Overseas Thai workers unable to pay debts back home due to baht plunge

[webfact]

Overseas Thai workers unable to pay debts back home due to baht plunge

By Sutthipong Settharangsi
The Nation

 

 

Thai labourers from the northeast who are working overseas urged the new government on Thursday to address the fall in the value of baht currency, which has seen one US dollar fetching only Bt22 – a large drop over the usual Bt30 rate.

 

The plunge in value has made earnings that they have sent back to Thailand shrink significantly and has left them unable to repay debts at home.

 

Kannada Laorawe from Chaiyaphum’s Nong Bua Rawe, who has been working as fruit picker in Canada for the past three years, sent her video clip appealing to the new government via Chaiyaphum-based reporters. Kannada said she and hundreds of Thai workers in Canada were affected by this currency issue. 

 

Kannada said many Thai workers there had debts to repay, including loans to fund their travelling for overseas work and their farming families’ debts with the Bank for Agriculture or other lenders. The current value after the recent plunge in the baht’s value has shrunk their earnings sent back home to the point where they are now unable to keep up with debt repayments.

 

She also lamented that workers’ families in northeastern Thailand, including Chaiyaphum, are also suffering from the “worst drought in 30 years”, which is damaging all crops.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30373639

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-07-25

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[Pilotman]

Fall? What fall in the value of the Baht? 

[Vacuum]

9 minutes ago, webfact said:

Thai labourers from the northeast who are working overseas urged the new government on Thursday to address the fall in the value of baht currency, which has seen one US dollar fetching only Bt22

They have been scammed.

[madmen]

Ahhaahhaha

[Misterwhisper]

8 minutes ago, webfact said:

which has seen one US dollar fetching only Bt22 – a large drop over the usual Bt30 rate.

Is this a case of serious misreporting by The Nation?

 

I have just looked up the USD:THB exchange rate and it is 30.86 THB for 1 USD. Or are they talking about the CAD, which stands at 23.49.

[spidermike007]

6 minutes ago, Vacuum said:

They have been scammed.

No, that is not correct. The woman was working in Canada. 22 baht sounds about right for the looney, especially when transferred from overseas. Actually closer to 23, but some commissions and fees are involved, probably. No doubt this is taking it's toll on millions of Thai people, between overseas workers, people working in the export industries, and people working in tourism. The overly inflated value of the baht is decimating alot of families, hurting alot of good and honorable ex-pats, and tourists alike. One can only hope with the continue gross incompetency of this administration, combined with the dramatic decline in tourism, that the baht eventually corrects itself, and assumes it's rightful place at a far lower rate than it currently occupies! 

[overherebc]

Employers exchange rate.????

 

Edited July 25, 2019 by metisdead
Trolling image removed.

[Laza 45]

22 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

Fall? What fall in the value of the Baht? 

They got it backwards.. the depreciated value of the $Can.. Aussie & UK pound is why she is getting less for her bucks.. same problem all us expats from those countries have... 

[PhonThong]

26 minutes ago, Vacuum said:

They have been scammed.

Someone is really ripping them off.  The USD today is at 30.89 baht. 

[BobbyL]

Tough titties.

[BobbyL]

Also, very poorly written article. It says she is in Canada, so why would she be paid in US$ and the baht hasn't plunged at all. 

[Pilotman]

5 minutes ago, Laza 45 said:

They got it backwards.. the depreciated value of the $Can.. Aussie & UK pound is why she is getting less for her bucks.. same problem all us expats from those countries have... 

Indeed so, pity that the English is imprecise, it makes a nonsense of the whole article. 

[Oztruckie]

Think the reporters have made a huge mistake in this report, bht hasn't devalued, problem is all the western currencies have devalued against the bht, maybe time for some new reporteres lol

[edwinchester]

If ever there was an article proving The Nations journalists know next to nothing about the subject they're reporting this is it.

[smedly]

27 minutes ago, Laza 45 said:

They got it backwards.. the depreciated value of the $Can.. Aussie & UK pound is why she is getting less for her bucks.. same problem all us expats from those countries have... 

correct, the story is factually flawed, they got it the wrong way round

[dwcrist]

Please tell the writer to look up the word "plunge" in the dictionary.

[KiChakayan]

Serves them right, they should spend their money in their host countries.

