Govt Debt Policy Will Make The Thai Currency 'Worthless'

[theanimaster]

If only all the corrupt cockroach politicians would stop pocketing so much money through their corrupt practices, then the country would easily be able to pay off its debt.

I mean, the amount of shit you read in the news ... a couple billion this minister stole here and a couple trillion this prime minister stole there... you don't have to be a genius to figure it out.

[OzMick]

Either that or George Orwell. Wait a minute. He's dead. My bad.

add to that his real name was Eric Blair - AFAIK no relation to Tony

[Brewsta]

I wouldn't mind weaker baht, but somehow I don't think there would be anything near 75baht for a £

With the greater financial discipline within the UK, and the strong sense of urgency, as well as sound policies, for overcoming its current problems - far more than within the EU - there is no fundamental reason why we should not see the heady days of THB 75 to the GBP once again.

A return to the 'good old days' circa 2000-2001 of 75 baht to the £ sterling? .....hmmmmm......can just see more zeros on prices of imported goods,and same at Carrefour, etc.....IMHO.....i.e. same old, same old with no.... yawn.... result but trillions more misdirected spending and debt by the Govt.

Until there is proper financial discipline in Cap Ex and Tax arena - stop laughing at the back, pls - it will be the same show with same laughs.

Good night and dreams to y'all.

)

Brewsta

[sylver]

The US ran the printing press and punched out huge amounts of cash, then turned around and gave it all to the banks, no questions asked.

If Thailand runs the printing press and actually uses some part of it to help people who suffered from the floods and restart the industries damaged following the floods, they will come out far better than the US and most of our "civilized" countries.

[metisdead]

A post with degrading comments regarding Thai women has been removed.

[maidu]

No one has answered my earlier question: Who or what entity is the money owed to?

It's not a facetious question.

The US ran the printing press and punched out huge amounts of cash, then turned around and gave it all to the banks, no questions asked.

a large part of the reason the US has had such a strong economy for so long is foreigners were consistently dumping cash there, and a big part of the reason was US Treasury bills, long believed to be an ironclad place to put excess money aside. It's still happening, but to a lesser degree. When US gets downgraded, which it inevitably will, less cash will flow in from overseas investers seeking safe haven, and economic things there will get worse.

Edited January 6, 2012 by maidu

[whybother]

No one has answered my earlier question: Who or what entity is the money owed to?

<snip>

Big international banks and investment firms. Other governments. Not the IMF.

[animatic]

No one has answered my earlier question: Who or what entity is the money owed to?

<snip>

Big international banks and investment firms. Other governments. Not the IMF.

China, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapores Temasek investment arm among others.

Edited January 6, 2012 by animatic

[sparebox2]

Go ask Chaovalit about it.

Making Baht worthless.

He knew what happened in 1997.

Edited January 6, 2012 by sparebox2

[cdnski12]

The Thai Bhat Exchange Rate is supposedly controlled by the Thai Finance Dept; however certain extremely wealthy Thais would lose a staggering amount of money, if the Thai Bhat was allowed to openly float on the world market. So it won't happen until those wealthy individuals ... change their attitude or change thier current position in Thai Society ... Sa ba dee !!

[geriatrickid]

The Thai Bhat Exchange Rate is supposedly controlled by the Thai Finance Dept; however certain extremely wealthy Thais would lose a staggering amount of money, if the Thai Bhat was allowed to openly float on the world market. So it won't happen until those wealthy individuals ... change their attitude or change thier current position in Thai Society ... Sa ba dee !!

A revolutionary notion.

[pcliff069]

an opposition opposing govt fiscal policy

what the &lt;deleted&gt; will they think of next

[pcliff069]

I wouldn't mind weaker baht, but somehow I don't think there would be anything near 75baht for a £

you forget one basic thing Thailand has an economy

'

England doesn't

[harryfrompattaya]

I'm wondering how this country would be without money foreigners are spending? Not just for holidays, also houses, cars and more for the family....

Well Pattaya provides social security for lots of people in Isan

What happens when no more benfits for Retirement if loving aborad? Europe and America can not give money away so old people can give money to Isan

[harryfrompattaya]

Can anybody advise how the public can see where the US and UK aid was spent that was given and intended for the flood victims?

