The World's Debt Crisis Is Leading Thailand To Economic Ruin

[Peshay]

The economic crisis etc was all part of the master plan of the elite..Destroy economies worldwide then conslidate them all which means centralisation-world bank/currency-complete control by the minorty elite..The banker bailouts are basically the biggest fraud in history..The CIA are probably more transparent that the federal reserve..Also good old fashioned cash will go the way of the dinosaurs in the not to distant future,giving complete control to the megalomaniacs who control everything.

[Goshawk]

It looks like we may be in for a weakening of the dollar again

Enter Mr Celente...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4IyUQzdZtU

[gregb]

How can this huge debt, unprecedented in the history of mankind, be paid off? It can't be forgiven or swept under the carpet. It can only be serviced by further economic growth...The result is likely to be a deflationary depression

Further economic growth is impossible, because that would require further growth in energy consumption. Since the world is now entering a period of permananent energy depletion, we are also entering a period of sustained economic contraction. There is no possibility for legitimate, sustained economic growth in the remainder of our lifetimes.

There is only 1 way the debt will be paid off (and it will be paid off) and that is to use Ben Bernacke's invention called a printing press. We are not entering a period of deflation, but a period that can only be resolved by global hyperinflation in necessary commodities. Luxuries may experience deflation, but that is irrelevant because nobody will be able to buy them anyway.

There is no deflationary depression coming, but hyperinflation in the costs of everything you need and deflation in everything you can live without. The author is correct about 1 thing, it is time to get ready for hard work.

The easy life of luxury you have enjoyed for the last several decades is over. It is now time to learn to live like third world paupers. It doesn't matter where you live. Thailand or the West. Everyone except for the extremely wealthy are going to have to learn to live like peasants.

[Abrak]

BTW can anyone think of an economy in the world with better fundamentals than Thailand?

[midas]

BTW can anyone think of an economy in the world with better fundamentals than Thailand?

Surely doesnt that depend on how a global slowdown will affect their ability to service debt ?

" Thailand's public debt at end- April, 2010, stood at 4.108 trillion baht (126.945 billion U.S. dollars), or 42.23 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), a senior official disclosed on Monday, the Thai News Agency (TNA) reported.

Chakkrit Paraphankul, director general of the Finance Ministry' s Public Debt Management Office (PDMO), said among the total public debt included some 2.773 trillion baht (85.691 billion U.S. dollars), which were directly owed by the government."

[Abrak]

BTW can anyone think of an economy in the world with better fundamentals than Thailand?

Surely doesnt that depend on how a global slowdown will affect their ability to service debt ?

" Thailand's public debt at end- April, 2010, stood at 4.108 trillion baht (126.945 billion U.S. dollars), or 42.23 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), a senior official disclosed on Monday, the Thai News Agency (TNA) reported.

Chakkrit Paraphankul, director general of the Finance Ministry' s Public Debt Management Office (PDMO), said among the total public debt included some 2.773 trillion baht (85.691 billion U.S. dollars), which were directly owed by the government."

Forex reserves are about US$140bn.

....There C/A surplus is bigger than their fiscal budget deficit. Of course the value of their forex reserves does depend on the USA's ability to service its debt.

I do agree though that Thailand would be much better off spending its surpluses on its own people rather than lending it to the US. It seems a little weird for the Government to borrow off Thais to lend to the US.

Anyway try again.....preferably excluding Norway.

[SailingHome]

Even deflation has it's uses... IE decline in prices spurrs more industry and we expats get an even bigger break. Live without debt and mi pen ri

[adam1]

I rather like this short video:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2550156453790090544#

Yeah, good one. Amazing how so many so-called smart and successful people out there are continually surprised when u try and tell 'em this kinda stuff.

[adam1]

I hardly think that demanding an investigation into the activities of the US Federal Reserve ( probably

one of the most corrupt institutions on this planet ) consitutues a " harebrained scheme " ?

AUDIT THE FED !

