Thais Face Challenges Getting Asean Jobs

[Thai at Heart]

Well I guess that you are referring to the ancestry of many of the Thai most wealthy families and some of the member of the government, but it doesn't change nothing, me myself I am of Chinese and Spanish ancestry, and what? the same have happened in Singapore , in Malaysia, in Myanmar in Vietnam etc but if have nothing to do with the actual situation, if you want to come and work here and make business here , then you should learn Thai, I know that for many foreigner learning Thai is difficult but if you want to live here then you should learn the language and the culture.

You sound Thai to me, in terms of syntax, grammar, choice of words etc...

You say Thais should protect themselves from foreign influence . . . and Thais would agree . . . because it allows them to stagnate and keep the low standards they so much enjoy.

Here's a thought . . . allow competition and let Thais fight for their goals, allow them the wonderful art of mentally dueling with others.

As I mentioned before, I worked in HK, Singapore, Thailand and now in Malaysia . . . in each of those three countries with an educated workforce (you may choose the odd man out) there used to be many foreigners in many areas of the economy, engineers, bankers, medical professionals etc . . . and now there are fewer and fewer. Would you care to guess why?

Yes, Thais would be weeping and sobbing and crying for their Mummies for a while because the big bad foreigners would be kicking their scrawny <deleted> all over the place . . . but that changes.

It's tough growing up, isn't it

You are so wrong, at fist I am not Thai, I am Mexican, second stop comparing Thai with other nationalities, just go out there and ask Thai people what they want, the most of them are not interested in becoming a Hong Kong or a Japan, and Yes Thai people should protect themselves from foreigners the same that european countries , America and Japan do, and honestly, if you think that my grammar or the words that use seems the way in which Thai write in English then you don't know nothing about Thai people, I guess:)

Problem is that by the time you willingly embrace competition, it has already passed you by. No amount of protectionism will solve all the problems. Asean will bring it to Thailand's doorstep, and if Thailand doesn't embrace the issue and get on with it, the days of 5 to 7% growth will be long gone. Saying that Thailand doesn't want to be Singapore or Hong Kong is very disingenuous, what most definitely do want to be is better off. This means more business, more work, more, more, more

Or will it fall out of the sky as Greece hoped? because hopenomics and superiortoneighbouromics has a very finite lifespan

[Thai at Heart]

Thai at Heart.

I understand what's going on but government policy should be directed to what is best for the country in the way of exports and not buying expensive votes.

The government has stockpiles of rice that cannot compete with rice from Vietnam in the export market so the do need to concentrate on quality over quantity.

Of course they should, but the problem of yields has been going on forever here in Thailand. No one wants to admit that the published yields for rice in neighbouring countries is much higher than here.

[bigbamboo]

Thais unable to work in Asean, but also many Asean nationalities unable to work here because of Thai language requirements on a day to day basis in these professions.

Result? No change : Thais stay here, and not many foreigners come to take the jobs. Just what those who run this country want.

Astute comment. The Thai language will be as much of a barrier to the better educated Singaporeans, Malaysians and Filipinos as English will be to Thais.

[Thai at Heart]

Om 85.

Do you not understand that Thai protectionism will beget the same from other Asean countries which will leave Thailand in the brown stuff even deeper.

You comment that your studying at university and that you know lot's of students that speak fluent or very good English, really?, I know lot's of them also and their English does not compare with my 7 yr old daughter that speaks Thai, English and is learning Chinese, in fact I know numerous Thais with so called degrees in the English language that cannot string three understandable words together. Not sure how much their degrees cost them though.

We are actually talking about international companies here that will probably trade worldwide as well as in the Asean community and probably the real need to converse in Thai will be negated by them employing your English speaking friends from university.

These overseas employees will be occupying highly skilled positions that the Thais have admitted they cannot fullfil. They will not be working in the local pizza or burgher bar and they will come here because it's cheaper to have an office.

sparebox2.

Be prepared to be colonised by the forward thinking Aseans because Thailand may well be on it's way to being just a satelite destination for the Asean conglomerates.

Well here there is a lot of International companies working already and it seems to me that the language is not a big deal for them, i will give you some examples: Pepsi, Coca Cola, Toyota, Lotus, Suzuki etc.

Pepsi is owned by Sermsuk, and Coca Cola by Thai Namtip in Thailand. They are Thai owned joint ventures. Lotus is CP/Tesco Thai owned.

