Banker warns of dire effect on Thai economy if fishing ban is enforced

[webfact]

Banker warns of dire effect on economy if fishing ban is enforced



BANGKOK: -- A leading banker is warning of the possible banning of Thailand’s fishery products by the European Union will have a dire effect on the country’s economy.

Banthoon Lamsam, chairman and chief executive officer of Kasikorn Bank, stated that the main problems facing the country at the moment are the economy, civil aviation industry and the fisheries sector.

But the last of which will require immediate attention as fishing standards, especially for boat crews, lags behind international standards which may result in the EU banning fishery products.

If so, this action will have an adverse affect on the country’s economy as in every year Thailand exports vast amounts of fishery products.

He advises that both the private and government sectors coordinate to resolve the problem to avoid an economic crisis that could cripple the country.

Meanwhile the Department of Harbour is coordinating with the relevant departments to solve the problem of human trafficking which is the root complaint of illicit human trade by western countries.

Nat Japjai, the deputy director-general of the Harbour Department, stated that they were coordinating with all the relevant government departments to quickly solve the problem of human trafficking which is the main point of contention with western nations and could possibly result in the EU yellow carding the country’s fishery products.

First to be tackled will be the stricter regulating and monitoring of all fishing vessels which will require them to be registered with the Harbour Department.

The deputy director-general revealed that the department will be foregoing inspection fees for vessels not exceeding 20 gross tons and new criteria will be formulated for the issuance of crew’s papers to address the problem of illegal workers.

He admitted that in the past counterfeit papers were widely used by fishing vessels but the problem is now being looked after by the Department for Special Investigations (DSI) and there should be a dramatic reduction in the foreseeable future.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/banker-warns-of-dire-effect-on-economy-if-fishing-ban-is-enforced


-- Thai PBS 2015-04-28

[LuckyLew]

Who cares about the economy/ even worse it will look so bad for Thailand image

[Just1Voice]

A red card bad would seriously hurt the economy, but what would be worse for the Thai is the loss of "face". That would be devastating for them.

Edited April 28, 2015 by Just1Voice

[Fat Haggis]

The economy is in tatters as it is, according for the BP this morning export forecast is going to be reduced again to around 1%.

Tourist spending is down, the 400,000 Chinese didn't appear for Songkran, hotels offering up to 50% discount for Thais, and still people like the Tourism minister will turn facts into fiction. And there will be the usual Kool aid gang defending their statistics through graphs produced to make the Titanic look like she was meant to be a submarine !!!

[NongKhaiKid]

The EU wouldn't dare take LoS on, would they ?

[zydeco]

The EU wouldn't dare take LoS on, would they ?

No problem at all. Putin and China will save all! China, China, China. Just stomp your feet three times and China will come to the rescue.

[clockman]

Greed and corruption, Thai mantra. They only have themselves to blame.

[Local Drunk]

They government has almost impossible situations on their hands. Past governments and state officials have done little or nothing to correct them and now they are all falling into the General's hands at about the same time. I hope he can resolve them. I don't envy his position.

[IMA_FARANG]

What he REALLY means if he and his High-so friends in Bangkok can't then make the money they have been by continuing to exploit the poor Thai and Burmese/Cambodian/and Lao fishermen as they have been up to now..... then he won't be able to get a new Mercedes for his next Mia Noi teenage girlfriend.

And that would cramp his luxurious lifestyle.

Edited April 28, 2015 by IMA_FARANG

[Fat Haggis]

They government has almost impossible situations on their hands. Past governments and state officials have done little or nothing to correct them and now they are all falling into the General's hands at about the same time. I hope he can resolve them. I don't envy his position.

He didn't have to take on the role of PM, a poor tradesman always blames his tools!! You reap what you sow and deflecting it back to the previous inept crowd is expected from a particular quarter. He was warned about the impact of Martial Law on the economy by REAL economists and financial experts and he dismissed these as being anti junta and that nobody understood Thainess or the situation in the country.

There is NOTHING stopping him from stepping down and bringing in a cabinet where he has the experts, the losses occurred in the Thai economy due to the coup have been Staggering if the economic experts outside of Thailand are to be believed.

Bottom line, it's happening on his watch, he and he alone brought in people like Kobakarn and put his buddies in positions they had no experience in.

Yes he inherited a mess, but he wanted that position so badly, and now has ultimate control with no accountability with article 44, he has to accept the bad shit along with the good!!

[dopenhagen]

Weird... Rather Poor & Proud than Rich & Righteous ?!

Edited April 28, 2015 by dopenhagen

[berybert]

When shown a graph of export figures going downwards (as with any other sector) any decent Thai will turn it upside down and solve the problem.

