Where To Place 400,000 Baht

[Martin]

I am not whinging about the requirement to show 400,000 bahts available in the bank in order to get a visa extension. I think it would be irresponsible not to have some funds of that sort of amount to draw on fairly quickly if there should be a family emergency.

But having just got it together to show to the Immigration Police, and being able to live on incoming pensions, it doesn't seem wise to leave it in the form of cash.

Is it possible to invest such a small amount in gold? And if so, how does one do it?

Edited June 28, 2005 by Martin

[lopburi3]

The idea is to use the 400k for your living expense and they when it gets down to a lower level top it up again with the pension funds from an overseas bank that pays a higher interest rate.

[spacebass]

I am not whinging about the requirement to show 400,000 bahts available in the bank in order to get a visa extension. I think it would be irresponsible not to have some funds of that sort of amount to draw on fairly quickly if there should be a family emergency.

But having just got it together to show to the Immigration Police, and being able to live on incoming pensions, it doesn't seem wise to leave it in the form of cash.

Is it possible to invest such a small amount in gold? And if so, how does one do it?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Although I am not an expert I gather that at the beginning of your visa year there has to be 400,000 baht in your bank account, at the end of the year/beginning of next year you do not have to bring in a new 400,000 baht but top up what you have to the 400,000 baht level with funds from outside Thailand.

When you remove the original 400,000 bht to invest in gold or whatever it is no longer able to be put back into this account to make up the next years 400,000 baht because it will have lost its 'from outside Thailand status' and you will have to bring in another 400,000 for that year.

As I think the idea is to keep as much money in the form of hard currency outside Thailand where you will get a better rate of interest on it, maybe it might be an idea to view the 400,000 baht as an investment key that allows you to invest your pension more profitably elsewhere.

Hope this makes some sense!

(In other words I back Lopburi3 who just crept in there!)i

Edited June 28, 2005 by spacebass

[chownah]

Is it 400,000 baht the amount needed for a visa? What kind of visa?

[Martin]

Sorry, I didn't make myself clear.

I am not happy having that much money in bahts, or in pounds, when the buying power of currencies may go down.

I had some awful experience of that happening through the 1970s when national economies were trying to adjust to higher oil prices. I know that inflation has been held more-or-less in check this last twentyfive years, but that has been an era of cheap oil and other forms of energy.

What I am looking for is a hedge-against-inflation, into which I can put the money and get out as much as necessary to top me up to 400,000 next June. The big financial institutions hold a proportion of their assets in gold for this purpose, but can a little chappy?

[spacebass]

Sorry, I didn't make myself clear.

I am not happy having that much money in bahts, or in pounds, when the buying power of currencies may go down.

I had some awful experience of that happening through the 1970s when national economies were trying to adjust to higher oil prices. I know that inflation has been held more-or-less in check this last twentyfive years, but that has been an era of cheap oil and other forms of energy.

What I am looking for is a hedge-against-inflation, into which I can put the money and get out as much as necessary to top me up to 400,000 next June. The big financial institutions hold a proportion of their assets in gold for this purpose, but can a little chappy?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Martin, the point is the money constituting the 400,000 must come from overseas, so if you take it out of the bank and buy say gold, you cannot put it back at the end of the year as part of the 400,000 as it will not have come from overseas.

As far as holding gold in Thailand is concerned I believe all those gold shops everwhere more or less trade in the gold they sell with a small margin for them, but gold can go down as well as up although it is said to be historically cheap.

[chownah]

I think that gold is held as a hedge against deflation...not inflation. Historically owning gold is a bad investment in terms of return....its used because when the going gets rough the gold is still there and holds its value better than currency. But I could be wrong on this.

I still want to know what kind of visa you can get if you have 400,000 baht in a bank account in Thailand.

[lopburi3]

I think that gold is held as a hedge against deflation...not inflation.  Historically owning gold is a bad investment in terms of return....its used because when the going gets rough the gold is still there and holds its value better than currency.  But I could be wrong on this.

I still want to know what kind of visa you can get if you have 400,000 baht in a bank account in Thailand.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

None.

I you support a Thai wife and have 400k in a bank account you might be able to extend your non immigrant visa one year at a time.

[samran]

Sorry, I didn't make myself clear.

I am not happy having that much money in bahts, or in pounds, when the buying power of currencies may go down.

