing the channel in boats, before attacking expat citizens.

Worldwide income does not mean a specific timeframe, you were referring to time, not geography.

So presumably what you mean to say is worldwide income in the year it was earned rather than world wide income, when it is remitted.

I take a can of mossie spray and flood the next continuously for about 30 seconds from a distance of a meter or so. It works fine on small nests but I wouldn't want to try it on large ones.

They already have, what do you think the new tax law means.