Thais clash while the factories keep humming

[webfact]

Growth
Thais Clash While the Factories Keep Humming
By Bruce Einhorn

BANGKOK: -- It’s hard to tell which is the real Thailand: Is it the country whose politics are so divisive and violent that an army coup is possible? Or the country that hosts one of the biggest smoothly functioning carmaking hubs in the world?

Thailand is both things—and that’s why the foreign and local business community greeted the latest chapter in its long political drama with a shrug.

Upset about Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s proposed amnesty bill to allow her billionaire brother, former Premier Thaksin Shinawatra, to return from exile in Dubai and avoid prison for a corruption conviction, the anti-Thaksin Yellow Shirts took to the streets in August.

Investors have grown accustomed to the contest between the Yellow Shirts and pro-Thaksin Red Shirts, so even as Yingluck’s opponents vowed to bring down her government, the markets stayed calm.

Now Thailand’s crisis is deepening. [read more...]

Full story: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-01-30/thailands-factories-keep-busy-yet-growth-slows-as-tourism-falls

-- Bloomberg Businessweek 2014-02-01

[trainman34014]

If Thailand continues the way it is going at present the car and other manufacturers will eventually move their investments to more stable countries in the region with cheap and plentiful labour. One more huge flood should do it, let alone constant political turmoil.

[SamMunich]

Again and again Thailand has been bouncing back within no time, once teh political strive was over.

Car manufacturers will certainly not move because of one incident o f political dispute, especially as it is still concentrated on Bangkok and has not contracted to the various infustrial estates.

Let's hope this struggle is soon solved and then things will be back to normal...

Oops, this is the 200th post of mine. Congrats to myself or what???

[Barney R]

If Thailand continues the way it is going at present the car and other manufacturers will eventually move their investments to more stable countries in the region with cheap and plentiful labour. One more huge flood should do it, let alone constant political turmoil.

It will be interesting when ASEAN kicks in . As far as I know but can be corrected if wrong there becomes free trade between the ASEAN countries which means no import duty which keeps commodities like new cars imported to Thailand expensive . I can see these manufacturers moving to places like Cambodia , Vietnam and especially Burma where the Chinese have invested billions of dollars and labour is cheaper . They might be the hub of car manufacturing but with so many loose nuts running around the hub will eventually fall off.

[Robby nz]

Just as well there is a strong private sector as they are the only thing that has kept this country going for the last 2 years.

With a government that has stuffed up almost everything it has touched it has been absolutely necessary.

[SjaakNL2013]

On this moment yes... Thailand is a car manufacturing HUB for many Japanese car makers.But the point of interests is all ready moving to Indonesia. Toyota and Honda building there 2 giant factories. Also Ford did turn Thailand the back and choose India as regional point. In Vietnam are talks going for a new all model Mitsubishi factory.

As Thai people don t invest in knowledge, language skills and labor regimes then I see dark clouds for the Thai Car Maker HUB.

With the free trade in the ASEAN the factories will choose for the best options to make cars. They are not interested in countries or people.

The main thing for a factory is that it make as much profit as possible.

[Ricardo]

On this moment yes... Thailand is a car manufacturing HUB for many Japanese car makers.But the point of interests is all ready moving to Indonesia. Toyota and Honda building there 2 giant factories. Also Ford did turn Thailand the back and choose India as regional point. In Vietnam are talks going for a new all model Mitsubishi factory.

As Thai people don t invest in knowledge, language skills and labor regimes then I see dark clouds for the Thai Car Maker HUB.

With the free trade in the ASEAN the factories will choose for the best options to make cars. They are not interested in countries or people.

The main thing for a factory is that it make as much profit as possible.

"The main thing for a factory is that it make as much profit as possible."

For an international or global company, the main thing for one of their factories, is to produce at their international-quality & as low a cost as possible.

Profit is driven by selling-price as well, not just production-cost, and there are also distribution/marketing-costs & tax-regimes to be considered.

[RubbaJohnny]

Therefore a lower baht with fixed costs will make them ever more profitable, an empoverished compliant labour force and cheaper baht will encourage foreigners,they don't have to have their families here full time.

[Espinete]

On this moment yes... Thailand is a car manufacturing HUB for many Japanese car makers.But the point of interests is all ready moving to Indonesia. Toyota and Honda building there 2 giant factories. Also Ford did turn Thailand the back and choose India as regional point. In Vietnam are talks going for a new all model Mitsubishi factory.

As Thai people don t invest in knowledge, language skills and labor regimes then I see dark clouds for the Thai Car Maker HUB.

With the free trade in the ASEAN the factories will choose for the best options to make cars. They are not interested in countries or people.

The main thing for a factory is that it make as much profit as possible.

The sounds I here amongst Manufacturers and I am one, turmoil has not affect business and production. Apart from the strong fluctuations of currency. But people get tired. Patience runs out. There are several competing countries where the general climate, both political as intersociety are less juvenile as in Thailand. The general picture is Thailand makes an unncessary fool of itself. Whistles. Shutdowns. Airport closure.

[millwall_fan]

Of course industry carries on! Who do you think is paying the 10m baht a day that the protests are costing? This strategy has been carefully thought out to cause maximum headline effect without affecting the patrons in the ruling elite who are the sleeping (but profit making) partners of all these firms.

[belg]

in the future, thais can speak: thailand was a hub for so many things, but because of xxx (or blame the farang) we are not anymore