The constant repetition of falsehoods encourages the simple minded to accept those falsehoods as fact. Mr. Paul isn't calling for an investigation,He wants to have an "audit". It has been described as pandering to populism, much as people in Thailand blame economic problems on Burmese refugees or some Americans blame their problems on llegal immigration. The Paul demand isn't about the GAO auditing the operational aspects of the programs and the details of the programs. Paul wants to make judgments about policy decisions. This would violate the current rules in place regarding the integrity of the Federal Reserve. It would lead to a situation like Greece where the government interfered with the orderly management of national reserves. The end result would be a quick destabilization of the financial system, and the entire US economic system.

It's a cheap way to get your name in the news and to build support because the people that are going to buy into the position are not going to be educated nor overly intelligent. Senator Judd Gregg said it best; "It's great PR; you go home and beat up the Fed." People make no effort to read the bylaws that govern the Fed, nor do they read congessional transcripts. Instead they rely on wacko radio commentators and fanciful youtube infomercials to come up with their unbalanced conspiracy theories.

Why don't you take the time to read the audits and the reports to Congress first.

http://www.federalre...mpr_default.htm

http://www.federalre...cs/rptcongress/

And read this;

The Board of Governors, the Federal Reserve Banks, and the Federal Reserve System as a whole are all subject to several levels of audit and review. Under the Federal Banking Agency Audit Act (enacted in 1978 as Public Law 95-320), which authorizes the Comptroller General of the United States to audit the Federal Reserve System, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has conducted numerous reviews of Federal Reserve activities. In addition, the Board's Office of Inspector General (OIG) audits and investigates Board programs and operations as well as those Board functions delegated to the Reserve Banks. Completed and active GAO reviews and completed OIG audits, reviews, and assessments are listed in the Board's Annual Report (before 2002, the reviews were listed in the Board's Annual Report: Budget Review).

The Board's financial statements, and its compliance with laws and regulations affecting those statements, are audited annually by an outside auditor retained by the OIG. The financial statements of the Reserve Banks are also audited annually by an independent outside auditor. In addition, the Reserve Banks are subject to annual examination by the Board. The Board's financial statements and the combined financial statements for the Reserve Banks are published in the Board's Annual Report

What more do you you people want? You don't even bother to understand what the situation is. Instead you just invent imaginary conspiracies and feed into each others fears. Its a culture of ignorance and laziness. Do your research first. Read the reports to Congress.

Thanks for that informative post Geriatrickid. You are right, in my culture of laziness, I can't be bothered to wade through those reports. Can you should some light on whether the Fed is a private institution or not? And why were presidents like Andrew Jackson so keen to get rid of the evil of central banks if there's nothing to worry about? If you've got time....

[Abrak]

Even deflation has it's uses... IE decline in prices spurrs more industry and we expats get an even bigger break. Live without debt and mi pen ri

Not sure if you are joking. Prices declined 15% between 1929 and 1938 and industrial production 20% (real).

[paulszymichowski]

<font size="3">Headline, "The World's Debt Crisis is leading Thailand to Economic Ruin"<br><br>

At the end of the article we read, "Thailand's finances remain largely

sound."<br><br>

Who writes this crap?<br><br><b>Couldn't agree more.</b> <b>Headline sensationalism </b>The headline is the most important part of the story but to contradict the headline at the end of the story makes it pure bulls..t. The person responsible for the headline should be severely reprimanded by the editor. <br></font>

[midas]

I hardly think that demanding an investigation into the activities of the US Federal Reserve ( probably

one of the most corrupt institutions on this planet ) consitutues a " harebrained scheme " ?

AUDIT THE FED !

The constant repetition of falsehoods encourages the simple minded to accept those falsehoods as fact. Mr. Paul isn't calling for an investigation,He wants to have an "audit". It has been described as pandering to populism, much as people in Thailand blame economic problems on Burmese refugees or some Americans blame their problems on llegal immigration. The Paul demand isn't about the GAO auditing the operational aspects of the programs and the details of the programs. Paul wants to make judgments about policy decisions. This would violate the current rules in place regarding the integrity of the Federal Reserve. It would lead to a situation like Greece where the government interfered with the orderly management of national reserves. The end result would be a quick destabilization of the financial system, and the entire US economic system.

