Thai consumer confidence hits lowest point in 14 months

[webfact]

Consumer confidence hits lowest point in 14 months
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- CONSUMER confidence has continued its downward trend, dropping for seven consecutive months and hitting its lowest point in 14 months in July, according to the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC).

Most respondents to the university's survey felt the economy was now in its worst shape since the great flood of 2011.

Meanwhile, spending for the upcoming Mother's Day is projected to grow only slightly, by 1.61 per cent year on year, to Bt12.24 billion, held back by a rising cost of living and higher prices.

The Consumer Confidence Index slipped to 73.4 points in July from 74.4 in June. A score below 100 indicates low confidence.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/Consumer-confidence-hits-lowest-point-in-14-months-30266080.html


-- The Nation 2015-08-06

[Down the rabbit hole]

And another ringing endorsement for the coup d'etat government.

Ain't Thailand lucky...?

[worgeordie]

Must be because the majority of Thais are up to their eyes in debit.

regards Worgeordie

[Down the rabbit hole]

Must be because the majority of Thais are up to their eyes in debit.

regards Worgeordie

What is that now? As a percentage of GDP?

Probably awful.

[bamnutsak]

Bloody consumers. Don't they know they're supposed to be "happy"?

[Thailand]

Something happen around 14 months ago??

[slapout]

The 14 month ago comparison leveas the present government out of the equation as They were still a twinkle in the eyes of those on the make 14 moths ago. Wish the reporters, journalists etc would be more plan speaking when they are trying to make a point, if that was their objective. in the first place/.

[Asiantravel]

Must be because the majority of Thais are up to their eyes in debit.

regards Worgeordie

What is that now? As a percentage of GDP?

Probably awful.

as at April 16th..................

" Mr Sommai, a long-serving economic bureaucrat who was also drafted in by the military after a previous coup in 2006, said this month that household debt had edged above 85 per cent of gross domestic product. That puts Thailand among the most indebted countries in the region.

But perhaps the more striking trend is the sharpness of the increase in Thai household debt as a proportion of income since 2007. While many other countries hit by the western financial crisis have either cut this ratio back or at least limited its growth, it has risen more than 25 percentage points in Thailand."

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/bb229c5c-e3e6-11e4-9a82-00144feab7de.html#axzz3i2ldSpnm

[ldiablo]

@slapout. Read the article again. It clearly states that consumer confidence has been dropping for 7 consecutive months which puts the current government in the equation. And it is hitting it's lowest point in 14 months. The coup occurred on May 22nd, 2014 which puts 14 months at July 22nd. This is August 6th, 2015 in case you're not aware.

[Bodene]

The 14 month ago comparison leveas the present government out of the equation as They were still a twinkle in the eyes of those on the make 14 moths ago. Wish the reporters, journalists etc would be more plan speaking when they are trying to make a point, if that was their objective. in the first place/.

I'm not sure how you get to that remarkable conclusion, this government stole power from the elected government 14 months and a bit ago and have been in illegitimate power ever since. Saying they are out of the equation seems a remarkable statement.

[Thailand]

The 14 month ago comparison leveas the present government out of the equation as They were still a twinkle in the eyes of those on the make 14 moths ago. Wish the reporters, journalists etc would be more plan speaking when they are trying to make a point, if that was their objective. in the first place/.

Math not one of your better subjects?

[TigerandDog]

Must be because the majority of Thais are up to their eyes in debit.

regards Worgeordie

What is that now? As a percentage of GDP?

Probably awful.

as at April 16th..................

" Mr Sommai, a long-serving economic bureaucrat who was also drafted in by the military after a previous coup in 2006, said this month that household debt had edged above 85 per cent of gross domestic product. That puts Thailand among the most indebted countries in the region.

But perhaps the more striking trend is the sharpness of the increase in Thai household debt as a proportion of income since 2007. While many other countries hit by the western financial crisis have either cut this ratio back or at least limited its growth, it has risen more than 25 percentage points in Thailand."

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/bb229c5c-e3e6-11e4-9a82-00144feab7de.html#axzz3i2ldSpnm

These figures may be correct, but has anyone bothered to look at the cause of such a high rate of personal and household debt. NO. You only need to look at the advertising done by the banks over the last 14 months. Every bank has used the same campaign "We never say NO".

This means that they're lending money to people who can't afford to repay it in most cases. This is the same kind of irresponsible banking practices that led to the Global Economic Crisis of the naughties.

On the other side of the coin, the Thai sub-economy (cash only) is thriving. You only need to go to any of the local markets and see the large amounts of cash changing hands. This sub economy is completely ignored when determining Thailand's overall financial state.

