Hello to everyone at the forum. My question is regarding Lehman Brothers at the All Seasons Place. Does anyone know anything about this division in BKK? I am flying to BKK to interview with them and do not have the slightest clue what they do or don't do. Is it private equity, leveraged finance, real estate investments, investment banking etc. etc. Any help or feedback would be appreciated. Thank you!!!!!!!

Take a peek. www.lehman.com all will be revealed.

Take a peek. www.lehman.com all will be revealed.

Actually, no. It won't.

The Lehman office in Thailand has never been much more than a letterhead operation -- i.e. an office that does very little but show the flag, allow the listing of yet one more far-flung office on the firm's letterhead, and take visiting firemen out on the town.

The truth is that Lehman does bugger all in Thailand, but then again, no international investment bankers do much of anything here because there's really bugger all to do.

Same as all the local representative offices of other banks. They will do anything that is going. The market isn't deep and sophisticated enough to specialise.

The important people fly in from Singapore or HK when needed. The local guys put together the presentations for them.

The local guys and gals higher up the chain basically sniff out the work through their connections in the civil service and the Thai business elite. They used to come around alot trying to get in on the IPO action for privatisations in their shiny suits and cufflinks. The are class-A grovellers.

No offense to anyone, but investment ######s are slimey slimey people. Will do anything for a deal. They take you out for nice lunches and dinners though!

Asia Pacific - Bangkok

Institutional Offices

Level 10, M. Thai Tower

All Seasons Place

87 Wireless Rd.

Lumpini, Pathumwan

Bangkok 10330

Thailand

66-2-654-0667

Samran's choice of words was perhaps slightly less restrained than mine, but he's still pretty much dead on here.

He sounds to me very much like a guy who is in the local loop (for whatever it may be worth). I'd certainly be willing to bet that he has enjoyed quite a few of those nice lunches and dinners at the expense of some visiting ######s himself.

OldAsiaHand & Samran, is there really that little going on in the BKK investment community? Isn't investment activity picking up now that the SET is moving again (even if in recent months it has been down). 1997 was 7 years ago!

Samran's choice of words was perhaps slightly less restrained than mine, but he's still pretty much dead on here.

He sounds to me very much like a guy who is in the local loop (for whatever it may be worth). I'd certainly be willing to bet that he has enjoyed quite a few of those nice lunches and dinners at the expense of some visiting ######s himself.

Samran is an economist. A good lunch or dinner help him evaluate the deals on offer from the slimey's

actually, I never really got invited out that much, which is probably why I didn't like them that much.

Actually my ex boss was in the loop with these guys, and he still found them slimey.

As for investment in thailand, i just don't know as I am not there. My guess is that a good chunk is speculative, a la pre 1997.

No real basis for this opinion other than that during my last couple of weeks in thailand, all my work collegues (children of the hi-so elite with buckets of money) were spending all day buying and selling shares, rather than sitting around being the lazy and disinterested civil servants I knew and loved.

Well, Crocs, day trading on the SET isn't what most of us would call investment. What investment bankers do, or ought to do, is originate (or at least creatively engineer) new undertakings and transactions in order to create real growth in asset values, at least for someone. There is almost no real investment going on in Thailand. Just more of the hair-brained, unsophisticated speculation that has historically characterized the SET.

Hey Guys - totally hear you on the day trading <deleted> - when I was out there in Jan one of our friend's was on her mobile every twenty minutes making ridiculous trades. I suppose I was thinking more of all the major infrastructure projects that I saw and new industrial parks. I hadn't visited LOS for over ten years and was impressed by the growth.

Another newbie question, what does ""Hi-so" mean ?

Cheers.

Another newbie question, what does ""Hi-so" mean ?

It means 'high-society.' In practice, Thais use it to identify anyone who has more money than they do.

Does anyone know anything about this division in BKK? I am flying to BKK to interview with them and do not have the slightest clue what they do or don't do.

Send me a PM through the board... I know a couple of guys who work out of the Bkk office and may be able to get you some background info.

Action a few years ago was in distressed assets- sounds like more regional deals these days.