[diehard60]

There is nothing article 44 can do for this. It is too late. They all knew this years ago and did nothing except rake in the money they were making.

[Eric Loh]

They government has almost impossible situations on their hands. Past governments and state officials have done little or nothing to correct them and now they are all falling into the General's hands at about the same time. I hope he can resolve them. I don't envy his position.

He didn't have to take on the role of PM, a poor tradesman always blames his tools!! You reap what you sow and deflecting it back to the previous inept crowd is expected from a particular quarter. He was warned about the impact of Martial Law on the economy by REAL economists and financial experts and he dismissed these as being anti junta and that nobody understood Thainess or the situation in the country.

There is NOTHING stopping him from stepping down and bringing in a cabinet where he has the experts, the losses occurred in the Thai economy due to the coup have been Staggering if the economic experts outside of Thailand are to be believed.

Bottom line, it's happening on his watch, he and he alone brought in people like Kobakarn and put his buddies in positions they had no experience in.

Yes he inherited a mess, but he wanted that position so badly, and now has ultimate control with no accountability with article 44, he has to accept the bad shit along with the good!!

Knowing his demeanor, the man is just too proud to step down or even ask for help from technocrats. I will give him credit for trying but honestly he and his generals are totally inadequate in collective skill and expertise to solve the economic and political headwinds. His only solution is to have the election as soon as possibility can even if it means another 8/9 months of economic struggle and an ugly charter. I also think the EU will give an extension to the outright ban if the junta show some degree of efforts inner-structuring the fishery industry. Really to expect a result in 6 months is purely insane and not possible.

[OOLEEBER]

The Baht could depreciate as a result. I think most us here on TV would be glad of that as silver lining.

[masuk]

Greed and corruption, Thai mantra. They only have themselves to blame.

ALL countries carrying our fishing, need to observe international laws regarding fishing areas, size of catch, type of catch.

That Thailand flouts the law in so many ways, does not gain much sympathy from other fishing nations.

[FiestyFarang]

The Thai Baht is still high so all must be ok or am I being to simplistic. Normally with so much bad news around a country's currency is under pressure and I know the Thai Baht has additional rules compared to major currencies but even so why is it so high when Thailand exports rice, cars and needs Tourism I would have thought a lower Baht would be desired. I must be missing something.

[Jim walker]

Time for Thailand’s Junta soldier government to step into the 21^st century and get their air and fishing regulations up to international standards and to world quality or they will be left behind as usual always the donkeys arse never the leader at the head trot on Thailand.

[spermwhale]

This is what happens when you rape and deplete your natural resources willy nilly and when the government allows business owners to abuse their workers in slave like conditions.

Thailand gets to clean up its act. Maybe they will finally get it.

[spermwhale]

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The Thai Baht is still high so all must be ok or am I being to simplistic. Normally with so much bad news around a country's currency is under pressure and I know the Thai Baht has additional rules compared to major currencies but even so why is it so high when Thailand exports rice, cars and needs Tourism I would have thought a lower Baht would be desired. I must be missing something.

Much of it has to do with the relatively high interested rates in Thailand as well as the quantitative easing underway in the EU, which is depressing the value of the euro against the baht. But as Thailand is forced to continue cutting its interest rates and once the EU gets back on its feet, I think you'll see the baht tumble further.

Another thing that will ensure that it weakens further is if this leadership stays in power. They have nobody in their ranks that has experience running an economy.

Edited April 28, 2015 by Boo
removed derogatory reference

[ChrisY1]

If the EU happens to place a sanction on Thailand' fishing industry.....you can bet others will follow.......

One can only hope that the Thais take heed of this warning and actually do something concrete to solve this issue!

[BestBitterPhuket]

Thailand's behavior has been so disgusting over the last decades when it comes to slavery and human trafficking, that I have zero sympathy for the slave owners and corrupt officials who will now take a hit. They should all be arrested, but so far none has. Until these boat owners, captains and corrupt officials faces charges for murder, kidnapping, torture, assault, trafficking, document forgery, crimes against the environment etc, Thailand should bear full sanctions BOTH from USA and EU.

The junta has the power to arrest AND convict these criminal. What are they waiting for?

[Thai at Heart]

Well, the continued allowance of exporting has finally come to a head. Thailand must do something, and yet, they wring their hands, and no cry foul.

There is no way that this is an insurmountable problem, but it will only be solved if the ban actually happens.

[winstonc]

why oh why did they give them 6 months for eons this has been going on..the eu didnt do anything before either..just ban them today..then maybe...and its a small maybe.........

[Sealbash]

They government has almost impossible situations on their hands. Past governments and state officials have done little or nothing to correct them and now they are all falling into the General's hands at about the same time. I hope he can resolve them. I don't envy his position.