It's a cheap way to get your name in the news and to build support because the people that are going to buy into the position are not going to be educated nor overly intelligent. Senator Judd Gregg said it best; "It's great PR; you go home and beat up the Fed." People make no effort to read the bylaws that govern the Fed, nor do they read congessional transcripts. Instead they rely on wacko radio commentators and fanciful youtube infomercials to come up with their unbalanced conspiracy theories.

Why don't you take the time to read the audits and the reports to Congress first.

http://www.federalre...mpr_default.htm

http://www.federalre...cs/rptcongress/

And read this;

The Board of Governors, the Federal Reserve Banks, and the Federal Reserve System as a whole are all subject to several levels of audit and review. Under the Federal Banking Agency Audit Act (enacted in 1978 as Public Law 95-320), which authorizes the Comptroller General of the United States to audit the Federal Reserve System, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has conducted numerous reviews of Federal Reserve activities. In addition, the Board's Office of Inspector General (OIG) audits and investigates Board programs and operations as well as those Board functions delegated to the Reserve Banks. Completed and active GAO reviews and completed OIG audits, reviews, and assessments are listed in the Board's Annual Report (before 2002, the reviews were listed in the Board's Annual Report: Budget Review).

The Board's financial statements, and its compliance with laws and regulations affecting those statements, are audited annually by an outside auditor retained by the OIG. The financial statements of the Reserve Banks are also audited annually by an independent outside auditor. In addition, the Reserve Banks are subject to annual examination by the Board. The Board's financial statements and the combined financial statements for the Reserve Banks are published in the Board's Annual Report

What more do you you people want? You don't even bother to understand what the situation is. Instead you just invent imaginary conspiracies and feed into each others fears. Its a culture of ignorance and laziness. Do your research first. Read the reports to Congress.

Thanks for that informative post Geriatrickid. You are right, in my culture of laziness, I can't be bothered to wade through those reports. Can you should some light on whether the Fed is a private institution or not? And why were presidents like Andrew Jackson so keen to get rid of the evil of central banks if there's nothing to worry about? If you've got time....

geriatrickid blah blah blah blah....not the old " conspiracy theory " claim again......

You see thanks to the internet more and more people are realising just how much of a red herring

your counter claim is And more and more people are asking the same very same relevant

question adam1 has asked you.

And i would also like to ask - if there was nothing to hide.....why did they so strenuously resist

the audit ?

[goatfarmer]

I rather like this short video:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2550156453790090544#

Nice vid. It clearly indicates that collective debt is a necessary thing, not a bogey, as so easily construed in the popular press.

However, the sustainability issue, at around 28 minutes, is a bit suspect. Growth could come in the form of services. It need not be in goods depleting natural resources. But even goods can be created with greater efficiency, sustaining growth for a window of time exceding the time horizon of our cares. Agriculture, for example, has doubled its global yield over the past forty or fifty years without increasing the number of acres under cultivation. It could well do so in the next forty or fifty.

[maxman71]

Ron Paul is an advocate of small government, which is an another way of saying de-regulation. The lack of regulation directly led us into this financial crisis. How would less regulation have prevented Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs from creating synthetic sub prime CDO's, that they knew contained the worst of sub prime loans in the US and then telling people to invest in them. This financial catastrophe the bankers have inflicted on us, has proven that markets if left to their own devices will inevitably fall into deception and fraud. Adam smith's invisible hand is invisible because it doesn't exist.

The same principle applies to the gulf oil spill, when you leave oil and gas companies to self regulate that is without central government oversight, they cut corners and take risks to maximise profits. Self regulation is to regulation as self importance is to importance.

Wake up Noel, there were plenty of regulations on the books to prevent the madness that occurred in the US; they just weren't enforced. If you think that piling on more regs + more gov't bureaucracies + more gov't employees will take care of the problem, you are woefully mistaken. The fact Ron Paul was shuttered out of the race in '08 is telling; the big boys know a real threat to their elite oligarchy and will stop at nothing to ensure they stay in control. Obama, like Bush before him, is just another shill.

