Bangkok’s lavish, air-conditioned malls consume as much power as entire provinces

File photo. Source: Internet

BANGKOK: -- How much luxury retail does one city need? Bangkok seems determined to find out. The Thai capital’s newest high-end mall, EmQuartier, opened March 27 featuring brands including Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Dior, Prada, Cartier, Dolce & Gabbana, Tiffany, Fendi, and Balenciaga.

EmQuartier opposite Emporium Mall opened recently and it's packed! pic.twitter.com/BdMmsNhVCQ
— Willy Thuan (@willythuan) April 2, 2015

It joins more than half a dozen similar shopping meccas within a three-mile (5 km) stretch along the city’s central Sukhumvit Road, many of them boasting the same expensive brands.

But the true cost may extend beyond Thailand’s borders. In part because of the city’s intense climate—it is one of the hottest big cities in the world—Bangkok malls and their massive air conditioning systems consume immense amounts of electricity. The huge Siam Paragon mall consumes nearly twice as much power annually as all of Thailand’s underdeveloped Mae Hong Son province, home to about 250,000 people.

Graphic: qz.com

Full story: http://qz.com/376125/bangkoks-lavish-malls-consume-as-much-power-as-entire-provinces/

-- QUARTZ 2015-04-07

Probably generates twice as much revenue as well...

And there are still schools, without electricity. All these malls! And it is still a third world country.

>>The huge Siam Paragon mall consumes nearly twice as much power annually as all of Thailand’s underdeveloped Mae Hong Son province, home to about 250,000 people.<< Quote

The rich is getting richer and the poor is getting poorer!!

No surprises there....................

>>The huge Siam Paragon mall consumes nearly twice as much power annually as all of Thailand’s underdeveloped Mae Hong Son province, home to about 250,000 people.<< Quote

The rich is getting richer and the poor is getting poorer!!

No surprises there....................

Guess we will never see you in a mall then...

Probably generates twice as much revenue as well...

These malls generate nothing. They are places where rich people buy stuff they don't need in shops owned by other rich people. They are a waste of space, a waste of money and a waste of energy.

Probably generates twice as much revenue as well...

These malls generate nothing. They are places where rich people buy stuff they don't need in shops owned by other rich people. They are a waste of space, a waste of money and a waste of energy.

But

My Thai wife loves to go shopping

She is not rich

Probably generates twice as much revenue as well...

These malls generate nothing. They are places where rich people buy stuff they don't need in shops owned by other rich people. They are a waste of space, a waste of money and a waste of energy.

You show great economical insight!

Malls generate profits for business owners... as well as plenty of jobs, direct and indirect.

A Dior dress directly feeds the mouth of the business owner, but indirectly it feeds the mouth of the store's staff, the marketers, the mall's cleaners, the food court cooks, the advertising agencies, the designers in France, the garment factories in Bengladesh, the security guards, the transport companies, the taxi drivers, ... , or even the beggars and lotery sellers who wait outside the malls.

Hopefully there are lots of luxury goods to buy in luxury malls. It feeds millions of people around the world.

And hopefully there are plenty of people who buy these products too!

And there are still schools, without electricity. All these malls! And it is still a third world country.

I see talking out of one's backside remains in vogue.

Thailand is hardly 3rd world.

Malls generate profits for business owners... as well as plenty of jobs, direct and indirect.

A Dior dress directly feeds the mouth of the business owner, but indirectly it feeds the mouth of the store's staff, the marketers, the mall's cleaners, the food court cooks, the advertising agencies, the designers in France, the garment factories in Bengladesh, the security guards, the transport companies, the taxi drivers, ... , or even the beggars and lotery sellers who wait outside the malls.

Hopefully there are lots of luxury goods to buy in luxury malls. It feeds millions of people around the world.

And hopefully there are plenty of people who buy these products too!

Yes, it feeds a lot of people... just, keeping them from starving to death, but not much more. But few of the rich people who buy the luxury goods pay much tax, if any at all. They contribute as little as they can to society and prefer to spend their not-so-hard-earned money on Dior dresses rather than helping society move forward and increasing the quality for all involved. The reality is that of the price of a dress, only a very tiny fraction ends up in the pockets of those who actually made the garment.

I believe global warming is funded by mall owners to get us into their aircon on days like these so we can spend money so they can build more malls,.

Malls should have a big warning sign on them like ciggie packs....

And there are still schools, without electricity. All these malls! And it is still a third world country.

I see talking out of one's backside remains in vogue.

Thailand is hardly 3rd world.

Thailand has all the symptoms of a third world country, failing education system, lacking infrastructure, rampant corruption, enormous differences between rich and poor etc. Worst of all, as opposed to its Southeast Asian neighbours, Thailand is moving very slowly in the right direction, if at all.

