Baht What up with Dat?????

[jetdoc]

Arrd, Don't have the details but when the baht was about 24 to the dollar the retirement visa requirement was substantially less, when the baht weakened they upped it and when it started to strengthen recently it should have been lowered but it didn't. The easy access to beautiful women allows the powers that be to do as they please;o)

[BKKSTAN]

I am always wondering if anybody knows any expats living in Vietnam?Ones that are not so rich that they have to worry about the currency conversion!

VN is a communist country,rifling with corruption and a former enemy of some falangs (USA and France)!What makes it such a good expat destination,especially if you are married to a Thai?

I ask because I have never heard anything favorable about expats living there.I have heard some relatively favorable reports for short visits,including some higher accomodation costs relative to Thailand.We hear the same favorable reports from tourists coming to Thailand also!

[bumper]

A bit off topic but worth an explanantion. The marriage aspect was raised to 40K a month or 400K in the bank, from either or a combination of both sopouces. They also grandfathered the prior 200K or 20K a month visas

The 800K or 65K per month was not changed.

[aznyron]

Stan you post is valid but in reality communist or not they still have the red carpet out for expats both retirees and investors and all this hype we were taught about communist is all to protect corporate America which now I see they have only one interest and that is them selfs if they were so concerned about USA going communist they would remain in the USA instead of looking for cheap labor around the world

[wazza]

Vietnam went tits up approx 6 months ago with staggering inflation and the Dong not worth much. Lots of international investors wished they hadnt erred there.

[bumper]

Not really sure at the moment it would be particulary good relocate to an unknown, to much going on in the entire world with economies. Yuo won't really know until you put the boots to the ground. We got a rough two years ahead. Things will change here as well.

[BKKSTAN]

Stan you post is valid but in reality communist or not they still have the red carpet out for expats both retirees and investors and all this hype we were taught about communist is all to protect corporate America which now I see they have only one interest and that is them selfs if they were so concerned about USA going communist they would remain in the USA instead of looking for cheap labor around the world

Where did you get the idea that they really like falang expats there?Everybody rolls out the red carpet for tourists!TAT rolls out the red carpet,but you are not complaining about the ''carpet''!

You know a few expats living there more happily than in Thailand?

You move there and you might need an ''operation''on the ''dong''!

[aznyron]

Stan I am sure there are expats living in vietnam who are extremely happy as well as Cambodia whom
I know one who is on a very limit pension and can survive there but can not survive in Thailand
so putting thailand on the S/E Asian pedestal is really not fair since we both know how we are treated
by the government and there laws

[BKKSTAN]

Ronnie,my question is how are you so ''sure''?There seems to be a bigger more satisfied expat population here,don't you think?Sure there are negatives ,but negatives are in every country!

What do you think is better there?You think they don't try to rip off falangs,you think dealing with immigration or other gov't officials is easier or better and if so,where did you get that idea?

Plus they seem to get the brunt of a lot of bad weather also!

Try making a list of things that are so bad here and compare them to VN!

[Aardvark]

What do you think of P.I. Stan ?? There seems to be a lot of expats living there quite happily. My Brother lived there for six years before he died and I dont believe he would ever have come home. Admitedly he was a business man and not retired so I have no idea how he would have coped on a limited income ?

[aznyron]

Stan what you say is true I personally do not know any one living in Vietnam. I judge my comments on what people tell me who visited the country also I see how the exchange rate is for the USD it very good
much better than what we get here I also know I should visit the country spend a couple of months there before I make a big move but like my wife said she does not want to leave Thailand and I can not blame her. I also know the F/M is playing games with the bot which disturbs me very much why I am turned off to Thailand I hate getting ripped off before I even get my funds

[bumper]

Well after some weeks watching now the target must be 35 now. Seems to stay very close to that all the time not a lot but, it sure beats 32. If they stay with pattern 37 would seem be very possible this year.

Dollar is down a bit across the board today, Don't know why but then again I was surprised at seeing it going up.

[bumper]

Baht floating I don't think so, it was one of the two that went up today. Should be intersting whne all those esporters startselling their dollars for profit. Have no idea waht that effect will be. But, I think we will find out.

Asian Currencies Drop, Led by Rupiah, on Risk Aversion Concerns

By Judy Chen

Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Asian currencies fell, led by Indonesia's rupiah, on concern that investors will shun regional assets after the Group of 20 nations delayed agreeing on measures to combat a global financial crisis.

