simon43 Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 With my recommendation and encouragement, my Thai 'ex' has sold her share in our small hotel business, (now I believe that God exists...). She has several million baht in her bank account and is very much aware that this could be easily 'frittered' away, or - more likely - be lost on unwise business investments or lost to so-called 'friends' who persuade her to lend them money for their new businesses. She has asked me what she could do to safely invest some (say 2 million baht) of her money in several different savings/investment schemes. The aim is low risk with a steady income growth, no need to draw any monthly income from her investment. Bear in mind that she is an uneducated Thai person, with no knowledge of investment opportunities, and her adviser (me), is an educated Brit, but also with no knowledge of investment opportunities. So we are looking for some simple but foolproof options, not major international trading/investment schemes She has mentioned the local schemes where one invests a regular amount and then receives an annual bonus after x years etc, but I seem to recall that the interest rate/return on these schemes was pretty bad if one did the calculations... Thanks for any advice Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samran Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 yeah, keep her away from those 'savings' schemes which pay a bonus. Annual interest rate is actually negative. It is possible to by government bonds over the counter at banks, as well as bonds for blue chip companies listed on the SET. (Thai word for bonds is 'paan-ta-but' The thing to watch out for is that the banks will probably try and sell your wife the saving scheme as well...so just be aware that you don't walk into the bank asking for one thing, and coming out with another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trogers Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 I invested Bt1.7m on a 2nd hand 1-bedroom condo unit (45sqm) that is being rented out at Bt15k/mth (net after charges at Bt13.5k/mth) for over a year and a half. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatfather Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 Gold bars of 10baht each. Easy to store and easy to resell. Not suitable to lend out..... fatfather Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KamnanT Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 Thai government savings bonds would be a good option. Interest rate is much better than bank term deposits (generally set at the government bond rate for the corresponding maturity plus 50-75 basis points) and while the term is fixed (discouraging the "frittering away" of capital), they can be redeemed if required. They are only issued once or twice a year and are always in high demand - line-ups at bank branches at 8am to subscribe. Only Thai nationals can apply, there is normally a limit on how much an individual can subscribe for and often they will give preference to seniors. Initial plans announced by the Finance Ministry in December were to raise THB 100 bln via government savings bonds in the first half of 2011, although I haven't seen any announcements since then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiangmaibruce Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 <snip>Only Thai nationals can apply<snip> I don't disagree with the suggestion that Thai bonds might be one suitable option for the OP, but I did want to correct a commonly-held belief that only Thais can buy Thai government bonds. This is, with just a few exceptions, incorrect. Many potential investors have been, and contine to be, told this by people such as Thai bank staff, but it's not so. (And before anyone chimes in and says that they are rubbish ... I'm not saying that they are the perfect investment vehicle for all the punters here on TV ... just that they are there if you want them) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trogers Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 Gold bars of 10baht each. Easy to store and easy to resell. Not suitable to lend out..... fatfather And easy to cart away... The cost of security will eat into any expected earnings... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrjlh Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 Gold bars of 10baht each. Easy to store and easy to resell. Not suitable to lend out..... fatfather I agree buy GOLD! or Silver. Both are on a steady climb up wards and will continue. Put them in a safety deposit box at a bank. Example: I bought a 18K gold ring last September at 18,500 Baht weight. Its now over 20,000 and climbing. Now I wish I had bought the 24K. Jewelry and gems seem to hold their value and steady climb, as long as it the top of the line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suradit Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Along the same line, I was thinking of some sort of investment that could be added to regularly and which, over time, would provide a nest egg for a Thai friend. Bangkok Bank lists a bunch of mutual funds, both fixed income and equity. http://www.bangkokbank.com/bangkok%20bank/personal%20banking/investments%20and%20fixed/mutual%20funds/pages/default.aspx I haven't spent much time digging through them, but wonder if anyone here has had good or bad experience with mutual funds offered by Thai banks? I'm leery of asking some junior counter staff at a branch for information, both in terms of language difficulties and because they'll undoubtedly push the product the bank wants pushed. My friend, like your ex, is not very well educated and totally uneducated in the investment sphere. I consider myself fairly astute in dealing with US based investments (where I avoid mutual funds), but that's probably not especially useful when trying to sort out what's fact and what's hype with funds here. Anyone have experience with Thai mutual funds? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
horsewell Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Gold and Silver is a great investment at the moment. Silver will give a better return than Gold. The great thing is that it can be sold off and anytime and while there are all these monetary crisis going on all over the place it can only increase in value. The thing is to keep it in a safe place and not tell anyone else that you have it as an investment. A bank deposit box is a must. The way it's moving now the return would be many many times the cost of the storage! The problem is that if it's locked up too tight you may not be able to get it out if there is a need and if it's too loose it may be fritted away. I know a woman that is continually poor due to friends and family borrowing and spending her money, not to mention her feeling that she has a need for something and buying it without thinking about what she will eat tomorrow! With a bank lending money they can send the police around but when a person lends money it's usually to problem of the lender to continually chase the borrower to get the money back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naam Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 Example: I bought a 18K gold ring last September at 18,500 Baht weight. Its now over 20,000 and climbing. WOW! the Baht weight climbed from 18,500 to 20,000? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon43 Posted April 17, 2011 Author Share Posted April 17, 2011 Thanks for the useful replies and advice. I had been looking at silver investments for a few months now. For my 'ex', a cautious move would be to invest in perhaps 300,000 baht of silver and then see how this performs Where can I buy silver ingots/bars? I only see gold bars for sale in Thailand. Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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