Baht's Biggest Surge Since 1998 Poses Risk to Tourism And Exports

[chiang mai]

2 hours ago, KannikaP said:

Diesel hasn't. Been 33.37 per litre all this year in my neck of the woods.

Diesel was capped at 30 whilst the rest were allowed to increase and reached over 40. The government then released the diesel cap and increased it slowly until it's where it is today. Diesel has been artificially low for a long time, in order to keep transportation costs from climbing.

[KannikaP]

4 minutes ago, chiang mai said:

Diesel was capped at 30 whilst the rest were allowed to increase and reached over 40. The government then released the diesel cap and increased it slowly until it's where it is today. Diesel has been artificially low for a long time, in order to keep transportation costs from climbing.

Good, and keep MY transportation costs down too.

[KannikaP]

4 hours ago, chiang mai said:

Long term average over past 20 years is around 32, as long as it stays in the range of 31/33, exports and importers shouldn't complain.

 

https://tradingeconomics.com/thailand/currency

 

I am neither a trader nor exporter, simply a retired expat wanting a quiet, and cheaper way of life.

 

[crazykopite]

I’ve always believed the baht is manipulated ! This strong baht is not good for tourists they will seek more affordable countries as for Thai business that export a lot of their products buyers will look elsewhere . Thailand is in turmoil at the moment they need to come clean regarding the state of the economy personnel debt is on the verge of exploding yet they still plan to hand over 10,000 baht to over 30 million people to try and boost the economy crazy crazy crazy !

[Bday Prang]

43 minutes ago, CallumWK said:

 

No, you are trolling, because you got that 90+ baht for a few days only.

 

The average exchange rate in 1998 was 68 Baht.

 

https://fx.sauder.ubc.ca/etc/GBPpages.pdf

Do you even know what trolling means ?  it appears you do not.    I did not specify how long that exchange rate lasted for , but it was certainly more than a few days.   some of the bars were even offering 100b / to the pound as an unofficial exchange rate  and 50b to the dollar  for a limited period.     where you even here then ? 

The average exchange rate is actually irrelevant in the context of my post  which you seem unable to understand, but being the patient guy that I am I will try again just for you .

 Read the title of this thread  and then refer to my post again.    The baht was not "surging" in 1998 it was seriously in decline due to the  Asian financial crisis 

Maybe in your head  a surging currency means a currency reducing in value,  to me It means completely the opposite, 

[Bday Prang]

2 hours ago, Unamerican said:

Sounds good: your memory agrees very much with the historical record. 

Thanks for the confirmation,   I have just been accused of trolling  by one "enlightened" member  (presumably another "expert") I seem to be attracting a lot of them recently

[crazykopite]

3 hours ago, mikebell said:

When I came here 20 years ago, I got 73 to 1 UKP. I used to import 5K = 350,000 baht regularly.  I spent freely; a new car every 3 years; an expensive house/furniture/clothes; meals out in top restaurants; etc.

Now I have an ailing 8 year old car; a rented property; cook all my meals at home; and check supermarket prices to save a baht here & there.  Any further attacks on my income will drive me to the Philippines where I will unfreeze my UK State pension and receive the equivalent of a 450,000 baht increase in my annual income.

Agree 100% with you I am fortunate to own a beach villa the villa next door to me costs 180,000 baht per month to rent and it always has people living there so I’m confident I could get an extremely good return if I decided to up sticks and move on and yes the Philippines is my first choice as I lose 2,500 baht per week due to my UK OAP being frozen I’ve contributed to the Thai economy for 20 years but the time  has come to consider moving on !

[CallumWK]

2 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

Do you even know what trolling means ?  it appears you do not.    I did not specify how long that exchange rate lasted for , but it was certainly more than a few days.   some of the bars were even offering 100b / to the pound as an unofficial exchange rate  and 50b to the dollar  for a limited period.     where you even here then ? 

The average exchange rate is actually irrelevant in the context of my post  which you seem unable to understand, but being the patient guy that I am I will try again just for you .

 Read the title of this thread  and then refer to my post again.    The baht was not "surging" in 1998 it was seriously in decline due to the  Asian financial crisis 

Maybe in your head  a surging currency means a currency reducing in value,  to me It means completely the opposite, 

 

Keep on trolling mate, I didn't even comment on surging or declining currency, so now you are deflecting to hide your ignorance.

 

The pound was 90+ to the baht for 9 days in total in January 1998. What bars offer has nothing to do with this, it's just further trolling from you.