. . . few of the rich people who buy the luxury goods pay much tax, if any at all. They contribute as little as they can to society and prefer to spend their not-so-hard-earned money on Dior dresses rather than helping society move forward and increasing the quality for all involved

Pure BS from yet another clueless farang talking on matters he knows nothing about from the best vantage point he knows . . . his reclining armchair

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-16260782

In terms of percentage of population, Thailand was the most generous, with 85% of Thais making regular charitable contributions.

I wonder if all those who give are poor.

. . . few of the rich people who buy the luxury goods pay much tax, if any at all. They contribute as little as they can to society and prefer to spend their not-so-hard-earned money on Dior dresses rather than helping society move forward and increasing the quality for all involved

Pure BS from yet another clueless farang talking on matters he knows nothing about from the best vantage point he knows . . . his reclining armchair

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-16260782

In terms of percentage of population, Thailand was the most generous, with 85% of Thais making regular charitable contributions.

I wonder if all those who give are poor.

Poor people in Thailand are known to donate a lot relative to their available funds. A rich person making millions or more who donates a percent or two of his enormous, untaxed income to the local temple doesn't impress me much. Or do you think those 85% of Thais are all rich people?

As for clueless farang... oh well...

Seems unlikely to me. So Siam Paragon with 123GWh/year = 123.000.000 KWh x 7 B/KWh = 861.000.000 THB ?

I call BS.

And there are still schools, without electricity. All these malls! And it is still a third world country.

I see talking out of one's backside remains in vogue.

Thailand is hardly 3rd world.

But still some seem to think that it should emulate North Korea rather than strive to catch Singapore

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

. . . few of the rich people who buy the luxury goods pay much tax, if any at all. They contribute as little as they can to society and prefer to spend their not-so-hard-earned money on Dior dresses rather than helping society move forward and increasing the quality for all involved

Pure BS from yet another clueless farang talking on matters he knows nothing about from the best vantage point he knows . . . his reclining armchair alt=rolleyes.gif>

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-16260782

In terms of percentage of population, Thailand was the most generous, with 85% of Thais making regular charitable contributions.

I wonder if all those who give are poor.

Poor people in Thailand are known to donate a lot relative to their available funds. A rich person making millions or more who donates a percent or two of his enormous, untaxed income to the local temple doesn't impress me much. Or do you think those 85% of Thais are all rich people?

As for clueless farang... oh well...

Who gives a toss if YOU'RE impressed?

How do you know how much of their wealth they give? How do you know whether or not they pay tax?

Making stupid, mass generalisations only serves to highlight your ignorance

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Poor people in Thailand are known to donate a lot relative to their available funds. A rich person making millions or more who donates a percent or two of his enormous, untaxed income to the local temple doesn't impress me much. Or do you think those 85% of Thais are all rich people?

As for clueless farang... oh well...

Who gives a toss if YOU'RE impressed?

How do you know how much of their wealth they give? How do you know whether or not they pay tax?

Making stupid, mass generalisations only serves to highlight your ignorance

Oh well, since I will never reach your level of intellect, I suppose I have to throw in the towel...

So? what the point here? one can argue that those old clunkers buses that ply the roads

of BKK produces more carbon monoxide than all the people in a small country,

have you ever been behind one of those buses belching clouds of black diesel fumes?

what? those buses cant be repaired any more? it's like a forth world country out there...

Been here 9 years and can only remember walking into a mall 3 times, fact is there is nothing there i need,

when asking thai friends why they go to the mall they say...free aircon, i cant work out who spends money there.

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

. . . few of the rich people who buy the luxury goods pay much tax, if any at all. They contribute as little as they can to society and prefer to spend their not-so-hard-earned money on Dior dresses rather than helping society move forward and increasing the quality for all involved

Pure BS from yet another clueless farang talking on matters he knows nothing about from the best vantage point he knows . . . his reclining armchair alt=rolleyes.gif>

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-16260782

In terms of percentage of population, Thailand was the most generous, with 85% of Thais making regular charitable contributions.

I wonder if all those who give are poor.

Poor people in Thailand are known to donate a lot relative to their available funds. A rich person making millions or more who donates a percent or two of his enormous, untaxed income to the local temple doesn't impress me much. Or do you think those 85% of Thais are all rich people?

As for clueless farang... oh well...

Who gives a toss if YOU'RE impressed?

How do you know how much of their wealth they give? How do you know whether or not they pay tax?

Making stupid, mass generalisations only serves to highlight your ignorance

Hey, I am working hard on winning prick of the year on tv, stop crowding my space man.

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Hey, I am working hard on winning prick of the year on tv, stop crowding my space man.

Never mind. You're WAY out in front

So? what the point here? one can argue that those old clunkers buses that ply the roads

of BKK produces more carbon monoxide than all the people in a small country,

have you ever been behind one of those buses belching clouds of black diesel fumes?

what? those buses cant be repaired any more? it's like a forth world country out there...

Except that most or all of the buses in Bangkok run on CNG nowadays.

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

And there are still schools, without electricity. All these malls! And it is still a third world country.

