Thai household debt rises to 8-year high

[webfact]

Household debt rises to 8-year high

 

BANGKOK, 28 April 2017 (NNT) - The Center for Economic and Business Forecasting (CEBF) of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce has conducted a poll of Thai laborers, revealing that household debt has risen to an eight-year high. 

The CEBF surveyed 15,000 Thai employees, of whom 97% reported an average of 131,000 baht in debt per household. The figure marks an increase of 10.4% from the previous year and the most in eight years. 

However, the poll also revealed that more household debt was owed to financial institutions, as opposed to informal lenders. The proportion of formal debt reached a four-year high of 46.4%, a reflection of government efforts to crackdown on loan sharks. 

CEBF Director Dr. Thanawat Polvichai said that despite the increase in household debt on the part of Thai workers, more expenditures went towards durable goods, such as cars, motorcycles, and homes. Respondents also reported higher savings at a rate of 62.6% from 39.4% last year. According to Dr. Thanawat, these figures indicate more consumer confidence in Thailand.

 

-- nnt Full story:

[Peterw42]

5 minutes ago, webfact said:

Respondents also reported higher savings at a rate of 62.6% from 39.4% last year.

Maybe they should pay back debt before saving money, just a thought. The debt would be costing 10-20% a year, and the savings earning maybe 2% a year.

[worgeordie]

They are just following the lead of the Government, spend,spend,there's no tomorrow

regards worgeordie

[worgeordie]

Deeper in debt,but with higher savings,does not make sense.

regards worgeordie

[trogers]

21 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

Deeper in debt,but with higher savings,does not make sense.

regards worgeordie

The article didn't mentioned that the debtors are also savers. Probably different people totally...

[rkidlad]

Don't worry, little people. With a picture of the PM on your living room wall, wearing his army uniform and standing next to some submarines on stilts, everything will be fine. 

[ezzra]

Again, not to worry, uncle Prayuth will soon declare moratorium all debts

and hand out free money to the ' poor Thai people '.....

[SoilSpoil]

Durable goods such as cars and motorbikes..........

 

Economics minus 101

[Wallander4]

1 hour ago, Peterw42 said:

Maybe they should pay back debt before saving money, just a thought. The debt would be costing 10-20% a year, and the savings earning maybe 2% a year.

I agree but pls tell me where I can get 2% on inloan - I have placed some inloans in Vietnam tho living in Thailand and get 7% from a big well Consolidated bank

[Peterw42]

14 minutes ago, Wallander4 said:

I agree but pls tell me where I can get 2% on inloan - I have placed some inloans in Vietnam tho living in Thailand and get 7% from a big well Consolidated bank

I have seen that vietnam has high cash deposit rates compared to most western contries were you are lucky to get 2-3%. Maybe someone could explain why.

[PatOngo]

2 hours ago, worgeordie said:

Deeper in debt,but with higher savings,does not make sense.

regards worgeordie

Makes sense to me, they are all saving for their iPhone 8...........the debt is from their iPhone 7.

[elgordo38]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

According to Dr. Thanawat, these figures indicate more consumer confidence in Thailand.

???????????????? really. An increase in consumer debt indicates confidence??

[JSixpack]

4 hours ago, worgeordie said:

Deeper in debt,but with higher savings,does not make sense.

regards worgeordie

 

It can easily make sense, though it doesn't have to.

[JSixpack]

1 hour ago, elgordo38 said:

???????????????? really. An increase in consumer debt indicates confidence??

 

Might. But note "FigureS" plural. Try not see only the figure that suits you. You might read up on confirmation bias.

[weegee]

4 hours ago, Wallander4 said:

I agree but pls tell me where I can get 2% on inloan - I have placed some inloans in Vietnam tho living in Thailand and get 7% from a big well Consolidated bank

Wait until you try to take it out of the country on maturity....surprise surprise..

[pentap]

Not surprising at all.

Thai tourism is increasing...

Thai economy is growing...