I had some awful experience of that happening through the 1970s when national economies were trying to adjust to higher oil prices. I know that inflation has been held more-or-less in check this last twentyfive years, but that has been an era of cheap oil and other forms of energy.

What I am looking for is a hedge-against-inflation, into which I can put the money and get out as much as necessary to top me up to 400,000 next June. The big financial institutions hold a proportion of their assets in gold for this purpose, but can a little chappy?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I wouldn’t compare the 70’s with today. There are a couple of major differences.

Firstly, today, especially in developed countries, we have independent central banks, who’s main objective is to create price stability – that is to avoid inflation via controlling interest rates. As such, in real terms, if you hold your currency in say UK or Australia, you are going to be able to hold your money in risk free asset such as government bonds, and the value of your money will retain its real value.

The inflationary problems of the 70’s weren’t purely oil based, they were also wage based, where unions would push for over and above inflation pay rises. This would simply feed back into the economy and cause more inflation. Given the de-regulation of the labour market in most of the western world, such wage pushes are unlikely to have the same overall impact.

Additionally, governments were faced with stagflation, both high inflation and high unemployment. Governments tried to counter this by simply pump priming the economy, or in layman terms, printing more money by issuing more sovereign debt, and sending their own budgets into debt too. While you can argue that this is simply what the US (for instance) is doing now , it has not been inflationary.

The other thing to remember is that in the west, the economy has been substantially deregulated, meaning, that they are better able to handle price shocks from input price rises. Consumers (for instance) have more choices and alternatives in terms of product choices, they are better informed about prices, and more skilful regulatory economics have prevented monopolists having the same sway they used to hold up until the 70’s.

Of course, what I describe ISN’T Thailand. Thailand isn’t going to handle the oil shocks as well as the west, the central bank really isn’t that independent, and government loans haven’t been spent wisely, only on populist programmes which haven’t reaped too many benefits for Thailand. As such, I predict that there will be some inflationary pressure in Thailand, over and above what you’d get in the west.

As such, if I were you, I’d hold my assets in say, pounds or Aussie dollars, which are benefiting from high resource prices at the moment. These currencies will likely appreciate versus the baht as inflation in Thailand rises, meaning more income for you in baht terms!!

I wouldn’t hold US dollars assets, as the baht is effectively pegged to it, meaning relative gains are less.

[kreon]

Sorry, I didn't make myself clear.

I am not happy having that much money in bahts, or in pounds, when the buying power of currencies may go down.

I had some awful experience of that happening through the 1970s when national economies were trying to adjust to higher oil prices. I know that inflation has been held more-or-less in check this last twentyfive years, but that has been an era of cheap oil and other forms of energy.

What I am looking for is a hedge-against-inflation, into which I can put the money and get out as much as necessary to top me up to 400,000 next June. The big financial institutions hold a proportion of their assets in gold for this purpose, but can a little chappy?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

if you don't need to draw on the funds, why not get a 12-month fixed foriegn deposit account in uk pounds or ozzie dollars, pays about 4.25% with bank of adyudhya

[lopburi3]

Sorry, I didn't make myself clear.

I am not happy having that much money in bahts, or in pounds, when the buying power of currencies may go down.

I had some awful experience of that happening through the 1970s when national economies were trying to adjust to higher oil prices. I know that inflation has been held more-or-less in check this last twentyfive years, but that has been an era of cheap oil and other forms of energy.

What I am looking for is a hedge-against-inflation, into which I can put the money and get out as much as necessary to top me up to 400,000 next June. The big financial institutions hold a proportion of their assets in gold for this purpose, but can a little chappy?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

if you don't need to draw on the funds, why not get a 12-month fixed foriegn deposit account in uk pounds or ozzie dollars, pays about 4.25% with bank of adyudhya

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

But he will have a problem if he needs this for support Thai wife visa as it is not available for use so immigration will not accept it. Only a savings passbook/statement type account is usable for support AFAIK.

[Thetyim]

But he will have a problem if he needs this for support Thai wife visa as it is not available for use so immigration will not accept it.  Only a savings passbook/statement type account is usable for support AFAIK.

Agreed. That is what immigration told me.

[TizMe]

Sux. Dont it !

[Mali_in_CM]

Yes, a small investor can get into gold as a hedge.