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Thailand losing its ASEAN FDI crown as investors opt for ‘more’ attractive Vietnam and Indonesia


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Didn't they see that recent report from Conde something or something that said Thailand was Number 1.

 

TAT and TIT and all those acronyms....  we need more polls...

 

Thailand ranked Number 1 as most attractive place.  Vietnam Number 2393232 and Indonesia number 932748932749328423

 

OK, done

 

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14 minutes ago, Iamfalang said:

Didn't they see that recent report from Conde something or something that said Thailand was Number 1.

 

TAT and TIT and all those acronyms....  we need more polls...

 

Thailand ranked Number 1 as most attractive place.  Vietnam Number 2393232 and Indonesia number 932748932749328423

 

OK, done

 

Spot on. You nailed it Thailand has 1 attractive place while Vietnam has 2393232 and Indonesia has 932748932749328423......

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8 minutes ago, nchuckle said:

Generals are not the most forward thinking,or even remotely capable when understanding even the basics of economics. This could have been the golden opportunity for Thailand had it properly educated its workforce,reformed its business practices and had some semblance of a strategy to incentivise foreign investment. The switch away from China is going to be huge and Vietnam won’t have enough capacity to cope with even a fraction of that. What a wasted opportunity.

You do understand that Vietnam's GDP is half that of Thailand's and that the country has no infrastructure per se? Most importantly, China wont do business there because of the friction that continues to exist between the two countries. This so called loss is not really a loss at all.

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Foreign investment is made on sentiment/confidence, something the Thai authorities seems to have done their level best to erode in the last 10 years. People, especially business folks, are not stupid and can see it. There is also the issue of an over-valued baht manipulated to benefit the elite on their foreign buying sprees et al. 

If I was a medium to large investor, then there are much more attractive destinations for the money, plus there are so many hoops to jump through here in Thailand to get almost anything done. On top of that, the rule of law is shaky too if it doesn't suit the government... go ask Carlsberg/Pepsi/Kingsgate Mining etc. On top of that, the Thai authorities have done their level best to get rid of as many foreigners as possible over the last 5 years too... both retirees and working expats, like teachers etc.

Thailand needs to realise it has to compete on many levels now, as the good old days are long gone.

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I do worry that Thailand is actually slowing drifting towards becoming an economic basket case.

 

For the last 30 years, the main drivers of growth have been FDI and tourism. The FDI, owing to restrictions in the Foreign Business Act, is typically limited in certain sectors. During this time, to my knowledge, no major Thai companies have sprung up in these industries. 

 

The only area where Thai companies have done well is quasi-state monopolies or sectors where FDI has largely been excluded.

Think financials, telecoms, resources, real estate and retail sectors. All of these piggy backing off the wider GDP growth generated by FDI.

No major competition or innovation required, just milking a captive market with limited choices. 

 

It's hard to see what stimulus and opportunities there are for sustained future growth in Thailand, unless they liberalise the service sectors but that would be stepping on some pretty big toes.  

 

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Mexico is the big winner here. Smart companies have been in the process for the last few years getting out of SE Asia.  For the US,  Mexico is the perfect fit. America has the food, the oil, Mexico has the labor and is a fairly educated country.  I have read a few articles saying it is cheaper now to manufacture many things in the US now.  Some say 5-10 years and the process will be in the end stages. Shorter supply lines, less volatility, way less hassles dealing with SE Asia.  

As far as China goes, I have not read anything remotely positive about it's future.  

Interesting to see what happens in the next few years.

 

Edited by Gknrd
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Vietnam is becoming the Silicon Valley of Asia. It has a much younger better educated population that isn’t afraid of work.

I can actually carry on an educated conversation with a young Vietnamese person!

not just 

where u from?

how long you come Thailand?

u buy me drink?

Many big tech companies are moving there to capitalize on the highly educated young population 

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