Thailand becomes 'Sick Man of Southeast Asia'
By Digital Content

BANGKOK, March 26 – Thailand is now being branded as 'the sick man of Southeast Asia' given its low economic growth, unstable politics and lack of investors’ confidence, according to the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce.

Ath Pisalvanich, director of the university's International Trade Studies Centre, said 480 out of 4,000 small- and medium-sized Thai enterprises have planned to invest in neighbouring Indonesia, Myanmar and Laos with a total investment of Bt77 billion.

The political turmoil will compel other manufacturers to relocate from Thailand, he said, adding that about 1,440 Thai operators will possibly move their production bases to neighbouring countries.

Thailand will lose investment opportunities equivalent to Bt46 billion from the relocations, which will be three times higher than the original move, he said.

If the political impasse continues until next year, Thailand’s investors overseas will increase to 2,800 operators, at a total value of over Bt200 billion, or seven times higher. With this, Thailand's loss of investment opportunity will be as high as Bt123 billion.

Those contemplating relocation include food and beverage manufacturers, retailers, finance and insurance operators, and manufacturers of electronics products.

Mr Ath said Thailand’s loss of market share to Vietnam has risen from 13 per cent to 23 per cent from products including rice, tobacco, textile, tea, coffee, spices, cereals, clothing, ceramic goods, steel, glassware, electrical appliances and plastic goods.

The loss is about US$943 million, or Bt29.5 billion, partly due to higher manufacturing and labour costs compared to Vietnam.

Thailand will lose foreign director investment (FDI) opportunity after other Southeast Asian countries switched to invest in Vietnam at US$5.541 billion in six years after the launch of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), or in 2020, said Mr Ath.

It is predicted that FDI in Vietnam will increase to US$240 billion and Thailand only US$170 billion in the next six years despite Vietnam’s limitation in public facilities, transportation system, and higher investment and labour costs. (MCOT online news)


-- TNA 2014-03-26

UTCC: businesses to triple money diversion from Thailand if politics prolong

BANGKOK, 26 March 2014 (NNT) – Around 120 billion baht worth of investment may be diverted from Thailand if the political situation prolongs until the end of the year, according to the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC).

At Phisanwanit, director of the UTCC's Center for International Trade Studies (CITS), on Tuesday revealed the center's findings from an evaluation of Thai businesses' expansion based on the opinions of business operators. Without the political problem, as much as 90% of all businesses would keep their production bases in Thailand and divert only 10% of their investment capital, roughly 77 billion baht, to other ASEAN countries.

However, if the political situation extends to the end of the year, three times as many businesses will likely decide to relocate their investment bases, and Thailand will be missing out on 120 billion baht of investment. If the situation extends into 2015, 70% of all the businesses will relocate their bases to other ASEAN countries, depriving Thailand of 200 billion baht worth of investment.

According to Mr. At, industries most prone to relocation include the food and beverage industry; retail, finance and insurance industry; and computer and electronics industry. Indonesia tops the choice of target countries for relocation, followed by Myanmar, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore.


-- NNT 2014-03-26

'Thailand becomes 'Sick Man of Southeast Asia'

Look who the head nurse and head doctor are.

How bloody sad is that story? Six months ago this country was the envy of most of the region and now? Yes I know the "man from Dubai" chanters will try and say the rice deal was the turning point but the simple fact is Thailand would have moved past that. What's destroying this country is the rogue Suthep, his puppetmasters (who all have their millions offshore anyway - this is about power not money) and those who are dim enough to support him. PDRC flagwavers can - each and every one - say proudly "I did my little bit to destroy Thailand".

'Thailand becomes 'Sick Man of Southeast Asia'

Look who the head nurse and head doctor are.

You cannot blame the head nurse and doctor for the illness. The patient has to take responsibility for his lifestyle as it facilitated the illness.

Unfortunately, taking personal responsibility for any problem in Thailand is not part of the culture.

'Thailand becomes 'Sick Man of Southeast Asia'

Look who the head nurse and head doctor are.

You cannot blame the head nurse and doctor for the illness. The patient has to take responsibility for his lifestyle as it facilitated the illness.

Unfortunately, taking personal responsibility for any problem in Thailand is not part of the culture.

Isn't his lifestyle a reflection of government--if the said government is totally corrupt the people become corrupted, (if they can do I follow attitude).

Over the past 32 years here I see the downward spiral and it is still on the DOWN.

Of course no one are to blame that's the in saying at the moment --a get out.

Thailand will never move forward with threats of coups, riots and demonstrations every 18 months.

How bloody sad is that story? Six months ago this country was the envy of most of the region and now? Yes I know the "man from Dubai" chanters will try and say the rice deal was the turning point but the simple fact is Thailand would have moved past that. What's destroying this country is the rogue Suthep, his puppetmasters (who all have their millions offshore anyway - this is about power not money) and those who are dim enough to support him. PDRC flagwavers can - each and every one - say proudly "I did my little bit to destroy Thailand".

Well I've just read my daily dosage of Absolute BS but one has to expect this from Red Shirt Flag Wavers !!