Go to the big shopping centres and look at the stores. Plenty of people walking through and looking, but very few buying. reasons being, too expensive, can buy reasonable quality knockoffs for a fraction of the price in the local markets. The reality is Thais are very savvy when it comes to shopping, pretty much like westerners looking for items in the stores and then buying on the internet for much less. They browse the shops, see what they like and then go to the markets and buy a knockoff, for cash, for around 80% less.

Cars in Thailand are ridiculously overpriced, especially those manufactured here. e.g.

Hyundai Elantra in Thailand costs over 1m baht.(app AUD $40,000). The same car in Australia with a 5 year warranty and on road costs is half the price.

Honda, Suzuki, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Ford & Toyota vehicles manufactured here are between 3k - 5k more expensive than the exact same cars in Australia, and in Oz they have 5 year warranties and the cost is on the road, viz. registration included, and sometime even 1 years comprehensive insurance is included.

Yes the Thai economy has high rates of personal and household debt, but that's because the BANKS are encouraging it.

[h90]

And another ringing endorsement for the coup d'etat government.

Ain't Thailand lucky...?

I read the same from Europe, China and USA....and there was no coup.....

[bamnutsak]

I read the same from Europe, China and USA

Specious argument at best, but keep grasping.

[empireboy]

Learning from the Americans?

[akampa]

no one told the wife about low confidence when shopping ,she`s very confident when spending my money!

[djjamie]

Can't argue with that headline. Why? Because you cannot argue with facts.

Just like the tourist numbers hitting record highs after the return to peace and stability and the consumer confidence sky rocketing at the same time as well the facts also show consumer confidence is dropping like a drunk inexperienced rock climber from January 2015.

As much as this fact does not suit my agenda it must be accepted. It would be associated with the economic downturn on a global scale anyway.

You won't catch me saying "The thai guy that runs the Tom Yum shop is confident cause he told me so, therefore these facts can be denounced"

Edited August 7, 2015 by djjamie

[billd766]

The 14 month ago comparison leveas the present government out of the equation as They were still a twinkle in the eyes of those on the make 14 moths ago. Wish the reporters, journalists etc would be more plan speaking when they are trying to make a point, if that was their objective. in the first place/.

I'm not sure how you get to that remarkable conclusion, this government stole power from the elected government 14 months and a bit ago and have been in illegitimate power ever since. Saying they are out of the equation seems a remarkable statement.

Sigh. There was NO elected government 14 months ago as Yingluck Shinawatra who was the PM dissolved parliament in December 2013. There was a caretaker government but Yingluck was removed as caretaker PM in April 2014 and the cartaker government was dissolved by the courts in May 2014.

This government and the PM were confirmed as legal by the highest person in the land.

Try to research some facts first before you try to spin a story.

If you are going to tell lies at least try to do better than this pathetic attempt.

Edited August 7, 2015 by billd766

[Bodene]

The 14 month ago comparison leveas the present government out of the equation as They were still a twinkle in the eyes of those on the make 14 moths ago. Wish the reporters, journalists etc would be more plan speaking when they are trying to make a point, if that was their objective. in the first place/.

I'm not sure how you get to that remarkable conclusion, this government stole power from the elected government 14 months and a bit ago and have been in illegitimate power ever since. Saying they are out of the equation seems a remarkable statement.

Sigh. There was NO elected government 14 months ago as Yingluck Shinawatra who was the PM dissolved parliament in December 2013. There was a caretaker government but Yingluck was removed as caretaker PM in April 2014 and the cartaker government was dissolved by the courts in May 2014.

This government and the PM were confirmed as legal by the highest person in the land.

Try to research some facts first before you try to spin a story.

If you are going to tell lies at least try to do better than this pathetic attempt.

There most certainly was an elected Government in May, until the junta usurped power. It may have been a caretaker government but it was an elected caretaker government. I didn't think it was that hard to understand. Maybe I was wrong.

According to the Constitution (now binned but I understand the new, improved and 'reformed' draft constitution says the same thing whatever the reality might be), all power in Thailand is held by the Thai people. I do not propose to make any further comment on that. You can if you want - go ahead.

Lies? Pathetic? Try to show some manners my friend. I did not insult you so kindly don't try to insult me. My original comment remains, the junta is responsible for everything that has happened since they stole power from the elected government of the day, and if it's too hot in the kitchen then they'd be better off getting back to whatever they were doing prior to the coup. Probably more profitable too. It's just not that difficult a concept to understand, but then reality is usually pretty straightforward.