How many companies are put off from investing in this country because of the requirement to be Thai owned?

[Om85]

Well I guess that you are referring to the ancestry of many of the Thai most wealthy families and some of the member of the government, but it doesn't change nothing, me myself I am of Chinese and Spanish ancestry, and what? the same have happened in Singapore , in Malaysia, in Myanmar in Vietnam etc but if have nothing to do with the actual situation, if you want to come and work here and make business here , then you should learn Thai, I know that for many foreigner learning Thai is difficult but if you want to live here then you should learn the language and the culture.

You sound Thai to me, in terms of syntax, grammar, choice of words etc...

You say Thais should protect themselves from foreign influence . . . and Thais would agree . . . because it allows them to stagnate and keep the low standards they so much enjoy.

Here's a thought . . . allow competition and let Thais fight for their goals, allow them the wonderful art of mentally dueling with others.

As I mentioned before, I worked in HK, Singapore, Thailand and now in Malaysia . . . in each of those three countries with an educated workforce (you may choose the odd man out) there used to be many foreigners in many areas of the economy, engineers, bankers, medical professionals etc . . . and now there are fewer and fewer. Would you care to guess why?

Yes, Thais would be weeping and sobbing and crying for their Mummies for a while because the big bad foreigners would be kicking their scrawny <deleted> all over the place . . . but that changes.

It's tough growing up, isn't it

You are so wrong, at fist I am not Thai, I am Mexican, second stop comparing Thai with other nationalities, just go out there and ask Thai people what they want, the most of them are not interested in becoming a Hong Kong or a Japan, and Yes Thai people should protect themselves from foreigners the same that european countries , America and Japan do, and honestly, if you think that my grammar or the words that use seems the way in which Thai write in English then you don't know nothing about Thai people, I guess:)

Problem is that by the time you willingly embrace competition, it has already passed you by. No amount of protectionism will solve all the problems. Asean will bring it to Thailand's doorstep, and if Thailand doesn't embrace the issue and get on with it, the days of 5 to 7% growth will be long gone. Saying that Thailand doesn't want to be Singapore or Hong Kong is very disingenuous, what most definitely do want to be is better off. This means more business, more work, more, more, more

Or will it fall out of the sky as Greece hoped? because hopenomics and superiortoneighbouromics has a very finite lifespan

Don't be so dramatic, Thailand actually is the economy in the Asean area that grows the fastest(according to wikipedia), Thai people are developing, they have jobs , food, and a health care system that have been celebrated many times, just let them find they way out, I am optimist, until now there is a lot of foreign companies that have been doing business here and the reason is because Thailand is an important market in this region and they want a share of it, you also should understand that Thailand is a society that have suffer many abrupt changes in a very short time, you must to give them time.

[Om85]

Om 85.

Do you not understand that Thai protectionism will beget the same from other Asean countries which will leave Thailand in the brown stuff even deeper.

You comment that your studying at university and that you know lot's of students that speak fluent or very good English, really?, I know lot's of them also and their English does not compare with my 7 yr old daughter that speaks Thai, English and is learning Chinese, in fact I know numerous Thais with so called degrees in the English language that cannot string three understandable words together. Not sure how much their degrees cost them though.

We are actually talking about international companies here that will probably trade worldwide as well as in the Asean community and probably the real need to converse in Thai will be negated by them employing your English speaking friends from university.

These overseas employees will be occupying highly skilled positions that the Thais have admitted they cannot fullfil. They will not be working in the local pizza or burgher bar and they will come here because it's cheaper to have an office.

sparebox2.

Be prepared to be colonised by the forward thinking Aseans because Thailand may well be on it's way to being just a satelite destination for the Asean conglomerates.

Well here there is a lot of International companies working already and it seems to me that the language is not a big deal for them, i will give you some examples: Pepsi, Coca Cola, Toyota, Lotus, Suzuki etc.

Pepsi is owned by Sermsuk, and Coca Cola by Thai Namtip in Thailand. They are Thai owned joint ventures. Lotus is CP/Tesco Thai owned.

How many companies are put off from investing in this country because of the requirement to be Thai owned?

Well that will change with time, don't need of worrying, and it seems to me that for those companies being Thai owned is not the big deal, because they continue their operations here.

[Asiantravel]

The Thais need to take their head out of their arse and stop thinking they are better than others and learn to compete in the Asean market place.

