Why Do Thais Buy So Much Gold?

[SoSoCNX]

I sold my gold @ 22,750 baht/bar and I was very surprised that many Thais were buying gold at 22,850 baht per bar. 

 

[acenase]

Value goes up more than holding on to fiat currency. Sell it when you need money and get more than what you paid for it

[tgeezer]

The THB is very high which makes buying any easily convertible commodity a good hedge. Gold is traditionally the way to go but it is very heavy and needs storing. 

[Matzzon]

Because it´s one of the most sure investments people have made through history.

[baansgr]

Its viewed as instant cash...as for investment...it depends when you buy, 6 years ago 1 baht was 25k...its never recovered to that high since.

[SheungWan]

50 minutes ago, acenase said:

Value goes up more than holding on to fiat currency. Sell it when you need money and get more than what you paid for it

Except when it goes down and/or doesn't earn any interest/dividend.

[SheungWan]

24 minutes ago, Matzzon said:

Because it´s one of the most sure investments people have made through history.

Depends on time and circumstances and choices.

[Matzzon]

17 minutes ago, SheungWan said:

Depends on time and circumstances and choices.

No, it does not. Gold is the most secure investment that regular people can engage in.

[metisdead]

Not related to the Visas forum, moving to the appropriate forum. 

[SheungWan]

1 hour ago, Matzzon said:

No, it does not. Gold is the most secure investment that regular people can engage in.

A disaster if the timing is wrong.

[LivinLOS]

2 minutes ago, SheungWan said:

A disaster if the timing is wrong.

But in a time of global central bank printing, its unlikely to be significant wrong.. 

Lets not forget that only a couple of decades back Thai banks were very shaky.. Banking collapses and currency crisis are not distant memories in the developing world. While holding gold is not without risk (not only value risk, security risk etc) neither is THB or the banking system within normal peoples lifetime memory here. 

[Tayaout]

It's shiny and buy face.

 

More seriously it's like with many investment (real estate, stock, bitcoin, etc.). When the price get high then the media talk about it then the fish buy into it then the price correct itself and they cry fool. 

 

However, I think you can't go wrong buying gold if you are prepared to hold it for several decades. The fees, certification and storage is a nightmare tho. It's mostly good as a safe way to preserve wealth if you are already wealthy rather than for speculation. 

[Crossy]

Madam tells me that buying gold is like giving her money she can wear.

 

Looks nice and is readily converted into cash if necessary.

 

[Henryford]

2 hours ago, baansgr said:

Its viewed as instant cash...as for investment...it depends when you buy, 6 years ago 1 baht was 25k...its never recovered to that high since.

I think it reached 30k at one point. Anyone buying gold then has taken a beating.

[Nyezhov]

15 minutes ago, Crossy said:

Madam

Damn you are well trained! ????

 

Do you need to say "Yes Maam"? I did!!!!!

 

[ianezy0]

Because we keep buying it for them ???? 

[neeray]

3 hours ago, tgeezer said:

The THB is very high which makes buying any easily convertible commodity a good hedge. Gold is traditionally the way to go but it is very heavy and needs storing. 

"very heavy"

My God man. How much gold are these people buying?

[RichardColeman]

4 hours ago, SoSoCNX said:

I sold my gold @ 22,750 baht/bar and I was very surprised that many Thais were buying gold at 22,850 baht per bar. 

I'm currently selling at 10,750  baht/bar, excellent investment, please send cash payments in advance, 21 days waiting time, P.O Box 555 

 

 

[Matzzon]

2 hours ago, SheungWan said:

A disaster if the timing is wrong.

And what investment is not a disaster if the timing is wrong???? Really?

People in Thailand invest thier money in gold, out of the reason that it is a long term investment. As a long term investment gold has never failed to please it´s investors.

After that there is 2 different scenarios when they different times in life need money for something else.

