Thai finance minister says economic fundamentals remain solid amid pandemic

 

FILE PHOTIO: Thailand's Finance Minister Predee Daochai attends a family photo session with new cabinet ministers at the Government House in Bangkok, Thailand August 13, 2020. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's economic fundamentals remain strong on both the domestic and external fronts, the finance minister said on Wednesday, as the coronavirus pandemic impacts the Southeast Asian country.

 

"We believe that the worst is behind us. The economy is projected to bottom out in the second half of this year," Predee Daochai told a business seminar.

 

Fiscal policy was still healthy despite stimulus measures to mitigate the impact of the outbreak, he said.

 

The government has introduced a 1.9 trillion baht ($60.57 billion) virus response package, including a 1 trillion baht borrowing plan.

 

($1 = 31.3700 baht)

 

(Reporting by Orathai Sriring and Satawasin Staporncharnchai; Editing by Ed Davies)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-08-26

 

- Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you

- Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

He seems to be very optimistic in his approach toward a recovery.  So .... no problem then   !

19 minutes ago, steven100 said:

He seems to be very optimistic in his approach toward a recovery.  So .... no problem then   !

 

13 minutes ago, PatOngo said:

 

????????????. From a great movie!

I don't know what he's smoking but i would like some

In the immortal words of Mandy Rice-Davies......"He would say that wouldn't he"

 

What choice has he got? (Don't reply......tell the truth)

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Thai finance minister says economic fundamentals remain solid amid pandemic

I cannot help but think of the little pig that built a house of straw

46 minutes ago, steven100 said:

He seems to be very optimistic in his approach toward a recovery.  So .... no problem then   !

He just been appointed to the post and he is just following his instructions.

 

Household debt is going through the roof, NPLs are following them, any where between 8 and 20 million people without jobs, the government borrowing as much as it can before the tap gets turned off. The Navy still wants 2 more submaines (a bargain at 22.6 billion baht) and the government wants its 1.3 billion aircraft.

 

Yes of course there is optimism for recovery. It just depends on what the target date is.

He can't have visited cities like Pattaya with all its shuttered shops, restaurants and empty hotels. He's ignoring the appeals from the Governors of cities like Phucket and Chiengmai and other tourism centres. Thousands of people thrown out of work and the fact that nearly 20% of the economy relies on overseas tourists who won't come back for quite a long time and then to a destroyed tourism industry. 

Well, I suppose when the alternative is telling the truth and admitting that the Government have no idea how to handle the current situation and that the economy is contracting at a pace greater than any of it's neighbours; then I understand why these people who are so determined to hang on to power would rather just continue with the lies and distortions.

if you read the newspaper article in Bangkok post,"We have to brace ourselves, and be ready for any unforeseeable risks"it's mean between the lines,the worst is for 2021,be ready.

2 hours ago, JusticeGB said:

He can't have visited cities like Pattaya with all its shuttered shops, restaurants and empty hotels. He's ignoring the appeals from the Governors of cities like Phucket and Chiengmai and other tourism centres. Thousands of people thrown out of work and the fact that nearly 20% of the economy relies on overseas tourists who won't come back for quite a long time and then to a destroyed tourism industry. 

I was going to say the same like get your backside down here to Phuket get out of your chauffeur driven Benz and talk to the locals or join the the daily que's for free food that the local people are donating not your government, infact let me drive you around and show the amount of empty shops and business's that have had to close down and people who have become homeless like a woman I see who moved into a tin shack that was abandoned about 1 year ago by the builders.

50 bedroom hotel that cant afford to open,

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand's economic fundamentals remain strong on both the domestic and external fronts, the finance minister said on Wednesday, as the coronavirus pandemic impacts the Southeast Asian country.

 

Translated:
"I'm currently living on the the public dole and life is good.  I'm connected and as such will have no problem in the future.  All my connected friends especially in banking will do just fine too as we scratch each other's backs as well as scratching the backs of those running the country.  So the future's so bright I have to wear shades!  What?  The 'little people?'  Let them eat rice.  It's their karma to suffer.  My job is to create the conditions for the wealthy to become wealthier.  Next question."

 

Edited August 26, 20205 yr by connda

5 minutes ago, connda said:

Translated:
"I'm currently living on the the public dole and life is good.  I'm connected and as such will have no problem in the future.  All my connected friends especially in banking will do just fine too as we scratch each other's backs as well as scratching the backs of those running the country.  So the future's so bright I have to wear shades!  What?  The 'little people?'  Let them eat rice.  It's their karma to suffer.  My job is to create wealth for the wealthy.  Next question."

 

Keep your foot on the brown people's throat

5 hours ago, webfact said:

The economy is projected to bottom out in the second half of this year," Predee Daochai told a business seminar.

Do they even know where the bottom lays?

Too bad they didn’t hire me for that job.  I’d cut that Baht down to half strength.  You’d see tourism and exports flourish.

10 hours ago, steven100 said:

He seems to be very optimistic in his approach toward a recovery.  So .... no problem then   !

It would be foolish for any finance minister stating that his country is in it

up to its neck.

 

The British one was almost ecstatic that the recession is not going to be quite as

devastating as forecast, still horrendous and the worst since WW2 but not as bad

as the one during the Napoleonic wars!!

5 hours ago, Isaan sailor said:

Too bad they didn’t hire me for that job.  I’d cut that Baht down to half strength.  You’d see tourism and exports flourish.

The baht is falling and will maybe drop further with the borrowing forecast.

 

But you could get 100 to the British pound, but tourism won't flourish until

the covid pandemic is seen to be over????

12 hours ago, Aussie Col said:

I don't know what he's smoking but i would like some

Agree, no Country can continue with 2 qtrs minus 12% of GDP and say there finances are on sound footings,  and with another 2 qtr figures to be published before the end of the year, the GDP will possibly be above minus 15% and no sign of opening the borders to stimulate the economy, things can only get alot worse.. 

The corrupt rich telling the middle class how the poor feel....Priceless

16 hours ago, connda said:

The 'little people?'  Let them eat rice.  It's their karma to suffer. 

Let them eat cake - said immediately prior to the Revolution.

16 hours ago, shy coconut said:

The baht is falling and will maybe drop further with the borrowing forecast.

 

But you could get 100 to the British pound, but tourism won't flourish until

the covid pandemic is seen to be over????

The Baht ain’t falling today—take a look.  With a Baht at half strength—some would endure quarantine for a chance to live here, not just visit.