[Abrak]

geriatrickid blah blah blah blah....not the old " conspiracy theory " claim again......

You see thanks to the internet more and more people are realising just how much of a red herring

your counter claim is And more and more people are asking the same very same relevant

question adam1 has asked you.

And i would also like to ask - if there was nothing to hide.....why did they so strenuously resist

the audit ?

Personally I see no point in auditing the Fed on the basis that as it can print money, how much it has at any given point in time seems irrelevent.

Anyway to me the real scandal at the moment is Obama's financial Reform Bill which to me largely maintains the status quo until the next financial crisis hits. Europe is going to just as bad. The UK chancellor is going to make the banks set up a GBP2bn fund so the banks can rescue themselves next time - that wont even pay the bonuses in the year they go bust.

Bernanke's point is that he believes in running the economy by manipulating peoples expectations which he cannot do through transparency.

While you might not like this idea you will find that both Obama and Bush simply choose to change the argument through indoctrination. Such as 'we are going to invade Iraq because he has WMD' No WMD 'Saddam was a bad man so we were right to invade Iraq.'

[Tanaka]

If the majority of the developed countries are in deep debt, they must be in debt to someone. That someone or some country is getting heaps of money in interest alone now. Or are they in debt to banks and if so, are banks not part of the country they work in? If you are in debt, you have borrowed money from someone so there is a, or several lenders out there somewhere.

[Lancelot]

China still depends largely on the US and the developed markets for its export products. Its factories could end up with huge overcapacity and inventory overhang.

The chinese did well with an industrial/export policy but looks like the party is comming to a close. Might be time for them to stimulate their domestic demand. Of course that requires higher wages which makes their exports less attractive.

I well remember the double digit inflation of the 1980's but deflation would be even more gruesome.

Interesting times ahead and compliments to the Thais if they avoid the financial problems over the horizon

Edited July 18, 2010 by Lancelot

[Abrak]

If the majority of the developed countries are in deep debt, they must be in debt to someone. That someone or some country is getting heaps of money in interest alone now. Or are they in debt to banks and if so, are banks not part of the country they work in? If you are in debt, you have borrowed money from someone so there is a, or several lenders out there somewhere.

Well second and third world countries with surpluses like to buy western industrialised nations debt.

But the real game is the banking industry. You get 1.0% on your deposit and the bank buys 10 year USTs yielding 3.5%. The really cool thing is that the risk weighting on a UST is precisely zero. So you can have as many USTs as you can fund without having any capital or without it affecting your capital adequacy. This is neat for the Government because it finances its deficit and at the same time it recapitalizes the banks (unless they take all the profit and pay it out as bonuses.) Many banks are undercapitalized so free money is welcome. It does make them rather reluctant to lend to anyone else as it involves both risk, capital and time.

As Lanna pointed out the other day, how the Fed is supposed to judge that we wont double dip because we dont have an inverted yield curve is quite beyond me. BTW I am not an expert on banks so if there are limits to your UST holdings or short/long term asset liability mismatch, I dont know. The concept of an asset liability mismatch like that not having a risk weighting is absurd.

[Somnambulist]

I rather like this short video:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2550156453790090544#

Nice vid. It clearly indicates that collective debt is a necessary thing, not a bogey, as so easily construed in the popular press.

However, the sustainability issue, at around 28 minutes, is a bit suspect. Growth could come in the form of services. It need not be in goods depleting natural resources. But even goods can be created with greater efficiency, sustaining growth for a window of time exceding the time horizon of our cares. Agriculture, for example, has doubled its global yield over the past forty or fifty years without increasing the number of acres under cultivation. It could well do so in the next forty or fifty.

"sustaining growth for a window of time exceding the time horizon of our cares" When Hayak pointed out that fractional reserve banking is unsustainable in the long term, Keynes' flippant, famous reply was that "in the long term we are all dead". Well, he was right, he's dead, leaving us in the current mess. And as for agricultural production doubling again, fat chance. Modern agriculture, to put it simply, is the conversion of petroleum to food, and oil has peaked. And services can't double if customers don't.