'Thailand becomes 'Sick Man of Southeast Asia'

Look who the head nurse and head doctor are.

Head nurse is nurse Ratchett and head doctor is Dr.Frankenstein.

If Thailand is the sick man of SE Asia then Cambodia, where I live, is officially dead

Reincarnated might be correct ? Thailand probably has to go through some sort of demise before restructuring, can't really see any other solutions for breaking up the current siege lines.

statistics...

“From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien

Thailand will never move forward with threats of coups, riots and demonstrations every 18 months.

they have had 80 years of one coup after another...

With this, Thailand's loss of investment opportunity will be as high as Bt123 billion.

No worries, TAT just announced a campaign to take up the slack.

How bloody sad is that story? Six months ago this country was the envy of most of the region and now? Yes I know the "man from Dubai" chanters will try and say the rice deal was the turning point but the simple fact is Thailand would have moved past that. What's destroying this country is the rogue Suthep, his puppetmasters (who all have their millions offshore anyway - this is about power not money) and those who are dim enough to support him. PDRC flagwavers can - each and every one - say proudly "I did my little bit to destroy Thailand".

"depriving Thailand of 200 billion baht worth of investment."

Small change to what the rice scam, school tablets scam, water infrastructure scam, first car buyers rebate scam have cost Thailand and a drop in the ocean if the fast train B2Trn scam had gone ahead.

So to me a small price to pay to stop the grand theft by the Shin clan

,

How bloody sad is that story? Six months ago this country was the envy of most of the region and now? Yes I know the "man from Dubai" chanters will try and say the rice deal was the turning point but the simple fact is Thailand would have moved past that. What's destroying this country is the rogue Suthep, his puppetmasters (who all have their millions offshore anyway - this is about power not money) and those who are dim enough to support him. PDRC flagwavers can - each and every one - say proudly "I did my little bit to destroy Thailand".

Thailand has long been this way, it has succeeded in some respects despite itself not because of itself.

The thing that has happened in the last few months has stripped away the thin veneer that portrays what Thailand would like people to see, and revealed what it actually is.

How bloody sad is that story? Six months ago this country was the envy of most of the region and now? Yes I know the "man from Dubai" chanters will try and say the rice deal was the turning point but the simple fact is Thailand would have moved past that. What's destroying this country is the rogue Suthep, his puppetmasters (who all have their millions offshore anyway - this is about power not money) and those who are dim enough to support him. PDRC flagwavers can - each and every one - say proudly "I did my little bit to destroy Thailand".

"depriving Thailand of 200 billion baht worth of investment."

Small change to what the rice scam, school tablets scam, water infrastructure scam, first car buyers rebate scam have cost Thailand and a drop in the ocean if the fast train B2Trn scam had gone ahead.

So to me a small price to pay to stop the grand theft by the Shin clan

,

The trough feeding was going on long, long before Thaksin arrived on the scene. Thaksin is just one part of problem that has been around since adam was sucking his thumb. There are 100's more lined for their chance to feed when the shins are gone and 100's behind them.

'Thailand becomes 'Sick Man of Southeast Asia'

Look who the head nurse and head doctor are.

Not to forget the surgion Chalerm.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Incurable illness.

If Thailand is the sick man of SE Asia then Cambodia, where I live, is officially dead

Why? Cambodia has robust economic growth, relatively few political problems (at least of the type that Thailand is suffering ATM...those short lived protests in Phnom Penh last year were a far cry from the last few months in Thailand and not just Bangkok), investors are moving in (Ford is now starting to assemble CKD Everests in Sihanoukville for example), tourists are visiting in record numbers. Sure, Cambodia still has a while to go to catch up with Thailand, it's customs procedures are all over the place (even bringing in a car for tourism purposes isn't simple as some borders will allow them in and others won't), corruption is out of control, but all indications are Cambodia is generally moving ahead in the right direction.

Actually, a lot of investors have pulled out, at least Western companies as they cannot pay the bribes demanded without facing the music back home. Infrastructure is crumbling everywhere, here in SR we do not have electricity for at least 6 hours a day, the Okhnas are getting greedier all the time, most of the surge in tourists comes from really cheap markets, etc., etc.

Good Luck Yingluck, keep going, they are in the wrong! Only one way ahead "one man one vote"

Vietnam certainly doesn't have higher labour costs than Thailand. What a ridiculous claim - Thailand is more developed than Vietnam, so logically wages in Thailand must be higher and of course they are - minimum wages are now 300 Baht a day for unskilled labour, whereas I remember skilled labourers were getting just 1.6 million dong or barely US$80 per month assembling machinery at a factory I used to work at in Khanh Hoa province of Vietnam during 2011-2012. Clearly then, Vietnamese wages are MUCH lower than Thai wages.

I don't question your statistics regarding Viet Nam, but I must say that very few of my neighbors get the minimum wage. A lot of them are now on day work, don't call us, we'll call you, labor. As far as the 15,000 baht per month for university graduates, it seems that 10,000 baht per month is normal. These are just my observations, not a national poll.

