Foreign investors highly concerned over Thailand's political tension

[webfact]

Foreign investors highly concerned over Thailand's political tension
Nophakhun Limsamarnphun, The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Pheu Thai-led government pushed the controversial amnesty bill through its first reading in the House of Representatives on Thursday, raising the spectre of a renewed political confrontation between government supporters and their opponents inside Parliament and possibly on the streets.

Nandor von der Luehe, chairman of the Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce in Thailand, said: "Political tension is always negative [for business and industry]. We had the Internal Security Act in the South [as well as in three districts of Bangkok from August 1-10]. All these are negative news going out from Thailand.

"Travel advisories from embassies are out. When you go to the American Embassy's website, there is a warning on Thailand that again we have political tension and that American citizens should be careful [while in Thailand].

"If something [worse] happens, it will affect foreign investors' confidence in Thailand. They may not come here any more but will move to other countries in the Asean Economic Community.

"These foreign direct investments are rather different from stock and portfolio investors who can move their funds in or out of the country relatively quickly. FDIs [such as setting up factories in Thailand] are much more long-term, so political stability is much more important.

"At this stage, it's too early to say if the latest round of political tension will have any impact on FDIs yet, but we have to monitor the situation closely and see if it will get out of hand.

"The moment that we see some clashes and people are fighting on the streets, that will be very negative.

"Companies which are already in Thailand may know how to handle the political upheaval better than those who are new investors, which are more like those in the small and medium size. They are probably more cautious and Thailand may lose out."

Ben Montgomery, executive member of Thailand's Tourism Council, said: "The political tension [resulting from the ruling party's attempt to pass the controversial amnesty bill into law] has not hit the hotel and tourism industries in terms of booking cancellation yet.

"However, we have to ensure that the tension does not escalate and get out of control. If foreign governments issue travel advisories for their citizens, that will impact visitors coming to Thailand. When there are travel warnings, it means insurance companies will pay not compensation" if there are claims from policyholders while travelling.

"When there is no insurance coverage, travel agencies will not book for their clients.

"The tourism and related sectors wish the country's political situation continues to be stable as in the first half of this year when foreign tourist arrivals rose 17 per cent year on year. We hope the whole-year arrivals will top 22 million. Tourism and related businesses now generate over 4 per cent of Thailand's GDP.

"We want the government to ensure that there is no violence on the streets and the situation is under control. These days, tourists and other visitors make decisions relatively quickly whether they will come here or not due to the speed of information.

"In the older days, people planned their travel three to six months in advance, but today it usually takes only two or three weeks [to plan] a trip.

On the other hand, cancellations are also relatively easy, especially when there is news and information on potential unrest."

Paul Gambles, managing partner of financial services MBMG Group, said: "We've seen net foreign fund outflows during the course of this year, but that has more to do with what's happening in the global economy and in the region and the US policy," not the political situation in Thailand.

"Thailand's capital flows have not behaved differently from most of the countries in the region."


-- ANN 2013-08-10

[bigbamboo]

To think an entire nation's headache could be solved by just one man.

Amazing.

[FarangTalk]

The issues are far deeper than just one man.

[Thai at Heart]

Farangs don't understand thainess.

[useronthenet]

That is indeed correct, only yesterday was I pointed to a magazine article in scandinavia which stated 'Bye Bye Thailand', 'Hello Mayanmar !' to reflect the new attitudes and concerns that Thailand will eventually fade into obscurity, as it's predicted that tourists are being swayed to other Asianic countries which do not have the same political problems. I only hope that Thailand will be able to settle it's differences otherwise this again could cascade out of control.

[TackyToo]

Farangs don't understand thainess.

My worries will start the moment I do...

[ramrod711]

"If something [worse] happens, it will affect foreign investors' confidence in Thailand. They may not come here any more but will move to other countries in the Asean Economic Community.

This is of no consequence, Thailand can do anything!!!

Tourism and related businesses now generate over 4 per cent of Thailand's GDP.

The way the rice sales are going, 4% of gdp is looking pretty good.

[SamMunich]

 

Farangs don't understand thainess.

