wordchild

people are conditioned into believing anything called a “bond” has a high degree of safety. this is simply NOT the case with many of the “Investment Bonds “ that have been peddled to expat investors by amoral Salesmen in the offshore advice market. This ( so called bond) is simply a very basic insurance product that has the effect of locking the client (aka the victim!) , into a contract which gives them pretty much zero benefits and from which it is very difficult for them to escape, without incurring huge fees. And which, in any event, will ensure they are paying a very high fee level for ever, or, until they can pay the (required) often huge exit fee and escape with what is left of their money! with this kind of structure,Your friendly local product pusher is pretty much free to put you into any old bit of rubbish that takes his fancy , and (most importantly) will give HIM the greatest kick-back! Expats around the world have lost millions through these schemes and it is a complete disgrace that Friends Provident has been a party to this. I personally, have written to Amanda Blanc , the CEO of Aviva (the current owner of Friends Provident) listing some of the abuses I have been made aware of, involving offshore financial advisors ,making use of the Friends Provident Investment Bond , in order to involve their clients in inappropriate investments that have resulted in significant losses and personal misery. I am hopeful for a response Please please exercise Extreme caution when dealing with any offshore financial advisors . In particular there is absolutely ZERO benefit for any expat to involve themselves in these Investment Bond structures. And, if your friendly local Investment Professional advises such a structure, then you know that he has no genuine regard for you or your financial well-being. Stay well clear of these kind of people!

Asia Plus are a pretty good choice. i have always found them to be professional and straight. They have a dedicated offshore account for those who want to invest internationally. Trading within this type of account is not taxable in Thailand. My preference, however, is to use non Thai brokers for offshore investing eg those based in Singapore or HK.

Under Thai law then (and now) if the transaction took place on the SET (Thai stock market) then such trades are not subject to tax. As a concession gains made on the stock market are (generally) not treated as a persons assessable income.

exactly true, foreign currency accounts are really pointless (with a Thai bank). I have looked at this ,in the past, and they are cumbersome and expensive to operate. Much better, and likely much less costly, to retain non THB currency in accounts outside Thailand and transfer in as needed. As was explained to me , by one Thai bank, many years ago, even if they agreed to transfer (eg USD) directly to my Sing bank USD a/c, they would still need to charge me 1.5 percent plus, as a fee, because they would be "missing out" on the profit they could make on the currency transfer! Thai Banks ehh! Certainly no advanced economy would allow its banks to operate in this fashion.

https://classic.set.or.th/set/pdfnews.do?newsId=16572373881420&sequence=2022082576 SET announcement (on Friday) re SCB acquisition of a major shareholding in BitKub. Rumours suggest that the deal is less likely to proceed, at least on the original terms. Not regarded as the sharpest of the Thai Banks, in terms of their management, but maybe SCB have dodged a bullet here in missing out on this pup (or Kub!) I mention it because an earlier poster made a big deal out of this, seemingly an endorsement , of crypto, by a major Thai Bank.

I did this many years ago (c 2009) , (ie bringing a car i had previously owned in the UK with me when i relocated to work in Thailand). I also know of others who did the same around that time. I have posted about this before on this forum. my experience was ok and things worked as expected, BUT , i had a well connected person help me out. I would really really suggest not attempting this in the current environment because; 1) the various duties and the applicable multipliers would mean the all-in cost would be considerable. eg think 300 to 400% over the UK price and , 2) Most of the loopholes have now been closed and enforcement has been significantly upgraded. Avoid the stress and buy in Thailand!

As always , advice to your friend is exercise extreme caution when dealing with any offshore IFA, especially in Thailand!

To balance what i said above re the UK economy and the pound; The UK still has some phenomenal attributes as an economy eg its world class science and technology base, its culture arts and media influence, and highlighted more recently, its defence/intelligence capabilities. What needs to happen (in my opinion) is for the economic illiterates who led the country into the BREXIT car crash need to be cleared out, starting obviously with the current PM. With new faces and goodwill on both sides it should be possible for the UK to start to reach rapprochement on some of the thornier issues that are slowly destroying the countries relationship with its largest trading partner (ie the EU). Maybe that would be the time to buy pounds and sell THB!

What is true to say is that the Bank of Thailand, along with the Government, has from time to time acted to control money flows in and out of the Baht. (and therefor the level of the Baht) They have done this , in the past, through regulation, eg limiting the amount of funds that Thai individuals and companies can invest overseas , this mechanism could be seen as supportive of the Baht. However , on the other side they have also acted when they feel the Baht is too strong eg limiting the amount of Thai Baht that foreign entities can hold outside the country. This restriction was to control a build up of speculative long positions in the Baht. This was brought in a few years ago and was an attempt to prevent the Baht from rising too fast at that time. They also imposed greater reporting requirements on foreign entities and individuals bringing funds into Thailand in order to buy Baht. So the Bank of Thailand does act in the currency markets and try's to impact the direction of the Baht. However I would say that , when they have acted, it is usually about maintaining stability and to dampen excessive movements of the Baht (against the USD) one way or the other. Its not about trying to keep the Baht at an artificially high level. Indeed, from my experience they have tended to act most aggressively when they feel that the Baht is getting overvalued. In the very recent past the Bank of Thailand has stepped back from excessive regulation of currency flows and has removed many restrictions and reporting requirements around the trading of the Baht. So one could argue that ,right now, the Baht is trading at a (reasonably) fair level determined by market forces not by regulation. https://www.bot.or.th/English/PressandSpeeches/Press/2022/Pages/n2265.aspx Here is a recent press release from the BOT which explains their approach.