[midas]

geriatrickid blah blah blah blah....not the old " conspiracy theory " claim again......

You see thanks to the internet more and more people are realising just how much of a red herring

your counter claim is And more and more people are asking the same very same relevant

question adam1 has asked you.

And i would also like to ask - if there was nothing to hide.....why did they so strenuously resist

the audit ?

Personally I see no point in auditing the Fed on the basis that as it can print money, how much it has at any given point in time seems irrelevent.

Anyway to me the real scandal at the moment is Obama's financial Reform Bill which to me largely maintains the status quo until the next financial crisis hits. Europe is going to just as bad. The UK chancellor is going to make the banks set up a GBP2bn fund so the banks can rescue themselves next time - that wont even pay the bonuses in the year they go bust.

Bernanke's point is that he believes in running the economy by manipulating peoples expectations which he cannot do through transparency.

While you might not like this idea you will find that both Obama and Bush simply choose to change the argument through indoctrination. Such as 'we are going to invade Iraq because he has WMD' No WMD 'Saddam was a bad man so we were right to invade Iraq.'

Because the Audit could have revealed a real scandal otherwise why

were they so protective ? Anyway US citizens deserve full transparency.

[Abrak]

Because the Audit could have revealed a real scandal otherwise why

were they so protective ? Anyway US citizens deserve full transparency.

Well didnt you think the US$700bn swap lines from the Fed to save foreign Central Banks was a scandal. Apparently noone gives a Flying fuc_k.

And GS hid all that Greek debt that destabilized, ruined the credibility of the Euro and virtually destroyed Merkel's career. It showed that Goldman Sachs once again will create crisis in a totally unethical and corrupt way. So in my view US citizens dont deserve anything. When GS's actions are so deliberate and so destructive so that they can profit from the chaos they can cause at everyones expense, US citizens have no moral compass to have any say in the industry at all.

And selling MBS where the loans are picked by the guy who is shorting it. It is criminal, it is beyond unethical, they should not be in existance. Giving total transparency to US citizens who dont understand it and dont care is pretty ridiculous but giving total transparency of the Fed to GS will either result in them covering up the transparency (and trading off the fact they are the only ones who know it) or they may simply destroy the Fed.

Edited July 18, 2010 by Abrak

[Slip]

Sorry- can't embed the youtube vid. This is in response to Noel

Edited July 18, 2010 by Slip

[midas]

Because the Audit could have revealed a real scandal otherwise why

were they so protective ? Anyway US citizens deserve full transparency.

Well didnt you think the US$700bn swap lines from the Fed to save foreign Central Banks was a scandal. Apparently noone gives a Flying fuc_k.

And GS hid all that Greek debt that destabilized, ruined the credibility of the Euro and virtually destroyed Merkel's career. It showed that Goldman Sachs once again will create crisis in a totally unethical and corrupt way. So in my view US citizens dont deserve anything. When GS's actions are so deliberate and so destructive so that they can profit from the chaos they can cause at everyones expense, US citizens have no moral compass to have any say in the industry at all.

And selling MBS where the loans are picked by the guy who is shorting it. It is criminal, it is beyond unethical, they should not be in existance. Giving total transparency to US citizens who dont understand it and dont care is pretty ridiculous but giving total transparency of the Fed to GS will either result in them covering up the transparency (and trading off the fact they are the only ones who know it) or they may simply destroy the Fed.

That is very presumptuous of you to be make a decision on behalf

of US citizens that they dont need to know this kind of information

Very " progressive " Like Obama telling people recently not to listen

to the news so much!

Its good there are people out there explaining it in simple format - you know to

try and distract them away from American Idol

Here is a kind of " All that is wrong with the US Federal Reserve For Dummies "

http://www.truthusa.org/articles/fed/fedtruth2004.htm

As he correctly says

" Here where you will learn of the total corruption of the Federal Reserve System, the private corporation which currently controls the issuance of money within our nation.