 

Farang no understand Thainess? Well, Farang can read, Farang can watch and analyse and most important Farang can stay away and put his/her money elsewhere. And other Asian foreigners will and can do the same.

Normally internal squabble among Thais are none of a Farang's business, but as soon as Farang's money or wellbeing is concerned, it's a Farang issue as well.

And I don't care, who is to run the government, as this is basically a fight between two groups of businessmen, only the newer group being a lot more corrupt than the old group ever dared to be.

Taksin wants back, as much as Berlusconi wants back into power. In fact both are rather similar in their attitude. But being away for nearly 7 years, there are now a lot of Taksin "friends", who made their fortune while the big boss was away. And they don't want to split their loot and share anything with Taksin. So by mouth they are great followers, but in fact they work against his return...

SamM.

[Bluespunk]

"We had the Internal Security Act in the South [as well as in three districts of Bangkok from August 1-10]. All these are negative news going out from Thailand."

I wondered why yingluck was talking about withdrawing the ISA in Bangkok early.

[Thai at Heart]

 

Farangs don't understand thainess.

 

Farang no understand Thainess? Well, Farang can read, Farang can watch and analyse and most important Farang can stay away and put his/her money elsewhere. And other Asian foreigners will and can do the same.

Normally internal squabble among Thais are none of a Farang's business, but as soon as Farang's money or wellbeing is concerned, it's a Farang issue as well.

And I don't care, who is to run the government, as this is basically a fight between two groups of businessmen, only the newer group being a lot more corrupt than the old group ever dared to be.

Taksin wants back, as much as Berlusconi wants back into power. In fact both are rather similar in their attitude. But being away for nearly 7 years, there are now a lot of Taksin "friends", who made their fortune while the big boss was away. And they don't want to split their loot and share anything with Taksin. So by mouth they are great followers, but in fact they work against his return...

SamM.

By the way. I'm not Thai. Is obvious what's going on but Thailand doesn't care what any foreigners have to say about it. They will happily screw their pooch.

[lemoncake]

 

Farangs don't understand thainess.

 

Farang no understand Thainess? Well, Farang can read, Farang can watch and analyse and most important Farang can stay away and put his/her money elsewhere. And other Asian foreigners will and can do the same.

Normally internal squabble among Thais are none of a Farang's business, but as soon as Farang's money or wellbeing is concerned, it's a Farang issue as well.

And I don't care, who is to run the government, as this is basically a fight between two groups of businessmen, only the newer group being a lot more corrupt than the old group ever dared to be.

Taksin wants back, as much as Berlusconi wants back into power. In fact both are rather similar in their attitude. But being away for nearly 7 years, there are now a lot of Taksin "friends", who made their fortune while the big boss was away. And they don't want to split their loot and share anything with Taksin. So by mouth they are great followers, but in fact they work against his return...

SamM.

Farang can not do anything, it's a fruit .

Now foreigners on the hand have many options

[PoodMaiDai]

Silly investors and foreign government officials, as stated above, they just don't understand Thainess.

Edited August 10, 2013 by PoodMaiDai

[davejones]

It's laughable when people say that tourists and expats will visit other SE Asian countries instead of Thailand. People love Thailand. They don't love Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, etc. If they stopped coming to Thailand, they'd be more likely to go to Europe. Thailand has a unique and fun atmosphere that other SE Asian countries don't have, and will never have. Well, not in our lifetimes/ Troubles or not, people will still visit Thailand. Problems are usually focused on Bangkok, not the rest of the country.

[marcusd]

We hope the whole-year arrivals will top 22 million. Tourism and related businesses now generate over 4 per cent of Thailand's GDP.

How do they calculate 4% when every tuk tuk...restaurant shop and person on the street relies on tourists. Oh i forgot hotels airports planes and 90 per cent of the population

[catweazle]

Farangs don't understand thainess.

Yeah... us "Farangs" might not understand "Thainess", BUT we are clever enough to define it:

erratic |iˈratik|

adjective

not even or regular in pattern or movement; unpredictable: her breathing was erratic.

noun(also erratic block or boulder )Geology

a rock or boulder that differs from the surrounding rock and is believed to have been brought from a distance by glacial action.