Wasn't it last year that the goverment announced English was going to be the official second language and then a couple of days later withdrew the plan. " Because we don't want Thai people thinking they were once colonised by the British" Bloody pathetic and soon the chickens will come home to roost.

well said and one would have thought after they have declared themselves to be the " hub " of practically every

activity under the sun that they would have realised the importance of being able to communicate effectively in a language

other than their own a long time ago?

Edited March 12, 2012 by Asiantravel

[Bagwan]

"Patcharawalai also said Thai professionals had more weak points than strong ones. Most workers in Thailand were low-skilled, although Thais were easy to train and could learn their jobs quickly. They were polite and not aggressive".

Not only Thais, Malaysians (and Malays particularly) are very polite and non agressive in general. Language is not an efficient protection. When you have already learnt 3 languages at school (Malay, Chinese, English) it is gaming to learn a fourth one.

Thais are going to receive a solid lesson from Asean,,,, continue your xenophobic approach and you will stay aside the story...

First mistake, thinking there is value in a passive, non-aggressive skilled labor force. This equates to no ambition, which is evident in spades in LOS. How do you compete for competitive advantage in market share with passive staff? It is part of the mentality of micro-management where employees must clear every simple act with a superior. The contemporary international business empowers and encourages staff to make and act on decisions. If a staff member is afraid to make a decision, how do you manage indecision? You can't, of course.

Any good manager knows that he is not omnipotent and all knowing and all seeing. He/she will gather his staff to a meeting and brain storm problems until the meeting comes up with a solution that all can live with whilst meeting all objectives. It is common sense to realise that the best people to decide how to perform tasks are those who have to carry it out. Similarly with Government. The Prime Minister leads and ultimately decides, after all the buck stops with him/her, but all Ministers have the opportunity to throw in in their sixpennyworth and point out the pitfalls or potential future problems arising from the solutions propounded by others. When a course of action is decided then ALL are held accountable to differing degrees. Collective responsibility - a new concept to Thailand. If the PM flies in the face of his Ministers he loses their support and resignation is the answer since he does not carry the support or the confidence in his/her leadership of the team. Similarly a Minister should resign if he/she cannot accept and give full support to the collective decision.

Furthermore it is common sense to welcome suggestions from even junior members of staff. My modus operandi was to listen politely and ask questions about how, why, how much and a quantification of any benefits. In a nut shell, don't bring me problems, bring me solutions. Such an approach builds team spirit and a sense of belonging. None of us is perfect and are redoIent with human frailities. I see none of these things I write of in Thailand only that managers and supervisors are regarded as Gods. Making suggestions means a loss of face for somebody and those speaking out labelled as troublemakers. How can anybody wholeheartedly contribute to the efficiency of a branch, a shop or department, and ultimately to the profitablity of an organisation, in such an environment?

BTW In answer to the contributor who types his posts using only one hand (thanks for the quip Thaddeus) Singapore was a malaria invested marshy island off the southern coast of the Malay State of Johore Bahru before Stamford Raffles and a host of Brits (not only English!!!) saw the potential and made Singapore what it is today - at some loss in many lives to themselves. Did the Malays know anything about tin, and the mining and extraction of it, and who imported rubber trees to the Malay peninsula? Compare the prosperity of Hong Kong within the Chinese mainland. Why did so many refugees flee there? Colonisation had many good points about it. Just ask the Sultan of Brunei. The reason that Siam was not colonised (conveniently forgetting the Japanese occupation) was that nobody wanted any part of it and for the UK it acted as an effective buffer against the French who governed what was then Indo China in a very unacceptable way.

[airconsult]

Don't be so dramatic, Thailand actually is the economy in the Asean area that grows the fastest(according to wikipedia), Thai people are developing, they have jobs , food, and a health care system that have been celebrated many times, just let them find they way out, I am optimist, until now there is a lot of foreign companies that have been doing business here and the reason is because Thailand is an important market in this region and they want a share of it, you also should understand that Thailand is a society that have suffer many abrupt changes in a very short time, you must to give them time.

I wouldn't always believe government press releases and the wikifiddlers.

http://www.asean.org/stat/Table2.pdf

That is ASEAN statistics - based on 2009 figures, Thailand's GDP growth was -2.2% (yes, negative)

Vietnam 5.2%

Lao was 7.2%

Myanmar 4.8%

Indonesia 4.5%

and on and on

Notably Malaysia was in negative figures (-1.7%) as was Singapore and Brunei.