Until there is transparency in spending across the board here, there will always be corruption. (This modern approach will never happen as long as the old guard are filling their pockets).

Just look at what is happening with the conflict over land on Sukhumvit soi 24.

Explain to me how these people are Buddhist again?

After studying for years you are Buddhist if you say you are one. Same goes for all religions

[harryfrompattaya]

If only all the corrupt cockroach politicians would stop pocketing so much money through their corrupt practices, then the country would easily be able to pay off its debt.

I mean, the amount of shit you read in the news ... a couple billion this minister stole here and a couple trillion this prime minister stole there... you don't have to be a genius to figure it out.

Are you talking about Tony Blair?

[Moruya]

I'm wondering how this country would be without money foreigners are spending? Not just for holidays, also houses, cars and more for the family....

Well Pattaya provides social security for lots of people in Isan

What happens when no more benfits for Retirement if loving aborad? Europe and America can not give money away so old people can give money to Isan

I know it's only a typo - but "Loving Aborad" could well be some kind of nickname for Pattaya

[rubik101]

You would think that someone in the Thai Finance Ministry would look around the world and see the USA, most of the EU and other nations who have trillions in debt, whatever the currency and ask themselves; is it a good idea to borrow more than we can afford?

The very simple answer is no, it's not a good idea, so why is the Thai gov't trying to pass a 'budget' with such a huge deficit?

Because they promised to spend all this money during the election campaign and are now busy trying to keep the votes they bribed out of the people. If they lose the next election, who really cares? The debt will be inherited by the next lot and so on and so on...

[Scotsman5]

Yes would welcome more Baht to the £ or $ but all it would do is push up prices. Learn from the West's mistakes.

[abcz9]

just the same as the fed and the rothchilds

[anchan42]

It is clear that you do not need much of a brain or must graduate with Chulalongkorn to write an article like this. For the Nation's information. The European Union is criticized for not printing money. All bourse people in London and New York demand that the ECB print money.

The Bank of England and the FED are printing money since 1998. They call it Quantative Easing or use similar terms.

Printing money does make the currency cheaper. That is good for economic growth ask the Chinese how they keep their currency low, they do it by pegging it to the dollar. Given the fact that the markets will sons start looking at the mess in the UK and the US which is ten times worse than in the EU. The Thai currency would not feel the slightest pain.

If the NAtion has a ashore to settle it might be useful to use a journalist with real knowledge on the subject. in the meantime they could maybe focus on article 112.

With your amazing understanding of finance it's a real shame the PTP haven't swept you up.

What do you disagree with?

Quantitative easing refers to the near zero interest rates set by the national banks to promote corporate and personal lending in a bid to promote growth. It's not printing money.

The situation in the UK and the US is not "10 times worse" under any criteria - that's just plain guff.

Below is form wikipedia. Sounds like printing money to me...

Quantitative easing (QE) is an unconventional^[1][2] monetary policy used by central banks to stimulate the national economy when conventional monetary policy has become ineffective. A central bank buys financial assets to inject a pre-determined quantity of money into the economy. This is distinguished from the more usual policy of buying or selling government bonds to keep market interest rates at a specified target value.

A central bank implements quantitative easing by purchasing financial assets from banks and other private sector businesses with new electronically created money.^[3][4][5][6] This action increases the excess reserves of the banks, and also raises the prices of the financial assets bought, which lowers their yield.^[7]

[moe666]

Just to put it in prespective, when it looked like the debt wasn't to be trasfered to the BOT exchanged rate dropped to 31,17baht for a 100dollar bill.Several days later when it was transfered to the BOT the rate was at 31.50 yesterday for 100dollar bill.

There are several things to be thought about in the value of a countries debt, oone is there ability to pay off debt and that is usually taxes on income , goods, and services. Thailand may have an economy but there ability to collect taxes is on the same par as Greece, no ability to pay debt but love to spend.

[whybother]

Just to put it in prespective, when it looked like the debt wasn't to be trasfered to the BOT exchanged rate dropped to 31,17baht for a 100dollar bill.Several days later when it was transfered to the BOT the rate was at 31.50 yesterday for 100dollar bill.

