Political uncertainty and floods in Thailand worry investors

[webfact]

Political uncertainty and floods worry investors

BANGKOK, 22 October 2013 (NNT) – The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) has said political uncertainty and current floods are worrying the investors.

According to FTI Chairman Payungsak Chartsutipol, despite the fact that the current flooding is not as severe as the one in 2011, it still worries investors, as floods have damaged many areas and some factories have been forced to shut down temporarily because the employees can not get to their workplace due to the floods.

Another factor influencing investors’ confidence, according to the chairman, is the political uncertainty. The anti-government demonstration has been going on at the Urupong intersection, while the Internal Security Act (ISA) will remain in force in 3 districts of Bangkok until the end of next month.

The FTI chairman said the business sector is keeping its eyes on the government’s promised mega development projects, adding that if pushed forward, it would help reduce transportation cost and enhance the competitiveness of the country.

Mr. Payungsak expects the Thai economy in the fourth quarter to be in an upward trend, especially the automobile industry, which will have produced a total of 2.5 million vehicles by the end of 2013, he added.


-- NNT 2013-10-22

[Tatsujin]

Worried. Not worried. Make your minds up. Nothing changes here, there's always flooding, always political uncertainty.

[pisico]

Worried. Not worried. Make your minds up. Nothing changes here, there's always flooding, always political uncertainty.

Uncertainty is the only certain thing in Thailand.

[Cloggie]

Agree, the following situations will not change in the next 100 years, if you invest in Thailand you know that:

- flooding will happen every year, dispite the fact that the govenrment will tell you not to worry

- police will bribe you, red light, speeding, car to heigh and add more yourself

- visa rules will change each year

- political situation will change but wich country not?

I see Thailand as a "stable instability"

[RubbaJohnny]

You'll always meet a shower in LOS one wai or another

[Thaddeus]

Agree, the following situations will not change in the next 100 years, if you invest in Thailand you know that:

- flooding will happen every year, dispite the fact that the govenrment will tell you not to worry

- police will bribe you, red light, speeding, car to heigh and add more yourself

- visa rules will change each year

- political situation will change but wich country not?

I see Thailand as a "stable instability"

Yes, what is needed are rigidly defined areas of doubt and uncertainty.

(Douglas Adams)

[chainarong]

Sovereign risk has always been a stumbling block regarding Thailand , floods have been around since time began, if you believe the bull uttered by the PTP, the flood problem was fixed over the last two years , now apply logic , at anytime there could be coup and at anytime a flood, so there you have it , question is, has anything changed?

[belg]

no more floods (well euh, somewhere around end of november)

[marcusd]

For those whom bells toll... The ringing is loud and big industry is eyeing its neighbors. Promises made no more factories flooded. True but they cannot move goods in or out so they are still closed. I have relatives in chon buri in car factories. Car industry needs an excuse to close some production... Now they have it

Sent from my RM-892_apac_laos_thailand_219 using Tapatalk

[waza]

Mr. Payungsak expects the Thai economy in the fourth quarter to be in an upward trend, especially the automobile industry, which will have produced a total of 2.5 million vehicles by the end of 2013, he added.

That's an upbeat assessment, but in total contrast to everyone else, who say Thailand is in a recession....

(Reuters) - Thailand cut its growth outlook this year and said policy would stay supportive as poor manufacturing output suggested Southeast Asia's second-largest economy may struggle to emerge from recession. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/27/us-thailand-economy-output-idUSBRE98Q0BR20130927


Auto sales in Thailand in July 2013 fell 25.4% year-on-year (y-o-y), to 98,251 units, according to the Federation of Thai Industries (Gaikindo). In line with BMI's call for the market to contract in 2013, y-o-y vehicle sales have been steadily declining since May. Following the end of the first car scheme in 2012,sales are now increasingly dependent on fundamental market demand. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324448104578615152978362908

Floods and campaigns crimped sales last month. Domestic vehicle sales in September dropped 28.4 per cent on year to only 94,945 units partly due to flooding, according to data compiled by Toyota Motor Thailand. Sales of passenger cars slipped 30.7 per cent while one-tone pickup trucks were off 29.1 per cent. http://www.marketresearch.com/Business-Monitor-International-v304/Thailand-Autos-Q4-7806572/

[Thaddeus]

Producing 2.5 million cars, or anything for that matter, is not a sign of an upward trend in the economy.

Selling all of them would be.

This is not a difficult concept.

[indyuk]

Thailand is in a 'DEPRESSION' not a 'RECESSION' have checked with independent sources for the data.

All businesses that come to Thailand should have a risk analysis conducted by a third party that has no interest in individual countries or their performance.

But sometimes the best plans of mice and men go wrong. For example Practingburi is a low risk area for even moderate flooding yet this month has the worst flooding in Thailand. Because of the very low risk there are numerous factories in the area.

A similar paragraph could be written about Chonburi this month.