Basically the (more) mature economies declined. (but Thailand was the worst)

Cheers

EDIT - if you wish to verify the figures, go to the IMF's WEO datasets - remember to either base on a common currency OR national currency and handle the value changes yourself. http://www.imf.org/e...s/cs.aspx?id=28

Thailand did return to positive % growth in 2010, a strong 7.7, but Lao managed 7.9

Edited March 12, 2012 by airconsult

[bigbamboo]

Don't be so dramatic, Thailand actually is the economy in the Asean area that grows the fastest(according to wikipedia), Thai people are developing, they have jobs , food, and a health care system that have been celebrated many times, just let them find they way out, I am optimist, until now there is a lot of foreign companies that have been doing business here and the reason is because Thailand is an important market in this region and they want a share of it, you also should understand that Thailand is a society that have suffer many abrupt changes in a very short time, you must to give them time.

I wouldn't always believe government press releases and the wikifiddlers.

http://www.asean.org/stat/Table2.pdf

That is ASEAN statistics - based on 2009 figures, Thailand's GDP growth was -2.2% (yes, negative)

Vietnam 5.2%

Lao was 7.2%

Myanmar 4.8%

Indonesia 4.5%

and on and on

Notably Malaysia was in negative figures (-1.7%) as was Singapore and Brunei.

Basically the (more) mature economies declined. (but Thailand was the worst)

Cheers

But no country can match Thailand's phenomenal growth in tourist arrivals, allegedly.

[arrowsdawdle]

OK, let's cast reality to the wind and assume that Thailand can sort the language issue out within, um, three years.

We still have the problem that the Thai education system is based on rote memorisation and mechanical box-ticking, and prioritises knowing one's place and respecting one's superiors above any form of critical thinking.

"OK, Somchai, how do we build a safe, durable, affordable bridge across that river?"

"My ajarn he say the answer is C."

Doubt the university degrees are based on box-ticking.

Some of them are based on baht taking, that much is fact.

[arrowsdawdle]

Don't be so dramatic, Thailand actually is the economy in the Asean area that grows the fastest(according to wikipedia), Thai people are developing, they have jobs , food, and a health care system that have been celebrated many times, just let them find they way out, I am optimist, until now there is a lot of foreign companies that have been doing business here and the reason is because Thailand is an important market in this region and they want a share of it, you also should understand that Thailand is a society that have suffer many abrupt changes in a very short time, you must to give them time.

I wouldn't always believe government press releases and the wikifiddlers.

http://www.asean.org/stat/Table2.pdf

That is ASEAN statistics - based on 2009 figures, Thailand's GDP growth was -2.2% (yes, negative)

Vietnam 5.2%

Lao was 7.2%

Myanmar 4.8%

Indonesia 4.5%

and on and on

Notably Malaysia was in negative figures (-1.7%) as was Singapore and Brunei.

Basically the (more) mature economies declined. (but Thailand was the worst)

Cheers

But no country can match Thailand's phenomenal growth in tourist arrivals, allegedly.

You can't honestly believe that, can you? LOS in 2008 only had 65% as many as Malaysia, only 58% as many as Turkey, and only 19% as many as France, just to name a few. There were 15 or so other countries that have more inbound arrivals as well. These figures are a bit dated and Malaysia has probably slipped a bit, but Thailand should be in the top 20. When you talk about growth you have to specify periods of time because tourism is a moving target. The other thing is that Thailand in particular, and some other countries in general, tend to inflate their arrivals stats. You have come into Thailand before. What do they have from you that identifies you as an inbound arrival? You may travel on a foreign passport, but if you live here you are not an inbound arrival. You are returning. And how do they differentiate transiting pax from inbound arrivals? So, tourism stats in LOS are Amazing Miracles.

Edited March 12, 2012 by arrowsdawdle

[Thai at Heart]

]Don't be so dramatic, Thailand actually is the economy in the Asean area that grows the fastest(according to wikipedia), Thai people are developing, they have jobs , food, and a health care system that have been celebrated many times, just let them find they way out, I am optimist, until now there is a lot of foreign companies that have been doing business here and the reason is because Thailand is an important market in this region and they want a share of it, you also should understand that Thailand is a society that have suffer many abrupt changes in a very short time, you must to give them time.