He didn't have to take on the role of PM, a poor tradesman always blames his tools!! You reap what you sow and deflecting it back to the previous inept crowd is expected from a particular quarter. He was warned about the impact of Martial Law on the economy by REAL economists and financial experts and he dismissed these as being anti junta and that nobody understood Thainess or the situation in the country.

There is NOTHING stopping him from stepping down and bringing in a cabinet where he has the experts, the losses occurred in the Thai economy due to the coup have been Staggering if the economic experts outside of Thailand are to be believed.

Bottom line, it's happening on his watch, he and he alone brought in people like Kobakarn and put his buddies in positions they had no experience in.

Yes he inherited a mess, but he wanted that position so badly, and now has ultimate control with no accountability with article 44, he has to accept the bad shit along with the good!!

I think Local Drunk point is that these cabinets of experts of who you so highly speak have not done anything to correct the problems in the past. It is NOT happening on his watch. It had already happened. But it must be cured on his watch.

[mikeinbangkok]

The economy is in tatters as it is, according for the BP this morning export forecast is going to be reduced again to around 1%.

Tourist spending is down, the 400,000 Chinese didn't appear for Songkran, hotels offering up to 50% discount for Thais, and still people like the Tourism minister will turn facts into fiction. And there will be the usual Kool aid gang defending their statistics through graphs produced to make the Titanic look like she was meant to be a submarine !!!

Can you provide a citation on your theory that 400,000 Chinese did not appear for Songkran. Seems like you have been Cherry Picking!

Edited April 28, 2015 by mikeinbangkok

[Suffinator]

A leading banker is warning of the possible banning of Thailand’s fishery products by the European Union will have a dire effect on the country’s economy.

So there's a least one that hasn't got he head stuck firmly up his backside and believes that Thailand is immune from external forces.

What Prayut and his merry band don't seem to see is that if the EU enforces the ban then the US are almost certain to follow suit. It could cost the Thai economy over $2 billion in lost revenue and a hefty impact on the economy.

Banthoon Lamsam, chairman and chief executive officer of Kasikorn Bank, stated that the main problems facing the country at the moment are the economy, civil aviation industry and the fisheries sector.

Pity he didn't go on to underline the real issue of the issues ... Corruption! Yes it might seem like a good idea to generate vast wealth by stealing it but alas there comes a time when the you realise that the economy is built on quick-sand and the building is beginning to sink into the abyss.

He advises that both the private and government sectors coordinate to resolve the problem to avoid an economic crisis that could cripple the country.

What he asks for he won't get. Ultimately it will have to result in arresting all those who have engaged in profiting from human trafficking, slavery and illegal fishing. Who knows how high up the tree this goes and if you arrest the small fish without significant compensation then they'll start point the finger up the line. Once again corruption will make a country eventually pay the price for you cannot run an economy based on the uneven and unstable grounds of corruption.

Meanwhile the Department of Harbour is coordinating with the relevant departments to solve the problem of human trafficking which is the root complaint of illicit human trade by western countries.

As if they were surprised. They knew what was going on and many of them have become rich by it.

He admitted that in the past counterfeit papers were widely used by fishing vessels but the problem is now being looked after by the Department for Special Investigations (DSI) and there should be a dramatic reduction in the foreseeable future.

Yes and who supplied the counterfeit documents and who looked the other way after receiving a bundle of cash. Neither was done out of friendship or the goodness of their heart because you can't be friends with crooks and you can't have a heart when you are prepared to be complicit in the act of human trafficking and slavery.

The bottom line is that Banthoon Lamsam is perfectly correct; it could well cripple the economy for the fishing industry is in fact tied to many others, boats, machinery, engines and so forth and all these businesses will feel the effects.

On a personal note ... I think it would be a far greater kindness for the EU to impose a ban. Maybe then they'll learn the true lesson that corruption doesn't work in the long-term and that human trafficking and slavery is the lowest possible level you can sink to in order to make a profit.

[rethaier]

Greed and corruption, Thai mantra. They only have themselves to blame.

I don't know where you come from clockman but if your country has no greed and corruption I would like to know what it is. What do they say, "People who live in glass houses should not throw stones". The USA, The UK and Australia are all full of corruption as is almost every other country I can think of.

[Suffinator]

The EU wouldn't dare take LoS on, would they ?

Yeah they'd be even more worried if the Thais brought a submarine from China LOL

[soalbundy]

The Thai Baht is still high so all must be ok or am I being to simplistic. Normally with so much bad news around a country's currency is under pressure and I know the Thai Baht has additional rules compared to major currencies but even so why is it so high when Thailand exports rice, cars and needs Tourism I would have thought a lower Baht would be desired. I must be missing something.

They are going to make a lot of debt for their railway projects, a low Baht would make the debt very expensive