Opening A Commercial Bank Account

[~G~]

I am planning to open a bank account for a new Thai company.

The company will mostly do international trade, meaning that services required will include large money transfers from Europe/US/Japan, using LCs, getting short-term credit/loans, etc.

Now, I guess all banks in Thailand are capable to handle that, the question is which charges low comissions and has a good service.

I was thinking of HSBC, but as far as I know they only have one branch in Thailand, which might make them difficult to work with.

Any suggestions/experiences will be appreciated...

[Harmonica]

I am planning to open a bank account for a new Thai company.

The company will mostly do international trade, meaning that services required will include large money transfers from Europe/US/Japan, using LCs, getting short-term credit/loans, etc.

Now, I guess all banks in Thailand are capable to handle that, the question is which charges low comissions and has a good service.

I was thinking of HSBC, but as far as I know they only have one branch in Thailand, which might make them difficult to work with.

Any suggestions/experiences will be appreciated...

Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) is the overall best one to deal with -- BBL would be 2nd.

SCB also got top honors in various Asian financial magazines over the past few years -- and more importantly, if catastrophy strikes the Economy, the fact that the Fiinance Ministry has a big stake, should offer some comfort during troubled times.

Go to the following link & have ALL (?) your import/export/LC's/etc. questions answered.

http://www.scb.co.th/eng/eng_main_corp_trade.shtml

And of course, best of luck with your new venture!

[Sunbelt Asia]

In my opinion, Bank of Ayudhya is the best for Foreign Exchange and service. They call and connect you direct to their trading desk. You can put in a higher bid while you are on the phone with their trader and they'll work your exchange bid while you are on the phone. They just charge 750 Baht which beats BIG TIME the typical bid and ask spread you'll get with most banks.

www.sunbeltasia.com.

[~G~]

Thanks for the replies.

So, by now we have positive impressions of -

- Overall performance and stability of Siam Commercial Bank

- Good service and low Forex commisions of Bank of Ayudhya

Any other opinions / recommendations /warnings ?

Edited March 22, 2005 by ~G~

[Harmonica]

Thanks for the replies. 

So, by now we have positive impressions of -

- Overall performance and stability of Siam Commercial Bank

- Good service and low Forex commisions of Bank of Ayudhya

Any other opinions   / recommendations   /warnings   ?

Did you say warnings, old chap?

Yeah I've got one for you -- BAY (Bank of Ayuthaya) versus SCB -- Institutions and high rollers thrive on doing Ratio analysis; so do I! Its the only way to drill down from the Index into sectors and then into stocks.

So without much ado, eat your heart out on this confirmed long-term downtrend of BAY/SCB.

My calculations indicate that Bay/SCB still has a ways to go to the downside; I will change this opinion if the ratio can stay above (& show some stability) both the 200-day and the 200-week moving averages!

Can BAY survive another onslaught south?

Dyin ain't much of a livin!

[~G~]

Harmonica,

By BAY, SCB you mean stocks of these banks in SET, right?

How do you explain the mid 98 - mid 99 "spike"?

[Harmonica]

Harmonica,

By BAY, SCB you mean stocks of these banks in SET, right?

How do you explain the mid 98 - mid 99 "spike"?

Correct! They are stocks in the SET Index (Stock Exchange of Thailand).

The spikes are nothing but Corrections (or retracements). This is a common feature of Trends, both up or down.

But of more importance -- the high of the spike has not exceeded the high of the previous spike. Therefore the downtrend has not yet given a termination sign.

But the current rally since 2002 should be given a chance to complete before making any further statements as to how long this downtrend will continue.