DERIVATIVES

erratically |-(ə)lē|adverb,

erraticism |iˈratiˌsizəm|noun

ORIGIN late Middle English: from Old French erratique, from Latin erraticus, from errare ‘to stray, err.’

[tinhead]

I'm certainly holding off on investing. Waiting to see what the next couple years bring and if the AEC has a positive effect.

Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam all seem like better places to put my money. Myanmar soon, too. Thai? Well, not when the national sport is screwing Farang out of their businesses.

[Bagwan]

It's laughable when people say that tourists and expats will visit other SE Asian countries instead of Thailand. People love Thailand. They don't love Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, etc. If they stopped coming to Thailand, they'd be more likely to go to Europe. Thailand has a unique and fun atmosphere that other SE Asian countries don't have, and will never have. Well, not in our lifetimes/ Troubles or not, people will still visit Thailand. Problems are usually focused on Bangkok, not the rest of the country.

You have facts to substantiate this? The facts sir, just the facts. Probably more accurate to say that people love to laugh at Thailand.

[metisdead]

A post containing overly derogatory comments toward Thais and Thailand in general has been removed as well as the replies.

[Thai at Heart]

It's laughable when people say that tourists and expats will visit other SE Asian countries instead of Thailand. People love Thailand. They don't love Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, etc. If they stopped coming to Thailand, they'd be more likely to go to Europe. Thailand has a unique and fun atmosphere that other SE Asian countries don't have, and will never have. Well, not in our lifetimes/ Troubles or not, people will still visit Thailand. Problems are usually focused on Bangkok, not the rest of the country.

That can change in a very short time.

[Thai at Heart]

Farangs don't understand thainess.

Yeah... us "Farangs" might not understand "Thainess", BUT we are clever enough to define it:

erratic |iˈratik|

adjective

not even or regular in pattern or movement; unpredictable: her breathing was erratic.

noun(also erratic block or boulder )Geology

a rock or boulder that differs from the surrounding rock and is believed to have been brought from a distance by glacial action.

DERIVATIVES

erratically |-(ə)lē|adverb,

erraticism |iˈratiˌsizəm|noun

ORIGIN late Middle English: from Old French erratique, from Latin erraticus, from errare to stray, err.

Well you have been very diplomatic in your description. Since I have had my full of it after 18 years, I will pick one word.

Duplicity.

They do it to themselves, they do it with outsiders. It is a fundamental problem in Thailand.

[catweazle]

Honestly, at times I am at awe, wondering how I made it to live and survive in this country for 22 years, given all the odds (and these odds include the so-called "Thainess" commented above). I lived through the Black May in 1992, the devaluation and financial crisis in 1997, survived the 2004 Tsunami, saw the coup in 2006, the 2008 yellow shirt airport seizure, 2010 red shirt clashes, the chicken flu scare, unrest in the south, and survived countless other crisis moments, including being shipwrecked near Trang, floating at sea for seven hours along with 13 other fellow cast-aways, survived death threads by drunk dive boat captains, and managed to keep my dick still attached to my body despite encounters with some psycho Thai girlfriends from hell...

Yet, I never had the slightest doubt that this is the right country for me (perhaps I am crazy) to live, work and eventually retire in. Even though Thailand seems to be in permanent turmoil politically, the country manages to steer around major cliffs despite all odds. Perhaps this is a result of Thainess, but most likely due to the fact that so many problems here are simply smiled away in hope they will just dissolve by time... Never wanted or will get sucked into politics, because it is a dangerous mine field for any foreigner in Thailand to walk into, but I always listen to my heart and trust my intuition when topics like this one come up.

This said, I am not worried at all, especially not about this "Goodbye Thailand, hello Myanmar" b#ll$hit, because a campaign like this can only be ignited by blind, deaf and ignorant persons who have not the slightest idea about Myanmar, the people, the political background there and for example the destruction done by dynamite fishing to the reefs on each and every dive spot Myanmar HAD to offer. I have worked with Burmese employers for almost 8 years now and can say that - despite them being hard working and nice people - they are very "different" from Thai people. It simply does not "click", they seldomly smile and when you give them presents or surprise them in any way, most of them just receive the offering with a nod or a smirk at best... The food (at least in my opinion) is terrible, body odors are "strange", their live philosophy, etc. are largely out of tune with anything a foreigner would expect to find in southeast Asia.