 

And the average exchange rate is not irrelevant.

 

Below is what you posted, to make it sound as if you got 90+ for the most part of 1998. One swallow doesn't make a summer you know?

[crazykopite]

3 hours ago, Rolo89 said:

Agree, those days of the early 2000s wont be back but Thailand needs to understand with every year it has less pull factors.

 

Being treated like a 3rd class citizen was acceptable when there were loads of other benefits to the country, but those have rapidly diminished.

 

 

Never say Never the Thai economy is in turmoil 

[Bday Prang]

1 hour ago, Thingamabob said:

Not dreaming. The 1998 crash meant that, for a while, the value of our inward remittances doubled, as did our spending power.

Thanks for saving my sanity,  I distinctly remember getting of the plane at Don Muang and the first thing I did was look at the rates on the exchange booths, I could not believe my eyes, I think it was around 80b  to the pound   double what I had been getting the previous year  Happy days indeed I had twice as much to spend as I had the previous year.   Still managed to get rid of it all though lol.  Mostly on whores and alcohol   at least I didn't waste it  

[Baba Naba]

It is still dirt cheap to live here. Compare your home city to a city in Thailand on Numbeo and see just how much cheaper it is here... https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/comparison.jsp

[KannikaP]

6 minutes ago, crazykopite said:

Agree 100% with you I am fortunate to own a beach villa the villa next door to me costs 180,000 baht per month to rent and it always has people living there so I’m confident I could get an extremely good return if I decided to up sticks and move on and yes the Philippines is my first choice as I lose 2,500 baht per week due to my UK OAP being frozen I’ve contributed to the Thai economy for 20 years but the time  has come to consider moving on !

Do you know what a Full Stop, or Period in USA, is?

[ChaiyaTH]

5 hours ago, CANSIAM said:

Absolutely no need to transfer USD here just yet..........beer is getting expensive 

Yeah it is, it's like 2-2.5 USD now depending where you drink it while the same average costs 50 cents to a dollar in Vietnam.

[PJ71]

I'm surprised so many peoples main concern is the price of beer....

 

Weed is very very cheap and the options are many.

[edwinchester]

5 hours ago, Luuk Chaai said:

Wise is currently @ 32.92   ouch !

oh.   and the Fed.. did already drop the rate..

and who can we thank for this ?

https://www.bidenomics.com/

 

So who did you thank for 30 bht to the dollar when Trump left office?

[Bday Prang]

18 minutes ago, CallumWK said:

 

Keep on trolling mate, I didn't even comment on surging or declining currency, so now you are deflecting to hide your ignorance.

 

The pound was 90+ to the baht for 9 days in total in January 1998. What bars offer has nothing to do with this, it's just further trolling from you.

 

And the average exchange rate is not irrelevant.

 

Below is what you posted, to make it sound as if you got 90+ for the most part of 1998. One swallow doesn't make a summer you know?

The average exchange rate is totally irrelevant if one was not here for the whole year    Although I imagine the logic behind that statement evades you.

What bars were offering was relevant as they were offering more than banks and money exchangers

Why would I need to "deflect" anything  from somebody of such limited intellect

Again look up the meaning and definition of trolling before making such baseless accusations,  

 My original comment  was concluded with the words   "Am I "confused"  or was I dreaming?  which several members correctly interpreted , (and politely responded  appropriately to,) as a request for clarification as to whether my recollection was flawed or not,  hardly the actions of a "troll"

   Although I am obviously guilty of not allowing for the presence of the village idiot  but i will try to put that right here and now

 

  Trolling...." to make a deliberately offensive or provocative online post with the aim of upsetting someone or eliciting an angry response from them"

Clearly  your rather aggressive response to my totally unprovocative earlier  post perfectly matches the above description .  Troll

[CANSIAM]

22 minutes ago, PJ71 said:

I'm surprised so many peoples main concern is the price of beer....

 

Weed is very very cheap and the options are many.

you'll be in a pub or club that gets raided after smokin 2-3 gaggers, quick failed urine test, locked up with keys thrown away or depending on your bank balance.......😉

[songhklasid]

I remember only 3 months ago, 1$aus was well over 24 baht , now it’s struggling to hold 22.5 

cheers SS . 

[harryviking]

Still sitting on quite a bit of cash (not US Dollars) that should have been transferred to Thailand weeks ago. For the moment just keeping a low profile and save money until the Baht weakens at least 10 percent.   