While the history of our nation has included many battles over the question of who shall issue the money of the nation, that after the last victory of the private corporations in their attempt to control the money issuance ( and hence life ) of the nation there has been a virtual complete blackout of the facts and truths regarding money issuance and its vital importance to the nation "

Edited July 18, 2010 by midas

[Abrak]

That is very presumptuous of you to be make a decision on behalf

of US citizens that they dont need to know this kind of information

Very " progressive " Like Obama telling people recently not to listen

to the news so much!

Its good there are people out there explaining it in simple format - you know to

try and distract them away from American Idol

Here is a kind of " All that is wrong with the US Federal Reserve For Dummies "

http://www.truthusa.org/articles/fed/fedtruth2004.htm

As he correctly says

" Here where you will learn of the total corruption of the Federal Reserve System, the private corporation which currently controls the issuance of money within our nation.

While the history of our nation has included many battles over the question of who shall issue the money of the nation, that after the last victory of the private corporations in their attempt to control the money issuance ( and hence life ) of the nation there has been a virtual complete blackout of the facts and truths regarding money issuance and its vital importance to the nation "

Now lets face it Midas, I am not making any decisions on behalf of the American people, merely expressing a personal opinion about how I judge their opinion and the opinion of their President. It is purely a personal opinion of Obama who states the following....

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aKGZkktzkAlA

In my opinion that makes him either incredibly stupid or morally repugnant. I do think it is virtually impossible to argue that Goldman Sachs has done less damage to the global economy and financial system than say BP which he seems so excited about. But, fair enough, BP screwed up in America so he can go for it. Goldman's exacerbated the US Financial Crisis for their own gain.

Still it is a bit much that they can play corrupt games that destabilize and debilitate the Euro countries or essentially parcel around Russia's wealth to cronies. GS clearly showed intent in many of their dealings. Americans with all their accusations of crony capitalism, cannot face up to the fact that their financial system is rotten at its very core. The US loves to claim the moral high ground without realizing they are at the very root of the problem. GS is a weapon of mass destruction. The unacceptable face of capitalism and with an intent to destroy its virtues.

Genuinely if people cannot see the persistent destabilising and destructive way in which they act, then rebuilding the financial system is a total waste of time. A Chinese style financial system, which of course needs bailing out every 10 years or so, at least attempts to be productive.

[aussiebebe]

Headline, "The World's Debt Crisis is leading Thailand to Economic Ruin"

At the end of the article we read, "Thailand's finances remain largely sound."

Who writes this crap?

Have they paid off the 97 crash they had yet??

Good point !

Thailand introduced the concept of " extend and pretend "

Ghost of 13 years past -The forgotten debt of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis

" Most people have long forgotten the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis of 13 years ago.

The debt incurred by the Thai government to fix the broken financial system back in 1997, however, still exists.

This huge, but not much talked about debt, is currently managed by the FIDF, an organisation belonging to the Bank of Thailand. "

FULL ARTICLE HERE :- http://www.readbangk...ast_the_for.php

Hi Midas - can you explain these articles? The Bangkok Post one links to a NY Times article from 2003 which just confirmed that Thailand repaid the IMF loan, in what form does debt still exist? I understood it to mean that the Thai government incurred new debt to service the IMF loan, is this true? It's interesting stuff.

[TAWP]

Would that be Thaksin's claim that 'he' (some fans even thought it was with his own money) repaied the loan, while the actually just shifted it/rebranded it under some other post? If it is handled by FIDF, that might be the one...

[mommysboy]

BTW can anyone think of an economy in the world with better fundamentals than Thailand?

Surely doesnt that depend on how a global slowdown will affect their ability to service debt ?

" Thailand's public debt at end- April, 2010, stood at 4.108 trillion baht (126.945 billion U.S. dollars), or 42.23 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), a senior official disclosed on Monday, the Thai News Agency (TNA) reported.

Chakkrit Paraphankul, director general of the Finance Ministry' s Public Debt Management Office (PDMO), said among the total public debt included some 2.773 trillion baht (85.691 billion U.S. dollars), which were directly owed by the government."

Not just their ability to service debt but to provide for their own people in any reasonable way. It's totally inadequate at present and looks set to get worse. If they were out on the streets while GDP was supposedly rising, what about when the brown stuff really hits the blades?