There are several things to be thought about in the value of a countries debt, oone is there ability to pay off debt and that is usually taxes on income , goods, and services. Thailand may have an economy but there ability to collect taxes is on the same par as Greece, no ability to pay debt but love to spend.

I don't think the debt has been transferred yet, has it?

[Markaew]

The Tha baht is already overvalued.more borrowing and printing money alongside inflation will make the financial markets finally see this.

Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com

it's not...

but am I the only to think that a weaker baht is not a bad thing?

I agree with you but doubtful we will see much change in the exchange rates.

[Markaew]

Does nothing other than prove that like everything else MANY people think everything is free and never has to be earnt or accounted for , but can just be taken without repercussion .

What is "everything"(2) and who is "people".

[Markaew]

They can consult with the USA, they know how to print money at extreme fast rates. I guess the Thai Baht will race the US $ to the bottom

Perhaps some of the doom and gloom views might change if the respondents took into consideration the characteristics of the Thai economy. As some astute people have noted Thailand is an export driven economy. What part of 2/3 thirds of the GDP based upon exports do the negative nabobs not understand? When agriculture is a major component and when the sector provides almost 50% of the nation's employment, it reinforces the importance of protecting export markets, even if it means adjusting the value of the baht.

In respect to the unfounded comment on the USD, Perhaps one should have a look at the numbers. Rather than rely on FOX TV for information, I suggest one look to a FOX sister company, the Wall Street Journal . I love Thai Airways because I can always get a copy of the WSJ which is practically unavailable in Phuket.

WSJ reported as follows; After a year of swings, the U.S. dollar finished within roughly 3% of where it started the year against most major developed-market currencies. That included the euro, where the dollar finished up 3.3% as the long-simmering European debt crisis reached a boiling point and investors contemplated the breakup of the economic union that underpins the common currency.The main exception was the yen, which, despite a raft of troubles for Japan, rose more than 5% against the dollar. The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the greenback's performance against a basket of currencies, rose 1.5% in 2011.

As long as the EU is in a mess that keeps getting worse, the pressure is on the Euro, not the USD. The US is most likely through the worst of its mess. This gives the Thai baht some breathing room. Keep in mind that China is undertaking direct FX pools and transactions which will assist the Thai baht, albeit in a small way. The USD is ok, provided the Republican teapot faction doesn't pull another tantrum.

Left field.

[Markaew]

"borrow more money to finance the budget deficit"...Hmmmmm...Let me think on this for a moment...Ok...NOT A GOOD IDEA ...! Look at America...Thailand taking lessons from them...?

Thailand is feeling left out. They can trash their economy and get a national bailout. That's great Thai economic sense. Something for nothing.

[Markaew]

As long as there is enough foreign currency coming in to Thailand we can print a lot of Baht. Thailand easily lands a billion US$ a month on money sent by Thai living abroad, farang spending a foreign pension or income here and the inccidental girlfriends getting some support. This comes at virtually no expense what soever. On top of that there is, even after the floads, a lot of export that is generated at by now even lower wages than in China. Dream on about a lower Baht, this won't happen any time soon!

Interesting numbers about incoming dollars. Where did the numbers come from?

[moe666]

Just to put it in prespective, when it looked like the debt wasn't to be trasfered to the BOT exchanged rate dropped to 31,17baht for a 100dollar bill.Several days later when it was transfered to the BOT the rate was at 31.50 yesterday for 100dollar bill.

There are several things to be thought about in the value of a countries debt, oone is there ability to pay off debt and that is usually taxes on income , goods, and services. Thailand may have an economy but there ability to collect taxes is on the same par as Greece, no ability to pay debt but love to spend.

I don't think the debt has been transferred yet, has it?

Not sure if actually transfered but the article in Bangkok Post says its a done deal.

[thaibeachlovers]

I'm wondering how this country would be without money foreigners are spending? Not just for holidays, also houses, cars and more for the family....

Well Pattaya provides social security for lots of people in Isan

What happens when no more benfits for Retirement if loving aborad? Europe and America can not give money away so old people can give money to Isan

If they stopped allowing people to get pensions abroad they will all go home and become liabilities to the health budget. If I can't get my pension here, that's what I'll be doing.