[CallumWK]

10 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

What bars were offering was relevant as they were offering more than banks and money exchangers

 

10 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

Although I am obviously guilty of not allowing for the presence of the village idiot  but i will try to put that right here and now

 

You did that already in your post, because bars is where those idiots mostly reside, and consider the rates bar owners offer official and the topic of this thread

[Bday Prang]

5 minutes ago, CANSIAM said:

you'll be in a pub or club that gets raided after smokin 2-3 gaggers, quick failed urine test, locked up with keys thrown away or depending on your bank balance.......😉

Are you not aware of the relatively recent changes regarding cannabis use.   "locked up with the keys thrown away"   really ?

[chiang mai]

5 hours ago, ryandb said:

 

 

na we want 45 baht to the dollar!

If your wish comes true, you also get very high:

 

- petrol/diesel costs

- electricity bills

- transportation costs, which means everything will cost more

- inflation

- extremely expensive imported goods

 

Be careful what you wish for.

-  

 

[TroubleandGrumpy]

4 hours ago, wadsy said:

I have a good friend who is Swiss but lives here in Australia and reasonably wealthy. He is an Australian tax resident and submits returns here. He used to spend the majority of the year with his wife in Thailand. I spoke to him yesterday and he commented he will now be spending less than 180 days in Thailand each year from now on until clarity about the tax residency situation purely because he doesn't want to be in Thailand tax system. I know my own plans of full time retirement in Thailand are on hold at the moment.

We are living here (from Australia - both Aussie citizens), depending on how the tax situation and the high Baht we are likely to move to another nearby country (Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, even Cambodia or Laos) and spend less than 180 days - and/or just move back to Australia. Given there are about 150-250K retired/married Expats in Thailand, I find it truly astounding that they have not taken the decision to 'exempt' older retired/married Expats from income taxes, unless it is earned from working or investing in Thailand.  Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia have all excluded retired Expats from being taxed on their money brought into the country from overseas. They all figure that it is better for the country - after all why do they bring in their money if not to spend it in their country - and it is not like they get any free Government (or Private) services like the local Citizens and Residents. 

[CANSIAM]

1 minute ago, Bday Prang said:

Are you not aware of the relatively recent changes regarding cannabis use.   "locked up with the keys thrown away"   really ?

The men in Brown follow Law and Order ?  

[TroubleandGrumpy]

2 minutes ago, chiang mai said:

If your wish comes true, you also get very high:

- petrol/diesel costs

- electricity bills

- transportation costs, which means everything will cost more

- inflation

- extremely expensive imported goods

Be careful what you wish for.

We already have that now - are you living here and buying things??  Prices and Costs are at an all time high now - well since 2010 when I first came here.  My Wife's family say the same thing - everything costs more now.   

[chiang mai]

Just now, CANSIAM said:

The men in Brown follow Law and Order ?  

It's Boys in Brown, Men in Black, CANISAM, sheesh!

[chiang mai]

Just now, TroubleandGrumpy said:

We already have that now - are you living here and buying things??  Prices and Costs are at an all time high now - well since 2010 when I first came here.  My Wife's family say the same thing - everything costs more now.   

Yes, every day for the past 21 years.

 

You may think you already have that now but a Baht at 45 would mean way more expensive costs.

[Bday Prang]

12 minutes ago, CallumWK said:

 

 

You did that already in your post, because bars is where those idiots mostly reside, and consider the rates bar owners offer official and the topic of this thread

The topic of this thread states that the baht surged in a similar manner to how it surged in 1998  which is incorrect it did not surge it plummeted in 1998     do you understand that ?   

If I can get a better exchange rate from anywhere else  to  that which  is on offer from a bank  then that becomes the exchange rate I will take advantage  of  whether its official or not is of no interest to me   

[Bday Prang]

4 minutes ago, CANSIAM said:

The men in Brown follow Law and Order ?  

Off topic but I will reply,     The police were warned off hassling people for cannabis possession just before the change in legislation after they tried to make an example of an elderly person who was "caught" with a very miserable example of a cannabis plant in their garden.    Now considering that there are an estimated 10,000 cannabis shops openly supplying what must amount to millions of recreational users. how many arrests for cannabis possession  in the last couple of years are you able  to provide links to   in order to back up your claim  ?     don't rush  I have all day 

[CallumWK]

11 minutes ago, TroubleandGrumpy said:

Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia have all excluded retired Expats from being taxed on their money brought into the country from overseas.

 

Do you have any links to prove that claim, because my search results say the opposite.

 

Only Philippines has a special visa that exempt from paying the tax, but I believe Thailand has a similar visa