Give it time, as though the world economy waits for Thailand to get its house in order. My best friend is luk kreung korean big manager for a multinational in Seoul, meanwhile, the same company has opened up everywhere except Thailand because of the tax rules and corruption meaning they can't be bothered with Thailand.

Sorry, but my kids will grow up here, and will either access the work market here if it is worth their time, if not, they will have to decide to go or stay.

[Om85]

]Don't be so dramatic, Thailand actually is the economy in the Asean area that grows the fastest(according to wikipedia), Thai people are developing, they have jobs , food, and a health care system that have been celebrated many times, just let them find they way out, I am optimist, until now there is a lot of foreign companies that have been doing business here and the reason is because Thailand is an important market in this region and they want a share of it, you also should understand that Thailand is a society that have suffer many abrupt changes in a very short time, you must to give them time.

Give it time, as though the world economy waits for Thailand to get its house in order. My best friend is luk kreung korean big manager for a multinational in Seoul, meanwhile, the same company has opened up everywhere except Thailand because of the tax rules and corruption meaning they can't be bothered with Thailand.

Sorry, but my kids will grow up here, and will either access the work market here if it is worth their time, if not, they will have to decide to go or stay.

That's right , I agree with you, in the view that there is to many restrictions, but look at my country, a few decades before we had one of the best economies of the western hemisphere then we start to allow foreigner to buy land, we opened our market we signed treaties of free commerce with US and look at the result, my country sucks.

[Sing_Sling]

]Don't be so dramatic, Thailand actually is the economy in the Asean area that grows the fastest(according to wikipedia), Thai people are developing, they have jobs , food, and a health care system that have been celebrated many times, just let them find they way out, I am optimist, until now there is a lot of foreign companies that have been doing business here and the reason is because Thailand is an important market in this region and they want a share of it, you also should understand that Thailand is a society that have suffer many abrupt changes in a very short time, you must to give them time.

Give it time, as though the world economy waits for Thailand to get its house in order. My best friend is luk kreung korean big manager for a multinational in Seoul, meanwhile, the same company has opened up everywhere except Thailand because of the tax rules and corruption meaning they can't be bothered with Thailand.

Sorry, but my kids will grow up here, and will either access the work market here if it is worth their time, if not, they will have to decide to go or stay.

That's right , I agree with you, in the view that there is to many restrictions, but look at my country, a few decades before we had one of the best economies of the western hemisphere then we start to allow foreigner to buy land, we opened our market we signed treaties of free commerce with US and look at the result, my country sucks.

Mexico allowed foreigners to buy land? That's a bad thing? Are you saying that is a negative? NAFTA didn't benefit Mexico?

The drug cartels are foeign-owned as well? Digame, hijo . . .

[chrisinth]

OK, let's cast reality to the wind and assume that Thailand can sort the language issue out within, um, three years.

We still have the problem that the Thai education system is based on rote memorisation and mechanical box-ticking, and prioritises knowing one's place and respecting one's superiors above any form of critical thinking.

"OK, Somchai, how do we build a safe, durable, affordable bridge across that river?"

"My ajarn he say the answer is C."

Doubt the university degrees are based on box-ticking.

Some of them are based on baht taking, that much is fact.

[Om85]

]Don't be so dramatic, Thailand actually is the economy in the Asean area that grows the fastest(according to wikipedia), Thai people are developing, they have jobs , food, and a health care system that have been celebrated many times, just let them find they way out, I am optimist, until now there is a lot of foreign companies that have been doing business here and the reason is because Thailand is an important market in this region and they want a share of it, you also should understand that Thailand is a society that have suffer many abrupt changes in a very short time, you must to give them time.

Give it time, as though the world economy waits for Thailand to get its house in order. My best friend is luk kreung korean big manager for a multinational in Seoul, meanwhile, the same company has opened up everywhere except Thailand because of the tax rules and corruption meaning they can't be bothered with Thailand.

Sorry, but my kids will grow up here, and will either access the work market here if it is worth their time, if not, they will have to decide to go or stay.

That's right , I agree with you, in the view that there is to many restrictions, but look at my country, a few decades before we had one of the best economies of the western hemisphere then we start to allow foreigner to buy land, we opened our market we signed treaties of free commerce with US and look at the result, my country sucks.

Mexico allowed foreigners to buy land? That's a bad thing? Are you saying that is a negative? NAFTA didn't benefit Mexico?

The drug cartels are foeign-owned as well? Digame, hijo . . .