Future economic forecast looks positive...

Was that not the recent reports, over the past few weeks?

Maybe I'm in the wrong place?

It's no wonder debt is increasing. It takes a glance to see the true state of affairs and not much grey matter to work it out that people need money plus employment with decent salaries.




Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect

[Asiantravel]

2 hours ago, elgordo38 said:

???????????????? really. An increase in consumer debt indicates confidence??

they felt confident so they went out and bought more durable goods, such as cars, motorcycles, and homes which resulted in consumer debt increasing further. But it doesn't say anything about when those durable goods wear out and will need replacing. Like hamsters on a wheel.

[Asiantravel]

24 minutes ago, pentap said:

Not surprising at all.

Thai tourism is increasing...

Thai economy is growing...

Future economic forecast looks positive...

Was that not the recent reports, over the past few weeks?

Maybe I'm in the wrong place?

It's no wonder debt is increasing. It takes a glance to see the true state of affairs and not much grey matter to work it out that people need money plus employment with decent salaries.




Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect

" Future economic forecast looks positive..."

 

the General's might like everyone to believe that but the World Bank and IMF certainly don't believe it

[elgordo38]

3 hours ago, JSixpack said:

 

Might. But note "FigureS" plural. Try not see only the figure that suits you. You might read up on confirmation bias.

Read your ???? I think your ready for another six pack take another stab at it and then it might even make sense to me. 

[12DrinkMore]

1 hour ago, pentap said:

Not surprising at all.

Thai tourism is increasing...

Thai economy is growing...

Future economic forecast looks positive...

Was that not the recent reports, over the past few weeks?

Maybe I'm in the wrong place?

It's no wonder debt is increasing. It takes a glance to see the true state of affairs and not much grey matter to work it out that people need money plus employment with decent salaries.
Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect

You are in the right place.

 

It is the blinkered permi-denyers who cannot accept it.

 

[12DrinkMore]

2 hours ago, weegee said:

Wait until you try to take it out of the country on maturity....surprise surprise..

Also he will have placed the deposits in VND, losing on the exchange rate and being subject to Vietnamese inflation and sporadic devaluation of the currency.

 

The only way to get VND out of the country is through the gold shops and buying USD's. The banks will not sell USD's. 

 

But if planning a move to Vietnam or funding holidays then it could be OK.

 

But not living in Thailand and requiring THB for expenses.

[Asiantravel]

2 hours ago, pentap said:

Not surprising at all.

Thai tourism is increasing...

Thai economy is growing...

Future economic forecast looks positive...

Was that not the recent reports, over the past few weeks?

Maybe I'm in the wrong place?

It's no wonder debt is increasing. It takes a glance to see the true state of affairs and not much grey matter to work it out that people need money plus employment with decent salaries.




Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect

" that people need money plus employment with decent salaries. "

 

but the trend for that doesn't look too good

 

Chinese firm halves worker costs by hiring army of robots to sort out 200,000 packages a day

 

Quote

 

An STO Express spokesman told the South China Morning Post on Monday that the robots had helped the company save half the costs it typically required to use human workers.

They also improved efficiency by around 30 per cent and maximised sorting accuracy, he said.

“We use these robots in two of our centres in Hangzhou right now,” the spokesman said. “We want to start using these across the country, especially in our bigger centres.”

 

 

http://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2086662/chinese-firm-cuts-costs-hiring-army-robots-sort-out-200000

[JSixpack]

1 hour ago, Asiantravel said:

" Future economic forecast looks positive..."

 

the General's might like everyone to believe that but the World Bank and IMF certainly don't believe it

 

Not necessarily at all. The World Bank and IMF merely said there could be problems in the next 10 years owing to social benefits in an aging society.

 

Different time frame; a solvable problem if it turns out to be a problem; and another confusion of different variables and a wrong conclusion.