How bloody sad is that story? Six months ago this country was the envy of most of the region and now? Yes I know the "man from Dubai" chanters will try and say the rice deal was the turning point but the simple fact is Thailand would have moved past that. What's destroying this country is the rogue Suthep, his puppetmasters (who all have their millions offshore anyway - this is about power not money) and those who are dim enough to support him. PDRC flagwavers can - each and every one - say proudly "I did my little bit to destroy Thailand".

While you, on the other hand can proudly point to your efforts to tear the country apart.

'Thailand becomes 'Sick Man of Southeast Asia'

Look who the head nurse and head doctor are.

You cannot blame the head nurse and doctor for the illness. The patient has to take responsibility for his lifestyle as it facilitated the illness.

Unfortunately, taking personal responsibility for any problem in Thailand is not part of the culture.

Isn't his lifestyle a reflection of government--if the said government is totally corrupt the people become corrupted, (if they can do I follow attitude).

Over the past 32 years here I see the downward spiral and it is still on the DOWN.

Of course no one are to blame that's the in saying at the moment --a get out.

The people get the government they deserve.

'Thailand becomes 'Sick Man of Southeast Asia'

Look who the head nurse and head doctor are.

You cannot blame the head nurse and doctor for the illness. The patient has to take responsibility for his lifestyle as it facilitated the illness.

Unfortunately, taking personal responsibility for any problem in Thailand is not part of the culture.

The root of the problem lies in the Thai value system in which merit can be derived from power. It is a system of exchange of mutual interests under which money is exchanged for protection and patronage (see Lucien Hanks "Merit and Power in the Thai Social Order", 1962 and Fred W Riggs 1966). Riggs thought that should not be considered as corruption - a view still shared by many Thais.including politicians and bureaucrats. That is not surprising given that between 1969 and 1971 bureaucratic corruption involved up to half of the government's budget (D. Morrell 1975). All the anecdotal eveidence is that the situation has not improved since then.

Suthep is like King Canute commanding the tide not to come in. The situation will not improve until Thais change their value system. And despite what Suthep might say, a survey conducted (I think) last year showed there is no prospect of that happening so long the individual benefits from it, even if in the long run the country as whole does not.

'Thailand becomes 'Sick Man of Southeast Asia'

Look who the head nurse and head doctor are.

You cannot blame the head nurse and doctor for the illness. The patient has to take responsibility for his lifestyle as it facilitated the illness.

Unfortunately, taking personal responsibility for any problem in Thailand is not part of the culture.

The root of the problem lies in the Thai value system in which merit can be derived from power. It is a system of exchange of mutual interests under which money is exchanged for protection and patronage (see Lucien Hanks "Merit and Power in the Thai Social Order", 1962 and Fred W Riggs 1966). Riggs thought that should not be considered as corruption - a view still shared by many Thais.including politicians and bureaucrats. That is not surprising given that between 1969 and 1971 bureaucratic corruption involved up to half of the government's budget (D. Morrell 1975). All the anecdotal eveidence is that the situation has not improved since then.

Suthep is like King Canute commanding the tide not to come in. The situation will not improve until Thais change their value system. And despite what Suthep might say, a survey conducted (I think) last year showed there is no prospect of that happening so long the individual benefits from it, even if in the long run the country as whole does not.

So Thainess is screwing Thailand.

Abandon hope all who enter here.

'Thailand becomes 'Sick Man of Southeast Asia'

Look who the head nurse and head doctor are.

You cannot blame the head nurse and doctor for the illness. The patient has to take responsibility for his lifestyle as it facilitated the illness.

Unfortunately, taking personal responsibility for any problem in Thailand is not part of the culture.

was it not the doctors cure that actually caused the problem, after all the patient was following doctors orders for a speedy recovery, They did not know the illness was going to be prolonged due to the wrong medicine being proscribed!

How bloody sad is that story? Six months ago this country was the envy of most of the region and now? Yes I know the "man from Dubai" chanters will try and say the rice deal was the turning point but the simple fact is Thailand would have moved past that. What's destroying this country is the rogue Suthep, his puppetmasters (who all have their millions offshore anyway - this is about power not money) and those who are dim enough to support him. PDRC flagwavers can - each and every one - say proudly "I did my little bit to destroy Thailand".

How bloody sad is that story? Six months ago this country was the envy of most of the region and now? Yes I know the "man from Dubai" chanters will try and say the rice deal was the turning point but the simple fact is Thailand would have moved past that. What's destroying this country is the rogue Suthep, his puppetmasters (who all have their millions offshore anyway - this is about power not money) and those who are dim enough to support him. PDRC flagwavers can - each and every one - say proudly "I did my little bit to destroy Thailand".

A load of cobblers, GG I agree, same old rubbish. 6 months ago Thailand was the envy of Asia.

Good Luck Yingluck, keep going, they are in the wrong! Only one way ahead "one man one vote"

Have you any mental defect or ???

If you support Yingluck, I will really stop to read your pages !