Si , viejo, letting foreigner by land in my country was a really bad idea, foreigners in most of cases don't care about the people, they just care about making profits an yes the most of the cartel are owned by Mexicans, but if you study the history of my country a few decades before there was almost no problem with drugs, that's a relatively new phenomenon and the reason of the existence of such drugs cartel is the poverty and the corruption in which foreign transnationals have created in my country, but obviously you don't know about what are you talking about, if foreigners want to buy land, well they most give up their citizenship and get ours and the same should happen here, if you are going use this country's resources to profit then you must to spend the most of that profit in this market, why do you think that Europe and the US has developed? Because of the exploitation of the other nations, I don't want that for Thailand, place that I consider my second home and in which one day I will be citizen too,( Amen to that)

[HaruHaru]

Any foreigners can buy the land in the U.S..

[wellred]

When can we expect restrictions to loosen for westerners to work in Thailand?

[Om85]

Any foreigners can buy the land in the U.S..

But you can not compare the US with Thailand or any other developing nation.

[IsaanUSA]

When can we expect restrictions to loosen for westerners to work in Thailand?

Uhhhh, never? I think this ASEAN deal almost guarantees that because there should never be a shortage of workers if there's free trade for ASEAN members. Instead of competing with a Thai for a job, now you have to compete with a hundred million other people in ASEAN.

[MaiChai]

Had a funny experience today. Ordered som somtam, gai yang and sticky rice in Thai today and a young Thai guy said to his wife: look farang have to learn our language because Thai people are not clever enough to learn English. He said it very politely and everyone in the shop laughed at his comments.

[pipo1000]

Om 85.

Do you not understand that Thai protectionism will beget the same from other Asean countries which will leave Thailand in the brown stuff even deeper.

You comment that your studying at university and that you know lot's of students that speak fluent or very good English, really?, I know lot's of them also and their English does not compare with my 7 yr old daughter that speaks Thai, English and is learning Chinese, in fact I know numerous Thais with so called degrees in the English language that cannot string three understandable words together. Not sure how much their degrees cost them though.

We are actually talking about international companies here that will probably trade worldwide as well as in the Asean community and probably the real need to converse in Thai will be negated by them employing your English speaking friends from university.

These overseas employees will be occupying highly skilled positions that the Thais have admitted they cannot fullfil. They will not be working in the local pizza or burgher bar and they will come here because it's cheaper to have an office.

sparebox2.

Be prepared to be colonised by the forward thinking Aseans because Thailand may well be on it's way to being just a satelite destination for the Asean conglomerates.

Well here there is a lot of International companies working already and it seems to me that the language is not a big deal for them, i will give you some examples: Pepsi, Coca Cola, Toyota, Lotus, Suzuki etc.

Pepsi is owned by Sermsuk, and Coca Cola by Thai Namtip in Thailand. They are Thai owned joint ventures. Lotus is CP/Tesco Thai owned.

How many companies are put off from investing in this country because of the requirement to be Thai owned

Can't be bothered to look up pepsi and cola but Tesco is 100% english owned for many years already.

[pipo1000]

People here are talking about the lack of language skills of Thai people but I disagree, the most of the Thai people don't need to speak any other language but Thai because they live and work here in Thailand, but in any case, there is plenty of Thai people out there that speak Englsih very well, I know that because I am studying in a Thai university and the most of my classmates are Thai, if any other foreigner pretend to come here and work here then they should be able to learn Thai, the same that when you go to US, Germany or any other country, Thais must to protect themselves again competition, that's what I think, in the other hand I do believe that Thai should make more flexible rules regarding to foreigner who have Thai relative(wives, child, etc) and allow them to live and work freely in LOS but hell yes they most protect themselves against Chinese, Indians etc otherwise .......

Protect themselves against the Chinese? They already run the country anyway, and have squirrelled away their passports long ago. I laugh when Thailand talks about being proud about never having been colonized (which I presume means by arms), meanwhile, their economy has been completely co-opted by the Chinese right under their own noses.

I talked with a Thai business owner not so long ago,and he told me that the Chinese were hired many decades ago because the Thais were too lazy to do the work.They didn't noticed that those Chinese took over from them in no time because they had a brain.

Currently the same is happening with the Burmese workers he added.

[wackysleet]

Om85.

