BritScot Posted January 17, 2023 Share Posted January 17, 2023 22 hours ago, nigelforbes said: I did the math once. If you add up the annual financial contribution from every Westerner in Thailand, including their 800K in the bank for their visa and subtract it from GDP, if they all left tomorrow, the impact is about 3% of GDP......less than peanuts. If you think 3% is less than peanuts you must be a very wealthy person considering the UK runs (in some calculations) 4th/5th strongest military in the world on 2% of its GDP (even have submarines with engine and aircraft carriers with aircraft) and quite often less. Tourism and its importance in brining in foreign currency as do expats which the country desperately needs (you see this nearly every day with bogus exaggerated figures TAT produce nearly every day). There is a core in these figures of friends and family who visit the expats in Thailand. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nigelforbes Posted January 17, 2023 Share Posted January 17, 2023 33 minutes ago, BritScot said: If you think 3% is less than peanuts you must be a very wealthy person considering the UK runs (in some calculations) 4th/5th strongest military in the world on 2% of its GDP (even have submarines with engine and aircraft carriers with aircraft) and quite often less. Tourism and its importance in brining in foreign currency as do expats which the country desperately needs (you see this nearly every day with bogus exaggerated figures TAT produce nearly every day). There is a core in these figures of friends and family who visit the expats in Thailand. A few points: 3% of USD3.2 trill. (UK) is over six times bigger than 3% of 502 trill. (Thai), not quite the same thing! Thailand's foreign currency comes mostly from exports, which represent roughly 65% of GDP, exports bills are settled in USD. International tourism represents about 11% of GDP, not much of which attracts USD. So, Baht strength is mostly reliant on exports, not tourism although Foriegn Currency Reserves are reliant on both. Whilst the 200k or so western expats represent about 3% of GDP (as I recall) and is in the larger picture of things, peanuts, visits by the friends and family of those expats amounts to less than the value of the plastic bag the peanuts came in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nigelforbes Posted January 17, 2023 Share Posted January 17, 2023 2 hours ago, PCUSHING said: Show your friend these articles - https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/economy/40021361 https://theaseanpost.com/article/growing-gap-between-richest-and-poorest-thais https://www.aseantoday.com/2019/01/thailands-wealth-inequality-is-the-highest-in-the-world-what-does-this-mean-for-upcoming-elections/ In 2019 1% of Thailand owned 67% of it's wealth. As for their "wealth creators", i think you mean the same families and clans, many with Chinese lineage. Nepotism at it's finest. Um, I asked him, he said, you didn't answer the question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 Baiting, bickering posts and replies reported and removed. Continue and face a suspension. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVENKEEL Posted January 18, 2023 Share Posted January 18, 2023 I'm not a fan of much of Thailand's thinking but this one subject I'm fully on their side. They are doing the right thing keeping foreigners away from land ownership. Would I like to own land here? Sure... But I understand the reasoning and I agree. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misty Posted January 20, 2023 Share Posted January 20, 2023 On 1/18/2023 at 7:16 AM, EVENKEEL said: I'm not a fan of much of Thailand's thinking but this one subject I'm fully on their side. They are doing the right thing keeping foreigners away from land ownership. Would I like to own land here? Sure... But I understand the reasoning and I agree. I wonder if this investigation is expanding now. In one of the local newspapers today there's an article saying that the DBD is going to check "400-500" foreign businesses, most of which have Thai nominee structures and may illegally use Thai proxies. Most (but not all?) are in property and tourism. If DBD isn't satisfied with the checks, the DSI will be asked to take a look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now