This all said - I will stay in this country that I love and I believe in it and would never even think about moving to or investing in Burma. The worrying foreign investors should clean up their own doorsteps and remember what clusterf###$ western companies, institutions or banks like Goldmann Sachs have ignited in their own country right in front of the eyes of and with the support of their "souvereign" and democratic government before being "concerned" about a bit of political tension in Thailand.

And - let's be honest, what is a typical "investor" nowadays? Most are stock market gamblers anyway, and I give a F### about the opinion of a gambler.

Edited August 10, 2013 by catweazle

[Thai at Heart]

Honestly, at times I am at awe, wondering how I made it to live and survive in this country for 22 years, given all the odds (and these odds include the so-called "Thainess" commented above). I lived through the Black May in 1992, the devaluation and financial crisis in 1997, survived the 2004 Tsunami, saw the coup in 2006, the 2008 yellow shirt airport seizure, 2010 red shirt clashes, the chicken flu scare, unrest in the south, and survived countless other crisis moments, including being shipwrecked near Trang, floating at sea for seven hours along with 13 other fellow cast-aways, survived death threads by drunk dive boat captains, and managed to keep my dick still attached to my body despite encounters with some psycho Thai girlfriends from hell...

Yet, I never had the slightest doubt that this is the right country for me (perhaps I am crazy) to live, work and eventually retire in. Even though Thailand seems to be in permanent turmoil politically, the country manages to steer around major cliffs despite all odds. Perhaps this is a result of Thainess, but most likely due to the fact that so many problems here are simply smiled away in hope they will just dissolve by time... Never wanted or will get sucked into politics, because it is a dangerous mine field for any foreigner in Thailand to walk into, but I always listen to my heart and trust my intuition when topics like this one come up.

This said, I am not worried at all, especially not about this "Goodbye Thailand, hello Myanmar" b#ll$hit, because a campaign like this can only be ignited by blind, deaf and ignorant persons who have not the slightest idea about Myanmar, the people, the political background there and for example the destruction done by dynamite fishing to the reefs on each and every dive spot Myanmar HAD to offer. I have worked with Burmese employers for almost 8 years now and can say that - despite them being hard working and nice people - they are very "different" from Thai people. It simply does not "click", they seldomly smile and when you give them presents or surprise them in any way, most of them just receive the offering with a nod or a smirk at best... The food (at least in my opinion) is terrible, body odors are "strange", their live philosophy, etc. are largely out of tune with anything a foreigner would expect to find in southeast Asia.

This all said - I will stay in this country that I love and I believe in it and would never even think about moving to or investing in Burma. The worrying foreign investors should clean up their own doorsteps and remember what clusterf###$ western companies, institutions or banks like Goldmann Sachs have ignited in their own country right in front of the eyes of and with the support of their "souvereign" and democratic government before being "concerned" about a bit of political tension in Thailand.

And - let's be honest, what is a typical "investor" nowadays? Most are stock market gamblers anyway, and I give a F### about the opinion of a gambler.

Good luck to you sir. I felt the same only a few years ago, but something changed. Kids got a little older, but I have a feeling things might get rocky here so I will depart surely to return.

I am not sure exactly what, changed but this feels similar to what happened in Ireland. Money being created from froth. And from a personal view, despite my love if the place, finally realising, that most see me just as a farang. Not a nice feeling.

Edited August 10, 2013 by Thai at Heart

[Frank James]

God bless Thailand. I'm hanging in, no matter what.

[catweazle]

Honestly, at times I am at awe, wondering how I made it to live and survive in this country for 22 years, given all the odds (and these odds include the so-called "Thainess" commented above). I lived through the Black May in 1992, the devaluation and financial crisis in 1997, survived the 2004 Tsunami, saw the coup in 2006, the 2008 yellow shirt airport seizure, 2010 red shirt clashes, the chicken flu scare, unrest in the south, and survived countless other crisis moments, including being shipwrecked near Trang, floating at sea for seven hours along with 13 other fellow cast-aways, survived death threads by drunk dive boat captains, and managed to keep my dick still attached to my body despite encounters with some psycho Thai girlfriends from hell...

Yet, I never had the slightest doubt that this is the right country for me (perhaps I am crazy) to live, work and eventually retire in. Even though Thailand seems to be in permanent turmoil politically, the country manages to steer around major cliffs despite all odds. Perhaps this is a result of Thainess, but most likely due to the fact that so many problems here are simply smiled away in hope they will just dissolve by time... Never wanted or will get sucked into politics, because it is a dangerous mine field for any foreigner in Thailand to walk into, but I always listen to my heart and trust my intuition when topics like this one come up.

This said, I am not worried at all, especially not about this "Goodbye Thailand, hello Myanmar" b#ll$hit, because a campaign like this can only be ignited by blind, deaf and ignorant persons who have not the slightest idea about Myanmar, the people, the political background there and for example the destruction done by dynamite fishing to the reefs on each and every dive spot Myanmar HAD to offer. I have worked with Burmese employers for almost 8 years now and can say that - despite them being hard working and nice people - they are very "different" from Thai people. It simply does not "click", they seldomly smile and when you give them presents or surprise them in any way, most of them just receive the offering with a nod or a smirk at best... The food (at least in my opinion) is terrible, body odors are "strange", their live philosophy, etc. are largely out of tune with anything a foreigner would expect to find in southeast Asia.

This all said - I will stay in this country that I love and I believe in it and would never even think about moving to or investing in Burma. The worrying foreign investors should clean up their own doorsteps and remember what clusterf###$ western companies, institutions or banks like Goldmann Sachs have ignited in their own country right in front of the eyes of and with the support of their "souvereign" and democratic government before being "concerned" about a bit of political tension in Thailand.

And - let's be honest, what is a typical "investor" nowadays? Most are stock market gamblers anyway, and I give a F### about the opinion of a gambler.

Good luck to you sir. I felt the same only a few years ago, but something changed. Kids got a little older, but I have a feeling things might get rocky here so I will depart surely to return.

I am not sure exactly what, changed but this feels similar to what happened in Ireland. Money being created from froth. And from a personal view, despite my love if the place, finally realising, that most see me just as a farang. Not a nice feeling.

Sounds like you have to change your username in this forum then Just pulling your leg... Sad to see you go. I hope that you will make all the right decisions and won't mess it up since you have family, and family comes first.

And... where will you go? Burma, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Philippines, South America, Europe, The US of A? Good luck to you too. The whole world is up for a rollercoaster ride. Thus the location is not as important as your mental stability, guts, survival instinct and your own mind set. People often think problems can be erased by moving to another location, but in most cases this does not work out.

I have good friends in Ireland. They stayed and had a hard ride, but in the end prevailed. They simply switched into low gear and ducked, reduced staff and overheads to the absolute minimum, etc. and today are stronger and happier than ever before after managing to fight their way through the crisis.

Edited August 10, 2013 by catweazle

[Thai at Heart]

Honestly, at times I am at awe, wondering how I made it to live and survive in this country for 22 years, given all the odds (and these odds include the so-called "Thainess" commented above). I lived through the Black May in 1992, the devaluation and financial crisis in 1997, survived the 2004 Tsunami, saw the coup in 2006, the 2008 yellow shirt airport seizure, 2010 red shirt clashes, the chicken flu scare, unrest in the south, and survived countless other crisis moments, including being shipwrecked near Trang, floating at sea for seven hours along with 13 other fellow cast-aways, survived death threads by drunk dive boat captains, and managed to keep my dick still attached to my body despite encounters with some psycho Thai girlfriends from hell...

Yet, I never had the slightest doubt that this is the right country for me (perhaps I am crazy) to live, work and eventually retire in. Even though Thailand seems to be in permanent turmoil politically, the country manages to steer around major cliffs despite all odds. Perhaps this is a result of Thainess, but most likely due to the fact that so many problems here are simply smiled away in hope they will just dissolve by time... Never wanted or will get sucked into politics, because it is a dangerous mine field for any foreigner in Thailand to walk into, but I always listen to my heart and trust my intuition when topics like this one come up.