 

• If they bought the gold a lot lower than it is at the time they need money, then they will sell it and collect the profit and use the money as planned.
  After that they will later invest in more gold for the future.
• if the gold price is lower, same or the increase if not satisfying, they will take out a loan on the gold. In that case you can look at it like a credit card, but with a much lower interest than the real card system. During the time they pay back, maybe the value of gold goes up which means that they still have it left and can collect the profit when due

Hoe in the whole wide world can you look at that as a disaster? In that case the Thai people are much smarter than us foreigners that usually take out expensive credits on cards that we pay dearly for.

[RasiMike]

Mrs Rasi just likes to wear it and the stuff she bought 17 years ago (and still wears), was a good investment. She accumulated quite a bit over the years and bought 2 Baht more for her neck 4 weeks ago.... it won't be the last.

[RasiMike]

5 hours ago, neeray said:

"very heavy"

My God man. How much gold are these people buying?

Our youngest son had a go at his mum at Christmas, after observing old aunty wandering around the village. (Old girl's badly hunched over - stricken with osteopetrosis). He said, "that's what you're going to look like if you buy more gold". ????

[Guest]

Let's get back to his actual question.  Why do Thai People buy Gold?

 

The purchase of Gold in Thailand, and other SEA countries is as old as time.  It is a store of value and in many, many cases ... is bought and held for decades ... Education plays a big part in the ability to invest in stocks , bonds, and other financial instruments.  Thai People know two things.  Owning Land and Gold is easy to understand, generally proves to go up in value in the long run.

 

One feature of buying physical Gold, often overlooked is ... it is a tax free return.  I mean PHYSICAL gold ... so please don't lecture me about derivatives and taxes.  You buy Gold at 18,000 ... it goes up to 22,000 ... you sell it ... "never happened."  Many shop owners convert cash income to Gold .. which is a "double win"  They don't record taxable income, and Gold most likely goes up in their lifetime.  Also .. think of this.  If a person gets cash income and pays 22% taxes on it .. but instead of reporting and paying taxes ... buys Gold ... any return on Gold that is better than negative 22% is a WIN.

Frankly .. Gold has been very, very good to me ... so I have no complaints.  And neither does my Thai Wife who will end up with all of it!  555.

[beavenlen]

I would agree with Crossy , in my experiance, thai women use gold just the same as an atm,only differance is they can carry their gold with them and if the farang bf is not firthcoming with the readies she has only to find the nearest hock shop,maybe another farang with get it out of hock or replace with worthier substitute piece.

[alien365]

5 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

I'm currently selling at 10,750  baht/bar, excellent investment, please send cash payments in advance, 21 days waiting time, P.O Box 555 

 

 

Are you Gordon Brown in disguise?

[Guest]

5 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

I'm currently selling at 10,750  baht/bar, excellent investment, please send cash payments in advance, 21 days waiting time, P.O Box 555 

 

 

Buy two ... get one???

[wombat]

9 hours ago, Matzzon said:

Because it´s one of the most sure investments people have made through history.

its the only thing that keeps pace with inflation

 

 

[Dionigi]

even the average Thai knows to buy low and sell high. Plus they can show off how wealthy they are.

[Chongalulu]

10 hours ago, Matzzon said:

Because it´s one of the most sure investments people have made through history.

Proper analysis shows it’s lagged behind a decent spread of equities over a n accepted investment time scale. It also pays no dividends. 

[Chongalulu]

16 minutes ago, Dionigi said:

even the average Thai knows to buy low and sell high. Plus they can show off how wealthy they are.

Sophisticated investors cannot say for certain when it’s high or low unless with hindsight- the average Thai knows far less. 

More to do with dressing up like a tawdry Xmas tree when in reality theyve got little else. Empty vessels make most noise.

[Brunolem]

7 hours ago, Henryford said:

I think it reached 30k at one point. Anyone buying gold then has taken a beating.

That's mostly because the baht has climbed so high...

 

Against other currencies, the picture is quite different...