I see talking out of one's backside remains in vogue.

Thailand is hardly 3rd world.

Thailand has all the symptoms of a third world country, failing education system, lacking infrastructure, rampant corruption, enormous differences between rich and poor etc. Worst of all, as opposed to its Southeast Asian neighbours, Thailand is moving very slowly in the right direction, if at all.

You've also just described the USA and most of Europe .....so I have to ask, if you hate Thailand so much what are you doing here?

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

And there are still schools, without electricity. All these malls! And it is still a third world country.

I see talking out of one's backside remains in vogue.

Thailand is hardly 3rd world.

Thailand has all the symptoms of a third world country, failing education system, lacking infrastructure, rampant corruption, enormous differences between rich and poor etc. Worst of all, as opposed to its Southeast Asian neighbours, Thailand is moving very slowly in the right direction, if at all.

You've also just described the USA and most of Europe .....so I have to ask, if you hate Thailand so much what are you doing here?

I didn't say I hate Thailand, did I? However, I do prefer to have a realistic view upon the country I live and work in rather than making up some glorified dream.

As for "failing education system, lacking infrastructure, rampant corruption, enormous differences between rich and poor etc." describing the USA and most of Europe... no, the differences are enormous, at least compared to most of Europe. I've never lived in the USA.

. . . few of the rich people who buy the luxury goods pay much tax, if any at all. They contribute as little as they can to society and prefer to spend their not-so-hard-earned money on Dior dresses rather than helping society move forward and increasing the quality for all involved

Pure BS from yet another clueless farang talking on matters he knows nothing about from the best vantage point he knows . . . his reclining armchair

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-16260782

In terms of percentage of population, Thailand was the most generous, with 85% of Thais making regular charitable contributions.

I wonder if all those who give are poor.

Poor people in Thailand are known to donate a lot relative to their available funds. A rich person making millions or more who donates a percent or two of his enormous, untaxed income to the local temple doesn't impress me much. Or do you think those 85% of Thais are all rich people?

As for clueless farang... oh well...

It appears that according to your post there are only the rich and poor in Thailand. That's very strange as from personal knowledge over many years I keep stumbling across the middle classes. Maybe you have eliminated them in your neck of the woods?

Maybe a Mall Energy tax would be a way to go and take that money and get proper electricity is some schools.

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

And there are still schools, without electricity. All these malls! And it is still a third world country.

I see talking out of one's backside remains in vogue.

Thailand is hardly 3rd world.

Thailand has all the symptoms of a third world country, failing education system, lacking infrastructure, rampant corruption, enormous differences between rich and poor etc. Worst of all, as opposed to its Southeast Asian neighbours, Thailand is moving very slowly in the right direction, if at all.

You've also just described the USA and most of Europe .....so I have to ask, if you hate Thailand so much what are you doing here?

I didn't say I hate Thailand, did I? However, I do prefer to have a realistic view upon the country I live and work in rather than making up some glorified dream.

As for "failing education system, lacking infrastructure, rampant corruption, enormous differences between rich and poor etc." describing the USA and most of Europe... no, the differences are enormous, at least compared to most of Europe. I've never lived in the USA.

Thailand never invaded a nation under false pretenses leading to the genocide of over 500,000 people, the division in wealth in the West is far greater than in Thailand and regarding infrastructure, granted my nation the UK does have better infrastructure....And all citizens have to pay an additional tax called council tax to support that infrastructure.

Malls generate profits for business owners... as well as plenty of jobs, direct and indirect.

A Dior dress directly feeds the mouth of the business owner, but indirectly it feeds the mouth of the store's staff, the marketers, the mall's cleaners, the food court cooks, the advertising agencies, the designers in France, the garment factories in Bengladesh, the security guards, the transport companies, the taxi drivers, ... , or even the beggars and lotery sellers who wait outside the malls.

Hopefully there are lots of luxury goods to buy in luxury malls. It feeds millions of people around the world.

And hopefully there are plenty of people who buy these products too!

Yes, it feeds a lot of people... just, keeping them from starving to death, but not much more. But few of the rich people who buy the luxury goods pay much tax, if any at all. They contribute as little as they can to society and prefer to spend their not-so-hard-earned money on Dior dresses rather than helping society move forward and increasing the quality for all involved. The reality is that of the price of a dress, only a very tiny fraction ends up in the pockets of those who actually made the garment.

The same happens in "your world"...

Only a tiny fraction of the price of the cheap beer you buy at 7/11 is going to those who plant barley...

Only a tiny fraction of the price of your bowl of rice goes to the rice farmers...

Only a tiny franction of the price of your low cost airline ticket is going to the one who cleans your seat after you sat in it...

And so on...

Actually, at the Siam Paragon shopping mall you can buy a Lamborghini. These cars are sold 3 times the price you would buy them in Europe... because of the tax.

So, with one car, rich people will pay more tax than what you will pay in your whole lifetime.