Some context; throughout most of the 80,s and 90,s the GBP/THB rate traded mostly in a range from 40 to 50. Then within 3 months, at the end of 97 the rate went from 43 to somewhere in the 80 plus area. I have heard that some people managed to even get over 90 for their exchange, but that did not last long. This all happened as a result of the Asian Financial Crisis , which effectively started in Thailand, caused principally by over enthusiastic property developers , in Bangkok (and elsewhere in Asia) , using cheap dollar borrowings to fund their developments. The music stopped , the loans fell due, and many developers and the linked families went bust. Much as happened in the West the banks were all in serious trouble as a result. I was based here through this period and I remember well the fears that Bangkok Bank was about to go under. What happened was the Thai Govt, at the time, led admirably (my opinion) by Chuan Leekpai, working with the Bank of Thailand allowed the Baht to find its own level and (after a very short period) stopped supporting it. They also effectively forced a massive recapitalization of the economy and the banking system. They were helped in this by a significant inflow of foreign capital which was attracted by the lowly valued Baht and the general view that the Thai economy offered long term investment opportunities. In my opinion what we have seen over the last 20 odd years is a normalization of the Thai Baht against the US dollar as the economy has improved and benefited from increased foreign investment and a significant trade surplus with the rest of the world. Which makes for a reasonably constant demand for Baht. (as Time Traveller mentions above) For a good part of the last 20 years the UK has (in contrast) had a negative trade surplus with the rest of the world for goods and, particularly since Brexit, it has enjoyed a declining balance of services exports. Also , since Brexit , it is seen as a fundamentally less attractive place for foreign investors. Operation Fear was on the money with that one! So all things being equal the world needs to buy TB every year and doesn't need to buy GBP. and so____!

this is just not true! Brooks have wide fittings and, in fact , are known as a go too brand for those of us with wide feet. Nike are too narrow for me in general.

Supersports in Bangkok certainly has Brooks in a wide fit as i have bought a pair there. i have wide feet plus need inserts. i use Brooks as my walking shoe, too and from work, but for the gym or an outdoor run i use Asics or New Balance. All are excellent shoes, and i have certainly been able to buy Asics and Brooks wide fitting in Thailand. In fact i was just in the Asics store in Central World BKK today, to get some new shoes for my sons (they inherited my large feet!).

there has been reports of (very rare) serious side effects with AZN especially with younger people. If you experience any unusual, and severe symptoms 5 plus days after receiving it eg persistent migraine, swelling in the legs, abdominal pain then refer back to the hospital where you got the vaccine.

Not all income earned in the UK is taxable in the Uk if one is not a UK resident, eg dividends from UK PLC,s. Such income is also not subject to taxation in Thailand if remitted in the following calendar year.

This is exactly right. Many many wealthy Thais with overseas assets take advantage of this. My guess is that it will last for a time yet, but, in the future, who knows!

pretty good dentists in Thailand , from my experience, as good or better than eg the UK

Whilst living in Thailand i have had 3 (i think ) the last was implanted around 3 years ago ; the fact i am not sure how many is a good sign, and i would be hard pushed to point out which (of my teeth) were implants if asked. No issues beyond a month or two of settling down. All were done at Thantakit All Seasons Place, which is my regular dentist. From experience and , from what i have read, i would say; 1) get it done at a quality dental surgery by an experienced implant specialist. 2) upper teeth tend to be more likely to cause issues than lower; mainly because of the risk of the implant piercing into a sinus cavity. 3) dont bother trying to replace back molars, not worth the effort.

Maybe because their shares are cheap?

easy enough to open a brokerage account here (if you cant use your existing broker) just remember (as you are not Thai) you must buy either Foreign Reg shares or, maybe easier, just buy local shares and ask your broker to convert them to NVDR. If you dont hold your shares this way , as a foreigner, then it is likely that the company will withhold your dividend. Personally speaking i think there are better Asian markets to invest in (for Income) than Thailand , the quality of the companies here is a big issue for me and the 10 percent withholding tax is a bit of a downer. Why not consider investing more widely in the region, eg HK and Sing? Having said that i have started to invest (a little) again in the SET as there is some value available, IMHO. For high quality companies that pay a reasonable dividend i would suggest having a look at 1) PTT, the main compny not any of the quoted subsidiaries. Price=38 bt. Shares are cheap , if unexciting, balance sheet is solid, and the dividend yield is just under 5 for 2022, if you buy now you will also be entitled to a biggish dividend for yr end 2021 due to be paid in March. 2) Siam Cement, again the main holding company not the also listed packaging business, price is 388bt and the divi yield is just under 5 for this year. Maybe little boring but solid similar to PTT above. The main Thai banks are all cheap, esp BBL and Kasikorn (my opinion) and their dividends (and share prices) are likely to recover strongly over the next 2/3 years, however they maybe more volatile than the kind of investments you seem to be looking for.

yes Bloomberg is saying Test and Go suspended ; reviewed again on Jan 4

Sorry my original post (to which you responded) was not clear. I have since edited it.

I think this means the end of test and go and back to quarantine for new arrivals. That what Bloomberg is saying anyhow.

Headline on Bloomberg says Thai cabinet to consider ending quarantine free travel. Looks well sourced. ie a return to quarantine for arrivals Oh dear! More news coming out on this quoting Anutin, saying that a halt in quarantine free travel is to be considered. Baht is dropping on this

ASAP, with Omicrom wave about to hit our shores. I just got mine done 3months and couple of weeks following my 2nd regular vaccine, happy to have done that now

i have walked around sections of the new park and i think its going to be a stunning when fully opened; Lumpini looks boring and staid by comparison.