[KiChakayan]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

which has seen one US dollar fetching only Bt22 – a large drop over the usual Bt30 rate.

 

51 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

The woman was working in Canada. 22 baht sounds about right

Ok, ok, ok, so it was the Canadian USD.

[sammieuk1]

I've had a similar facial expression as hers for the last 3 years join the queue ????

[kirbi53]

Ah Crap! 

 

I thought it was almost music to my ears. 

 

If it were true it be like being Laos 

8000 kip for a can of ice coffee. ????

Although I recall the Canadian dollar at one stage quite some time ago was higher than the U.S. dollar only for a brief moment of time. 

I am always watching U.S. currency

 

Damn!

 

[cerox]

Can cry as much as you want. not gonna help.

[overherebc]

Mid rate today

1 CAD to THB 23.5

[4MyEgo]

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

One can only hope with the continue gross incompetency of this administration, combined with the dramatic decline in tourism, that the baht eventually corrects itself, and assumes it's rightful place at a far lower rate than it currently occupies! 

It will happen, it's only a matter of time before they act, that or watch the recession kick in and the baht plumitt, that is when we xpats will go back to a better quality of life here, while those who have been riding it, eventually start to come back to earth.

 

As far as Thai workers working overseas, they make about 4 times what they make here, minus say a weeks wages per month to cover their costs, still ahead, all they have to do is send the basic amount home and hang onto the rest until the baht drops as we all do, e.g. transfer the basic amount here until our own currency climbs back up, which it will therefore saving us a lot of potential losses.

[mok199]

Suck it up, many of us pay the 220 bt internation tran fee at this end( twice what Canada charges me) just to get thailands  redicurous rate...

[Angry Dragon]

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

No, that is not correct. The woman was working in Canada. 22 baht sounds about right for the looney, especially when transferred from overseas. Actually closer to 23, but some commissions and fees are involved, probably. No doubt this is taking it's toll on millions of Thai people, between overseas workers, people working in the export industries, and people working in tourism. The overly inflated value of the baht is decimating alot of families, hurting alot of good and honorable ex-pats, and tourists alike. One can only hope with the continue gross incompetency of this administration, combined with the dramatic decline in tourism, that the baht eventually corrects itself, and assumes it's rightful place at a far lower rate than it currently occupies! 

what is the baht's rightful place?  the big mac index still puts it over 30% undervalued against the USD and 6% undervalued against the pound.  Thailand runs a large current account surplus (US and UK run huge deficits).  Thailand has a smaller budget deficit.  What metrics can you cite that shows the THB is overvalued?  My guess is most people complain about the currency rates because they simply wish for a better rate for their currencies, and maybe if they complain enough their wishes will come true.

[PingRoundTheWorld]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

to address the fall in the value of baht currency, which has seen one US dollar fetching only Bt22 – a large drop over the usual Bt30 rate.

Worst reporting ever. The baht didn't fall in value, it rose in value making other currencies fall in value compared to it. And one US dollar fetches you 30-31 baht, not 22. Perhaps they are confusing US dollar with Australian dollar which is around 21-22 baht. Not hard to Google fact-check these things...

[PingRoundTheWorld]

5 minutes ago, Angry Dragon said:

What metrics can you cite that shows the THB is overvalued? 

20-30% drop in tourism, as a good start. Current account recorded a DEFICIT of 380mil USD in May - the surplus is gone - probably will get worse as the currency appreciated even further since. Realistically the baht is probably 20-30% overpriced, if not more.

[BestB]

1 hour ago, PhonThong said:

Someone is really ripping them off.  The USD today is at 30.89 baht. 

I am guessing they sending it back via western union which gives crappy rate and also charges high fees so it may in the end work out to be 30% less than the actual rate

[ukrules]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Thai labourers from the northeast who are working overseas urged the new government on Thursday to address the fall in the value of baht currency, which has seen one US dollar fetching only Bt22 – a large drop over the usual Bt30 rate.

This is the most misinformed article I've read since the one that told me how easily Hillary would win the last US election.

[Matzzon]

There are soo many wrongs in this article. I will be waiting for the revised one.

Baht falling? US dollar 22 baht? Workers abroad can´t pay their debts back home? Mean they borrow soo much over their means so that they not even can pay back the money with a higher salury in a foreign country?