This said, I am not worried at all, especially not about this "Goodbye Thailand, hello Myanmar" b#ll$hit, because a campaign like this can only be ignited by blind, deaf and ignorant persons who have not the slightest idea about Myanmar, the people, the political background there and for example the destruction done by dynamite fishing to the reefs on each and every dive spot Myanmar HAD to offer. I have worked with Burmese employers for almost 8 years now and can say that - despite them being hard working and nice people - they are very "different" from Thai people. It simply does not "click", they seldomly smile and when you give them presents or surprise them in any way, most of them just receive the offering with a nod or a smirk at best... The food (at least in my opinion) is terrible, body odors are "strange", their live philosophy, etc. are largely out of tune with anything a foreigner would expect to find in southeast Asia.

This all said - I will stay in this country that I love and I believe in it and would never even think about moving to or investing in Burma. The worrying foreign investors should clean up their own doorsteps and remember what clusterf###$ western companies, institutions or banks like Goldmann Sachs have ignited in their own country right in front of the eyes of and with the support of their "souvereign" and democratic government before being "concerned" about a bit of political tension in Thailand.

And - let's be honest, what is a typical "investor" nowadays? Most are stock market gamblers anyway, and I give a F### about the opinion of a gambler.

Good luck to you sir. I felt the same only a few years ago, but something changed. Kids got a little older, but I have a feeling things might get rocky here so I will depart surely to return.

I am not sure exactly what, changed but this feels similar to what happened in Ireland. Money being created from froth. And from a personal view, despite my love if the place, finally realising, that most see me just as a farang. Not a nice feeling.

Sounds like you have to change your username in this forum then Just pulling your leg... Sad to see you go. I hope that you will make all the right decisions and won't mess it up since you have family, and family comes first.

And... where will you go? Burma, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Philippines, South America, Europe, The US of A? Good luck to you too. The whole world is up for a rollercoaster ride. Thus the location is not as important as your mental stability, guts, survival instinct and your own mind set. People often think problems can be erased by moving to another location, but in most cases this does not work out.

I have good friends in Ireland. They stayed and had a hard ride, but in the end prevailed. They simply switched into low gear and ducked, reduced staff and overheads to the absolute minimum, etc. and today are stronger and happier than ever before after managing to fight their way through the crisis.

I came here relatively young with work, so will go back to the UK for my kids to be educated and spend time with their grandparents.

I have done OK, but for my kids, education here even at the best schools sucks.

I am an economist, and, something doesn't add up here at the moment. I was here for 97 and it wasn't good. I hate to be glib, but, a bunch of smart people screwed it up in the USA and the rest.

Right now, they don't have to many smart people running Thailand.

[noitom]

It's laughable when people say that tourists and expats will visit other SE Asian countries instead of Thailand. People love Thailand. They don't love Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, etc. If they stopped coming to Thailand, they'd be more likely to go to Europe. Thailand has a unique and fun atmosphere that other SE Asian countries don't have, and will never have. Well, not in our lifetimes/ Troubles or not, people will still visit Thailand. Problems are usually focused on Bangkok, not the rest of the country.

This is true. While sex may be readily available for sale and bargaining in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, it is organized in to a full scale massive industry with government, police, and military on the take in Thailand. Sex tourists can generally come and go in Thailand and the prices are stable, a certain amount of security is provided.

Sex venues in Thailand are virtually everywhere on every Soi. Why in the world would a sex tourist experiment with one of these other countries? And as a bonus, if Thailand sex travelers tire of sex and need a refresh break, they needn't leave Thailand because it also offers organized elephant circuses and temple walkthroughs. No one, no country, no state organizes sex trade like the Thais. And for prices that the everyman sex traveler can well afford.

[howzat]

Farangs don't understand thainess.

But I think we can understand the difference between right and wrong and honesty and dishonesty!!

[stoffel45]

Look on the bright side - when ' it ' returns 'it' is within reach of millions of Patriots.

[Teddy3943]

Farangs don't understand thainess.

True! Because farangs evolved to logic thinkers...

[Thai at Heart]

Farangs don't understand thainess.

True! Because farangs evolved to logic thinkers...

Haha.

Boooo. We Thai, know everything.