 

Edited April 28, 2017 by JSixpack

[JSixpack]

6 minutes ago, Asiantravel said:

" that people need money plus employment with decent salaries. "

 

but the trend for that doesn't look too good

 

Chinese firm halves worker costs by hiring army of robots to sort out 200,000 packages a day

 

 

http://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2086662/chinese-firm-cuts-costs-hiring-army-robots-sort-out-200000

 

Still not aware you're in Thailand I see.

[Asiantravel]

2 minutes ago, JSixpack said:

 

Still not aware you're in Thailand I see.

you still have a chronic inability to extrapolate I see

[JSixpack]

3 minutes ago, Asiantravel said:

you still have a chronic inability to extrapolate I see

 

Only when it's directly relevant.

[Asiantravel]

10 minutes ago, JSixpack said:

 

Only when it's directly relevant.

 

directly relevant.

 

 

Quote

 

New technologies like robotics, 3D printing and cloud will take jobs from low-skilled workers in developing Asian countries, according to a new study by the Asian Development Bank.

In South East Asia, Thailand will suffer the most with about 26% of currently stable jobs at high risk of being lost to technology

 

 

https://govinsider.asia/innovation/robots-3d-printers-and-cloud-will-take-low-skilled-jobs-says-adb/

[JSixpack]

7 minutes ago, Asiantravel said:

 

directly relevant.

 

 

 

https://govinsider.asia/innovation/robots-3d-printers-and-cloud-will-take-low-skilled-jobs-says-adb/

 

You've finally managed to dig out an article of some relevance but then you didn't really understand the article or its context but merely threw it into your collection of doom links. Automation is now fashionable among doomsters, but you see it's always been.

 

The study said that countries may have to change the kind of skills they deliver to meet this demand. Apart from improving the quality of basic education, these countries will also have to build a higher education system that can develop more of the highly technical skills. “Economies that invest in providing high-quality education are likely to be less affected by disruptive innovations – and will be better placed to exploit them,” the ADB said.

 

So maybe Thailand will get around to doing that if it needs to. You dunno. And why worry about it?

 

And in the larger context may not mean anything. Could even mean more jobs:

 

Predictions that automation will make humans redundant have been made before, however, going back to the Industrial Revolution, when textile workers, most famously the Luddites, protested that machines and steam engines would destroy their livelihoods. “Never until now did human invention devise such expedients for dispensing with the labour of the poor,” said a pamphlet at the time.

 

Yet in the past technology has always ended up creating more jobs than it destroys. That is because of the way automation works in practice, explains David Autor, an economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Automating a particular task, so that it can be done more quickly or cheaply, increases the demand for human workers to do the other tasks around it that have not been automated.

    --http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21700758-will-smarter-machines-cause-mass-unemployment-automation-and-anxiety

 

So you've reached the usual myopic, tendentious conclusion. Why not give it a rest?

[Srikcir]

20 hours ago, webfact said:

According to Dr. Thanawat, these figures indicate more consumer confidence in Thailand.

Versus this warning last October from Supachai Panitchpakdi, former secretary-general of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and former director-general of the World Trade Organization before a symposium “Thailand, a New Decade of Economic Reforms under AEC Cooperation” :

"if it [Thai government] focused too much on boosting domestic consumption without also supporting exports, it could risk a household debt bubble.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/business/macroeconomics/30297974

This may require Bank of Thailand to take corrective action such as raising interest rates. If the government and BOT are believed by their predictions for increases in GDP for 2017, such action would be appropriate to slow borrowing. But politically undesirable for the Junta.

 

[Sydebolle]

I assume that a "Buy 2 get 3 Chinese Submarines" tax has been invented and is debited straight onto each and every account - after all, Thais have to stand together and support their country, their leaders in green and the latter's decision. 

The scarier bit is the fact, that Thailand has depleted most of its foreign currency reserves; if not many of these foreign news websites would be blocked by the Ministry of Internet Blockers we would even know more about that. 

We will see, as long as the Thais are lenient with the happening we, the infidel 2nd class foreigners don't have to worry either - or am I wrong?