Your comment is still pretty remarkable. And wrong of course..

Edited August 7, 2015 by Bodene

[tbthailand]

The 14 month ago comparison leveas the present government out of the equation as They were still a twinkle in the eyes of those on the make 14 moths ago. Wish the reporters, journalists etc would be more plan speaking when they are trying to make a point, if that was their objective. in the first place/.

I'm not sure how you get to that remarkable conclusion, this government stole power from the elected government 14 months and a bit ago and have been in illegitimate power ever since. Saying they are out of the equation seems a remarkable statement.

Sigh. There was NO elected government 14 months ago as Yingluck Shinawatra who was the PM dissolved parliament in December 2013. There was a caretaker government but Yingluck was removed as caretaker PM in April 2014 and the cartaker government was dissolved by the courts in May 2014.

This government and the PM were confirmed as legal by the highest person in the land.

Try to research some facts first before you try to spin a story.

If you are going to tell lies at least try to do better than this pathetic attempt.

If you are going to tell lies at least try to do better than this pathetic attempt.

well, when it comes to lies, yours is a pretty fat, juicy one...

There was NO elected government 14 months ago...

you are right to chastise others for "pathetic" attempts, cause yours is certainly anything but a pathetic attempt to lie... It's stellar!

[GeorgesAbitbol]

Can't argue with that headline. Why? Because you cannot argue with facts.

Just like the tourist numbers hitting record highs after the return to peace and stability and the consumer confidence sky rocketing at the same time as well the facts also show consumer confidence is dropping like a drunk inexperienced rock climber from January 2015.

As much as this fact does not suit my agenda it must be accepted. It would be associated with the economic downturn on a global scale anyway.

You won't catch me saying "The thai guy that runs the Tom Yum shop is confident cause he told me so, therefore these facts can be denounced"

Just like the tourist numbers hitting record highs after the return to peace and stability and the consumer confidence sky rocketing at the same time as well the facts also show consumer confidence is dropping like a drunk inexperienced rock climber from January 2015.

Maybe they were lured to think the Army would solve all their problems, especially those who were able to spend...and see now that the army should stay at its position : defneding a country, not try to rule it with a clear absence of knowledge in any field

[Dumbastheycome]

Must be because the majority of Thais are up to their eyes in debit.

regards Worgeordie

What is that now? As a percentage of GDP?

Probably awful.

as at April 16th..................

" Mr Sommai, a long-serving economic bureaucrat who was also drafted in by the military after a previous coup in 2006, said this month that household debt had edged above 85 per cent of gross domestic product. That puts Thailand among the most indebted countries in the region.

But perhaps the more striking trend is the sharpness of the increase in Thai household debt as a proportion of income since 2007. While many other countries hit by the western financial crisis have either cut this ratio back or at least limited its growth, it has risen more than 25 percentage points in Thailand."

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/bb229c5c-e3e6-11e4-9a82-00144feab7de.html#axzz3i2ldSpnm

These figures may be correct, but has anyone bothered to look at the cause of such a high rate of personal and household debt. NO. You only need to look at the advertising done by the banks over the last 14 months. Every bank has used the same campaign "We never say NO".

This means that they're lending money to people who can't afford to repay it in most cases. This is the same kind of irresponsible banking practices that led to the Global Economic Crisis of the naughties.

On the other side of the coin, the Thai sub-economy (cash only) is thriving. You only need to go to any of the local markets and see the large amounts of cash changing hands. This sub economy is completely ignored when determining Thailand's overall financial state.

Go to the big shopping centres and look at the stores. Plenty of people walking through and looking, but very few buying. reasons being, too expensive, can buy reasonable quality knockoffs for a fraction of the price in the local markets. The reality is Thais are very savvy when it comes to shopping, pretty much like westerners looking for items in the stores and then buying on the internet for much less. They browse the shops, see what they like and then go to the markets and buy a knockoff, for cash, for around 80% less.

Cars in Thailand are ridiculously overpriced, especially those manufactured here. e.g.

Hyundai Elantra in Thailand costs over 1m baht.(app AUD $40,000). The same car in Australia with a 5 year warranty and on road costs is half the price.

Honda, Suzuki, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Ford & Toyota vehicles manufactured here are between 3k - 5k more expensive than the exact same cars in Australia, and in Oz they have 5 year warranties and the cost is on the road, viz. registration included, and sometime even 1 years comprehensive insurance is included.

Yes the Thai economy has high rates of personal and household debt, but that's because the BANKS are encouraging it.

And these stats are being looked at in isolation. Compare them with stats globally and then see where Thailand is positioned.