[Abrak]

BTW can anyone think of an economy in the world with better fundamentals than Thailand?

Surely doesnt that depend on how a global slowdown will affect their ability to service debt ?

" Thailand's public debt at end- April, 2010, stood at 4.108 trillion baht (126.945 billion U.S. dollars), or 42.23 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), a senior official disclosed on Monday, the Thai News Agency (TNA) reported.

Chakkrit Paraphankul, director general of the Finance Ministry' s Public Debt Management Office (PDMO), said among the total public debt included some 2.773 trillion baht (85.691 billion U.S. dollars), which were directly owed by the government."

Not just their ability to service debt but to provide for their own people in any reasonable way. It's totally inadequate at present and looks set to get worse. If they were out on the streets while GDP was supposedly rising, what about when the brown stuff really hits the blades?

No, I was asking a simple question about which countries fundamentals were doing better than Thailand's

So public debt to GDP was 55% in 2001/2002 but was 38% in 2008/2009.

Now lets see in the EU which countries have brought down their debt to GDP ratio over that period.

Ok so we will just give you the top 5.

1. Slovakia

2. Bulgaria

3.....errr that's it

Then if we list forex reserves....

1. Slovakia US$2bn

2. Bulgaria US$8bn

3. Thailand US$150bn

[midas]

Headline, "The World's Debt Crisis is leading Thailand to Economic Ruin"

At the end of the article we read, "Thailand's finances remain largely sound."

Who writes this crap?

Have they paid off the 97 crash they had yet??

Good point !

Thailand introduced the concept of " extend and pretend "

Ghost of 13 years past -The forgotten debt of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis

" Most people have long forgotten the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis of 13 years ago.

The debt incurred by the Thai government to fix the broken financial system back in 1997, however, still exists.

This huge, but not much talked about debt, is currently managed by the FIDF, an organisation belonging to the Bank of Thailand. "

FULL ARTICLE HERE :- http://www.readbangk...ast_the_for.php

Hi Midas - can you explain these articles? The Bangkok Post one links to a NY Times article from 2003 which just confirmed that Thailand repaid the IMF loan, in what form does debt still exist? I understood it to mean that the Thai government incurred new debt to service the IMF loan, is this true? It's interesting stuff.

Hi aussiebebe

Well in this land of smoke and mirrors ( and gag orders ! ) your guess is as good as mine.

But as the article says “This huge, but not much talked about debt, is currently managed by the FIDF “

I have always assumed there was a complex inter relationship between this outstanding debt and the numerous Non Performing Loans that have been carried since 1997 by the Thai Asset Management Corporation ( a division of FIDF ).

All I would say I is would bet my bottom dollar that any valuation methodology and / or assumptions made about any of the

“ assets “ held by the Thai Asset Management Corporation would be based on unicorns and rose tinted glasses methodology .

yes it's interesting stuff

Edited July 19, 2010 by midas

[Abrak]

Hi aussiebebe

Well in this land of smoke and mirrors ( and gag orders ! ) your guess is as good as mine.

But as the article says “This huge, but not much talked about debt, is currently managed by the FIDF “

I have always assumed there was a complex inter relationship between this outstanding debt and the numerous Non Performing Loans that have been carried since 1997 by the Thai Asset Management Corporation ( a division of FIDF ).

All I would say I is would bet my bottom dollar that any valuation methodology and / or assumptions made about any of the

“ assets “ held by the Thai Asset Management Corporation would be based on unicorns and rose tinted glasses methodology .

yes it's interesting stuff

Well it isnt wildly interesting actually. FIDF loans are down to about Bt500bn from Bt2,800bn. There has been some'friction' over this. Because the MoF had to pay Bt65bn (inc trading losses) to cover its losses for the year. If the BoT makes a profit, then it covers the losses but of course they had huge trading losses last year.

Bt1trillion of loans are to Government Enterprises such as say EGAT although some relate to loss making railways.

Of the Bt4trillion only about Bt400bn is foreign denominated.