Six out of the 10-most traded Asian currencies excluding the yen fell against the dollar after government reports today and last week showed Japan and Hong Kong have slid into recessions. The rupiah, Asia's worst performer, fell toward the weakest level since 2001 before a report that may show Indonesia's economy grew at the slowest pace in two years.

`There was no indication in the G-20 statement that additional assistance will come up for emerging markets,'' said Dwyfor Evans, a currency strategist at State Street Global Markets in Hong Kong. ``In this sort of environment, the decline of the Asian currencies is just a continuation of the risk- aversion sentiment.''

The rupiah declined 2.9 percent to 11,925 versus the dollar as of 9:18 a.m. in Jakarta, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Philippine peso dropped 0.6 percent to 49.67, the weakest since December 2006, according to Tullett Prebon Plc. The Singapore dollar fell to S$1.5256, the lowest level since Sept. 11, 2007.

The G-20 urged a ``broader policy response'' and set a March deadline for recommendations on improving regulations at a summit that ended in Washington on Nov. 15. Leaders of G-20 countries met as a seizure in credit markets, stemming from losses of $964 billion on securities tied to home loans, threatened to trigger a global recession.

Flight From Risk

Indonesia's economic growth slowed to 5.9 percent last quarter from a year earlier, compared with 6.4 percent in the previous three months, according to a Bloomberg News survey before the statistics bureau report today.

``Global growth is giving skepticism to the market,'' said Gundy Cahyadi, an economist at IDEAglobal in Singapore. ``There's nothing world leaders can do. That's weighing on the markets, including the rupiah.''

Overseas investors sold more Indonesian shares than they bought on each of the trading days this month except three, according to stock exchange data.

The Philippine peso fell for the fourth time in five days on speculation the deepening global slowdown will curb dollar inflows from exports and remittances.

``We expect exports and remittances to weaken in this kind of global environment and that, coupled with less foreign investment and hot money flows going out is affecting the peso,'' said Ricky Cebrero, a treasurer at East West Banking Corp. in Manila.

`Markets Are Jittery'

The central bank will report overseas remittances for September today. Exports and remittances make up about half of the Philippines' $144 billion economy.

``The markets are jittery and the speculation is that the global crisis isn't over and will spill over to 2009,'' Cebrero said. ``Against this backdrop, the peso will tend to weaken in line with other regional currencies.''

The peso is likely to depreciate past 50 per dollar in the coming weeks, Cebrero said.

The yen strengthened to 121.60 per euro in Tokyo from 122.39 late in New York on Nov. 14. Japan's currency rose to 96.93 per dollar from 97.14.

``Disappointment over the G-20 meeting will spur yen gains,'' said Tsutomu Soma, a Tokyo-based bond and currency dealer at Okasan Securities Co. ``The global economy will be in trouble for a long time, so investors won't be willing to take on risk.''

Japanese Recession

Japan's government today reported that gross domestic product fell at an annualized 0.4 percent pace in the three months ended Sept. 30, after sliding at a 3.7 percent rate in the previous quarter. Economists predicted 0.1 percent growth, a Bloomberg survey showed.

`The implications of the data are positive for the yen,'' said Toru Umemoto, chief currency analyst in Tokyo at Barclays Capital, Britain's third-biggest lender. ``A weak economy will feed into risk aversion and this will strengthen the yen.''

Japan's currency may rise to 92 per dollar by year-end, he said. Volatility implied on one-month dollar-yen options climbed to 28.50 percent from 26.63 percent late in New York on Nov. 14, indicating greater exchange-rate fluctuation risks that may erode profit on carry trades and hurt corporate earnings.

Elsewhere, Vietnam's dong was little changed at 16,980. Malaysia's ringgit dropped 0.06 percent to 3.5977. Taiwan's dollar fell 0.1 percent to NT$33.12. India's rupee rose 0.3 percent to 48.85 and the Thai baht strengthened 0.2 percent versus the dollar to 34.97.

To contact the reporters on this story: Judy Chen in Shanghai at xchen45@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 17, 2008 00:11 EST

[bumper]

Have we had a wake up call here, funny wasn't more severe then most of us thought. My guess won't be a big cut. But, there will be others to follow. To little to late.

BREAKING NEWS >> Tuesday November 18, 2008 11:22

BoT will likely cut policy interest rate: Tarisa

Web www.bangkokpost.com

(BangkokPost.com) - The Bank of Thailand (BoT) will likely adjust its economic forecast and key economic indicators and cut the policy interest rate because of the grave global economic crisis, BoT governor Tarisa Watanagase said on Tuesday.


According to Mrs Tarisa, the central bank on October 8th projected that Thailand’s economy in 2008 and 2009 would expand by 4.3 to five per cent and 3.8 to five per cent respectively. The assessment was based on the information from the second quarter, but the figures could lessen because many factors had changed in the third quarter, she noted.


The central bank previously forecast that the country’s economic growth rate in the third quarter of 2008 was between five and 5.3 per cent, but it was slashed to only four to 4.5 per cent mainly due to the consequences from the economic downtrend worldwide.


The International Monetary Fund (IMF) foresaw that the global economic growth in 2009 would be only 2.2 per cent, down by 0.8 percent from its previous forecast in October. Economic figures in many countries in Europe as well as Japan were also adjusted downward, and Thailand’s export sector would be hit more severely than expected.


The gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate and the policy interest rate will be revised at the Monetary Policy Committee meeting on December 3, Mrs Tarisa said

[wazza]

I can see another junket trip overseas here for the board, so they can visit Europe, Japan, US etc, to see with their own eyes, how their economies are coping , and how Thailand can improve the situation and use some of the measures put in place in those countries.

Cynical arent I ?

[bumper]

Really that is pretty public information these days, they just had to of read the news to see where thing' were going. They really believed six months ago they would be immune. They were counting on India and China, who have their own problems, really read the situtation wrong.

If a lame brain like me could see it, hard to believe they didn't see this coming and thought they could spin doctor their way out of it. Not going to happen. Woelds largest bill board i not going to stop this

[bumper]

Now Anz ti one really angers me. Want to spend National Treasury to prop up your currency fine and dandy. But, stand on your own dont go borrowing money that other countries need desperatley need. They keep saying they are financially secure then spend you own money. Any bets on whether they get the money?

They should be investing in their own future, not the world bank putting the money up for it.

BANGKOK, Nov 19 (TNA) – Finance Minister Suchart Thada-Thamrongvech on Tuesday announced that the ministry plans to seek loans for US$1billion -- Bt 35 billion -- from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank to finance construction of Thailand's basic infrastructure projects.

He said the application for the loans is part of an international borrowing plan to support implementation of 13 state-supported projects initiated to help boost economic growth.

Should the Manila-based ADB be reluctant to lend or slow the loan extension, the ministry would seek the entire loan amount from the World Bank with a 15-24 year term and a grace period of 3-6 years and at a London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) of 0.02-0.20 per cent.

LIBOR, a daily reference rate, is somewhat comparable to the US Federal funds rate.

A partial amount of the loans would be set aside to finance construction of six mega-projects such as the dark green- and light green- electric rail routes and dual-track railways.

Once the borrowed funds are injected into the system, Dr. Suchart said, they would help boost liquidity in the economic system and ease the impacts of the export slump due to the global financial crisis.

The finance minister added that the development projects must be implemented in conjunction with the approved national development strategy, offer high returns to the economy and society, and win approval from Parliament. (TNA)

enews.mcot.net

[aznyron]

Git I am with you it does anger me because there only reason is to keep the bot inflated and say it strong when it not just to benefit a few wealthy thais & banks all I can hope for now is they replace her with some one who has common sense and will stand up and be truthful and not try to B/S every one to save face

[aznyron]

git I just want to ad this is nothing more than a third world country trying act like they are in the big leagues more than 60% of the people are under nourished more than half the children are being raised but there grand parents about 10 % of the girls work the bar scene because that the only job available for them exports are down by how much I don't know but I bet it a lot we have riots between political parties
we have bombing in both south & in Bangkok we also have unstable Government and they got the balls to
say they are sound financially. / construction was stopped on the sky train why ? and now they want to borrow billions from the world bank I hope & pray they get denied. IMO so if they want to borrow the money they must put up security like gold or diamonds to secure the loan other wise say NO

[bumper]

Anz as far as I can tell they have a really good history with paying the World Bank back. But. it may been the IMF I'm really not sure. In looking at it, it really looks like they have been scrambling all over Asia to set funds up in the area. I have been here long enough to know that Thailand does not worry a lot about it's neighbors well being, in comparison to it's own especially where money is involved.

Makes me wonder how much of their financial status is the worlds largest bill board and how much is real.

These guys would make great poker players.