Well my interpretation of an international company is one that trades with other countries so I fail to see how you can legitimately lump Pepsi, Coca Cola and Tesco Lotus in with the car companies you mentioned seeing as they sell their product within Thailand and to my knowledge do not export unlike the motor manufacturers.

My take on the proposed Asean market is that all member countries will be able to tender for all projects in all member states and what the headline page was stating is that Thais will not be able to quote for work in other countries if they do not have people with the correct qualifications, the ability to converse in English being only one of the criteria required.

You will often find that third world countries have a fairly rapid rise in productivity because in most cases the technology etc is already in existance and therefore readily available having been developed by more advanced countries. Unfortunately third world countries are not often innovators for modern technologies.

[Thai at Heart]

Tesco 100% foreign owned in Thailand. Hmmmmm. You had better hope their lawyers dont read that one. You have just hilighted beautifully the risks associated with investing in Thailand. Managed, controlled maybe but not owned.

Om 85.

Do you not understand that Thai protectionism will beget the same from other Asean countries which will leave Thailand in the brown stuff even deeper.

You comment that your studying at university and that you know lot's of students that speak fluent or very good English, really?, I know lot's of them also and their English does not compare with my 7 yr old daughter that speaks Thai, English and is learning Chinese, in fact I know numerous Thais with so called degrees in the English language that cannot string three understandable words together. Not sure how much their degrees cost them though.

We are actually talking about international companies here that will probably trade worldwide as well as in the Asean community and probably the real need to converse in Thai will be negated by them employing your English speaking friends from university.

These overseas employees will be occupying highly skilled positions that the Thais have admitted they cannot fullfil. They will not be working in the local pizza or burgher bar and they will come here because it's cheaper to have an office.

sparebox2.

Be prepared to be colonised by the forward thinking Aseans because Thailand may well be on it's way to being just a satelite destination for the Asean conglomerates.

Well here there is a lot of International companies working already and it seems to me that the language is not a big deal for them, i will give you some examples: Pepsi, Coca Cola, Toyota, Lotus, Suzuki etc.

Pepsi is owned by Sermsuk, and Coca Cola by Thai Namtip in Thailand. They are Thai owned joint ventures. Lotus is CP/Tesco Thai owned.

How many companies are put off from investing in this country because of the requirement to be Thai owned

Can't be bothered to look up pepsi and cola but Tesco is 100% english owned for many years already.

[IsaanUSA]

Tesco 100% foreign owned in Thailand. Hmmmmm. You had better hope their lawyers dont read that one. You have just hilighted beautifully the risks associated with investing in Thailand. Managed, controlled maybe but not owned.

Tesco's annual report is like 80 pages. I'm not reading all that.

I did find this though : http://members.bccthai.com/bcct/asp/corpdetail.asp?CorpID=194

[Thai at Heart]

Tesco 100% foreign owned in Thailand. Hmmmmm. You had better hope their lawyers dont read that one. You have just hilighted beautifully the risks associated with investing in Thailand. Managed, controlled maybe but not owned.

Tesco's annual report is like 80 pages. I'm not reading all that.

I did find this though : http://members.bccth....asp?CorpID=194

Ownership is 51:49, but share classes are used......

A survey of a dozen of the country's most prominent foreign investors, including Tesco, Holcim, Carrefour and others, showed a widespread use of multiple share classes, different voting rights, nominee structures and other techniques to bypass the 49% restriction.

http://www.samuiforsale.com/company-law/thai-nominees-temasek.html

And rather interesting that this story was dragged up when Thaksin was holed up in the UK, then miraculously his visa was removed.......

I expect Milliband to get a board position in his old age.

[wackysleet]

IsaanUSA.

Your correct in stating that Tesco is 100% owned by the English BUT only in England, here it is a joint venture and as I understand the law you must have some Thai directors on the board, in this case they have two.

Tesco started albeit by Mr. Cohen {There's a good old English name for you} as a sole trader in London after WW1, and is now the third largest in the world after Wallmart and Carrefour but will overtake the latter very soon

[pipo1000]

Tesco 100% foreign owned in Thailand. Hmmmmm. You had better hope their lawyers dont read that one. You have just hilighted beautifully the risks associated with investing in Thailand. Managed, controlled maybe but not owned.

Tesco entered Thailand in 1998 and operates through 380 stores as part of a joint venture with Charoen Pokphand and named the operation Tesco Lotus. This partnership was dissolved in 2003 when Charoen Pokphand sold its shares to Tesco.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesco