Thai treasury reserves down 85% since coup

[chiang mai]

11 minutes ago, Eric Loh said:

I am sure you know the difference between the treasury reserves and the foreign (forex) reserves that you posted. The former is managed by the government while the latter is by the BOT. 

You haven't read the thread, have you, we can tell!

[LannaGuy]

16 minutes ago, Eric Loh said:

I am sure you know the difference between the treasury reserves and the foreign (forex) reserves that you posted. The former is managed by the government while the latter is by the BOT. 

that was sort of the point i was making they are two different things and the reserves have plummeted 420BN and that's a FACT

[chiang mai]

2 minutes ago, LannaGuy said:

that was sort of the point i was making they are two different things and the reserves have plummeted 420BN and that's a FACT

All of that was covered on page 1, do try and keep up.

[Naam]

1 hour ago, Eric Loh said:

I am sure you know the difference between the treasury reserves and the foreign (forex) reserves that you posted. The former is managed by the government while the latter is by the BOT. 

using the expression "treasury reserves" (as in the article) for the amount of cash in the government's coffers is a journàrselistic joke. neither "treasury" nor "reserves" applies. and as far as the "depletion" is concerned it's talking about peanuts in relation to GDP and the country's general economic performance over the last decade which includes two juntas. 

[Eric Loh]

1 hour ago, LannaGuy said:

that was sort of the point i was making they are two different things and the reserves have plummeted 420BN and that's a FACT

Don't bother to make your point if junta posters don't know the difference between treasury and foreign reserves.

[paulinbkk111]

And once again China waiting with the puppet strings when LOS collapses. They pretty much have Cambodia and Myanmar, Thailand would be a nice catch.

[chiang mai]

It's worth reminding that there is no longer any obligation for exporters who are paid in foreign currency to convert it into THB. The purpose of relaxing capital controls was to avoid the (costly) need for the central bank to intervene in the forex markets to manage the value of THB and China has adopted the same approach. By allowing exporters to retain foreign currency and invest it, there is now less need to sell that currency and buy THB,  hence the Baht avoids unnecessary strengthening. A consequence of that is the BOT foreign currency reserves will not grow at the same pace and may even reduce.

[morrobay]

2 hours ago, chiang mai said:

IF what you claim is true, that foreign currency reserves have been used to keep THB artificially strong, that would involve BOT selling THB and buying USD, consequently a massive depletion of THB would be seen - please point to it.

 

AND, please also explain why, when exports are in decline, would BOT want a stronger currency which would further cripple exports.

Foreign currency reserves used to prop up the baht would involve BOT buying baht not dollars. 

[chiang mai]

Just now, morrobay said:

Foreign currency reserves used to prop up the baht would involve BOT buying baht not dollars. 

Yes sorry you are correct of course, my error and done in a rush. Apologies.

[Eric Loh]

50 minutes ago, Naam said:

Ctusing the expression "treasury reserves" (as in the article) for the amount of cash in the government's coffers is a journàrselistic joke. neither "treasury" nor "reserves" applies. and as far as the "depletion" is concerned it's talking about peanuts in relation to GDP and the country's general economic performance over the last decade which includes two juntas. 

Treasury is where currency is kept and those are reserves. Sorry don't see the funny side. At least we clear that we not referring to foreign reserves. The treasury reserves are kept for meeting unforeseen emergency funding. Loans are not. So clear misuse even if it's peanuts which is not by me. 300+ B spent without accountability and only accidentally found out is irresponsible and suspectful. 

[davehowden]

Love it, keep it up please, better than Homeland, 555.

[elgordo38]

There was talk in the famous English Bangkok newspaper that they baht would weaken to 36.5 in the first half of the year and then strengthen in the back half again. It is toying with 34.99 at times now. 

[tracker1]

7 hours ago, billd766 said:

 

It might be drastically wrong if you can find and post the link to the comment. If you can't then what you posted is meaningless.

 

[carstenp]

3 hours ago, chiang mai said:

IF what you claim is true, that foreign currency reserves have been used to keep THB artificially strong, that would involve BOT selling THB and buying USD, consequently a massive depletion of THB would be seen - please point to it.

 

AND, please also explain why, when exports are in decline, would BOT want a stronger currency which would further cripple exports.

I will love to tell more about this and why.. But not like it is now in thailand. Hope you understand

[metisdead]

A baiting post has been removed. 

[spidermike007]

Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong admitted the treasury balance was now under a sixth of what it was when the military came to power in 2014, from 495 billion to 75 billion baht. But, he said, that depletion of 420 billion baht from the coffers was a healthy adjustment and meant the government was relying less on loans. “Having a high treasury balance is a burden on the government,” Apisak said Monday. Apisak said higher cash reserves meant the government had to pay more interest on its debt obligations.

This story leave me awestruck. At both the absolutely astonishingly irresponsibility of those in power, and the mind boggling hubris, that the dimwitted finance minister possesses. That is if he really believes his own nonsense. The current administration is running this country into the ground. They are incompetent beyond one's wildest nightmares. One can only hope they are forced out, very, very soon. This nation cannot take much more of this destructive behavior, from ignorant neophytes. 

 

At a time when a few of Thailand's neighbors seem to be getting smarter, stronger, and more progressive, this country is getting left in the dust. The once great tiger of SE Asia is barely a whimpering lamb. My heart goes out to the Thai people. They deserve far, far better. They got a really rotten deal. 

 

"Moving Thailand backwards, at an alarming pace".

 

Edited February 7, 2017 by spidermike007

[kannot]

On 2/7/2017 at 5:25 AM, lemonjelly said:

And yet can still find the cash to buy submarines...... sad

and new  loudspeakers for the  village whilst the roads  crumble away, after spending a  week fixing them myself Wifey told me they have no  money and to get some "process takes a long time".......to sum up, the roads aint going to get fixed anytime soon....along with  grass/ hedge  cutting and any other maintenance.................nice new subs and Chinese trains though, priorities =ZERO

[elgordo38]

22 hours ago, Mook23 said:

FARANG NO UNDAHSUHTAND...

Translation: Suck it up we are in charge.

[Moonmoon]

20 hours ago, OldSiamHand said:

Do you actually believe that?  If so, then why didn't the country go "bankrupt" during previous coups?  Lots to choose from, or is this one different?

 

Really, is Naam the only other poster here who understands some of these very basic financial stats?

During the previous coup and when Abisit was PM, budget for the Military went up as well. the stats are open for all to see. Go google it.

[elgordo38]

1 minute ago, Moonmoon said:

During the previous coup and when Abisit was PM, budget for the Military went up as well. the stats are open for all to see. Go google it.

I had to Google the whole Abbott and Costello joke "Whose on first" to try and figure this out. No slight on you Moonmoon just the topic. I just switched from the sense stage to the nonsense stage again. I am in the maze now trying to find my way back. 

[Mook23]

2 hours ago, elgordo38 said:

Translation: Suck it up we are in charge.

Of course they are and they know better as they were never colonized and are the detroit of se asia ?

Look, banana republics whether ruled by but but thaksin or by uncle: same same but different ?

 

The losers are always the serfs and i feel sorry for them. Maak maak!

[roobaa01]

well for all those scaremongering as well as apocalyptic economic nonsense comments about los, fact is : THE RATING AGENCIES CONSIDERED THE THAI ECONOMIC OUTLOOK STABLE, NO DOWNGRADING ON THE HORIZON, hence what !!!!

What greece, italy, france and the other eu debris debtors ???

 

wbr

roobaa01

[billd766]

8 hours ago, kannot said:

and new  loudspeakers for the  village whilst the roads  crumble away, after spending a  week fixing them myself Wifey told me they have no  money and to get some "process takes a long time".......to sum up, the roads aint going to get fixed anytime soon....along with  grass/ hedge  cutting and any other maintenance.................nice new subs and Chinese trains though, priorities =ZERO

 

Out here in rural Khampaeng Phet near Mae Wong out road was resurfaced about 5 months ago and the grass cutters come around every 4 or 5 weeks.

 

The roads are from one department, probably from the Transport department, the grass cutters work for the tessaban which is provincial government, submarines are Defence Ministry and trains are SRT. All different departments with different budgets and different priorities.

[dcnx]

Thailand bankruptcy by late 2018?

[kannot]

On 2/7/2017 at 9:29 AM, leeneeds said:

The money spent on infastucture mainly roads in the last year and half 

has been greatly appreciated by myself, I work overseas and see and use the abysmal 

roads that are in use there, 

 and it is a great pleasure to come home and drive here, 

must  be  why  i  spent  5  days fixing  the  road  then?............... the main damage being caused by the 40 ton lorries delivering hardcore from the quarry to resurface the main Phetkasem road...............in doing so totally destroyed the local roads including the one thru the village

[kannot]

7 hours ago, billd766 said:

 

Out here in rural Khampaeng Phet near Mae Wong out road was resurfaced about 5 months ago and the grass cutters come around every 4 or 5 weeks.

 

The roads are from one department, probably from the Transport department, the grass cutters work for the tessaban which is provincial government, submarines are Defence Ministry and trains are SRT. All different departments with different budgets and different priorities.

they  cant  even  supply  clean  water  to  the  villages.................I know which priority most people would rather  have.

Grass cutting??????????? I think about 14  months ago, some roads now have become single lane due to weed encroachment, along   our  land I did my own weed control............got complaints about it "not being my land" same old BS from neighbours with nothing better to do all day

Edited February 8, 2017 by kannot

[chiang mai]

I know it's fun to speculate how Thailand is going bust through financial mismanagement but the story of Treasury reserves being down 85% is actually really quite funny. It seems that after reading the actual budget document (a riveting read if ever there was one) it's historically normal for Treasury Reserves to be at a low point during this quarter and for them to have fallen by a large agree over the past nine months, the picture is here:

 

 

It rather looks  like income and expense runs in cycles during the same periods each year although the General and his spokespeople probably didn't know that, who would unless you read the entire budget document, I know it completely destroys the incompetence and mismanagement theories but what an be done. The thread is linked below:

 

 

[Naam]

1 hour ago, chiang mai said:

It rather looks  like income and expense runs in cycles during the same periods each year although the General and his spokespeople probably didn't know that, who would unless you read the entire budget document, I know it completely destroys the incompetence and mismanagement theories but what an be done.

Thai government... neither incompetence nor mismanagement? that's blasphemy mate! 

[Srikcir]

1 hour ago, chiang mai said:

the General and his spokespeople probably didn't know that

The source of the report is the Finance Minister, not Prayut or his spokespeople. Also remember that Prayut has Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Somkid who has oversight on all economic policies. I expect the DPM and Minister to understand treasury accounting. So if the report misrepresents as you say the state of the treasury, it is incompetence. Or you are misapplying your comparison, ie., the Treasury Reserve Balance is not synonomous with the Treasury Account Balance, ie., as a subset?

 

Further as to mismanagement: "depletion of 420 billion baht from the coffers was a healthy adjustment and meant the government was relying less on loans." In fact the junta has taken great liberty with off-budget funding and treasury borrowing - the growing deficit reflects such consequence.

 

 

Edited February 9, 2017 by Srikcir
spelling

[chiang mai]

21 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

The source of the report is the Finance Minister, not Prayut or his spokespeople. Also remember that Prayut has Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Somkid who has oversight on all economic policies. I expect the DPM and Minister to understand treasury accounting. So if the report misrepresents as you say the state of the treasury, it is incompetence. Or you are misapplying your comparison, ie., the Treasury Reserve Balance is not synonomous with the Treasury Account Balance, ie., as a subset?

 

Further as to mismanagement: "depletion of 420 billion baht from the coffers was a healthy adjustment and meant the government was relying less on loans." In fact the junta has taken great liberty with off-budget funding and treasury borrowing - the growing deficit reflects such consequence.

 

 

I'm saying these stories and threads about Treasury Reserves (TR) being depleted by 85%, the country running out of money and the associated theories of financial mismanagement are nonsense, the budget report itself depicts historic TR account levels and this year is perfectly normal by comparison. Should the boss and his spokesmen have known that was the case rather than just generally defending themselves? Probably, but I suspect there's more important things to spend time on in government than catering to rumour mongers and journalists looking for a story.