Economy

Officials not worried Thailand remains on US currency watch list

Published

2 weeks ago

Saturday, April 17, 2021

Neill Fronde

PHOTO: Thailand is on the watch list for possible currency manipulation.

Thailand remains on the United States Treasury’s “Monitoring List” of countries whose currency trade practices need to be watched, though Thai officials say they are not worried. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen releases a foreign exchange report twice a year including labelling alleged currency manipulators and flagging suspect trading partner countries to be monitored.

The Bank of Thailand said remaining on the US currency watch list poses no threat to Thai businesses or the government’s ability to enact policies to promote financial stability. They stress that Thailand has never manipulated currency, using the exchange rate to get a competitive edge or an unfair trade advantage over other countries.

This most recent report tags 11 countries as warranting a closer watch: China, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, and Thailand. Mexico and Ireland were the 2 new inclusions, not on the previous report in December 2020. Also in the report, the US Treasury Department toed the line of accusing Switzerland, Taiwan, and Vietnam of manipulating currency.

They stated yesterday that the 3 countries had crossed the line of 2015 US trade laws, but didn’t officially brand them as currency manipulators. The thresholds of that 2015 rule include either global current account surplus or foreign currency intervention over 2% of GDP, and having a trade surplus with the US over US $20 billion trade.

The flagging of Taiwan, Vietnam and Switzerland falls short of applying the manipulator label due to a 1988 law requiring evidence of manipulation to stop balance of payment adjustments or to gain a trade advantage. The US is already engaged in talks with Vietnam and Switzerland and will enter into “enhanced engagement” with Taiwan as well. Not being upgraded to the manipulator title relieves pressure from Switzerland and Vietnam, who both received the label in the last report issued by the Trump administration.

SOURCE: Yahoo Finance and Live Mint

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News Categories: Economy Thailand

16 Comments

Simon Small

Saturday, April 17, 2021 at 8:15 pm

How can Germany, Ireland and Italy manipulate their currency when they don’t have one as they’re in the Euro?

This is obviously just US sour grapes as they’ve got a trade surplus with the US.

Reply
toby andrews

Saturday, April 17, 2021 at 8:48 pm

Of course they manipulate currency. They charge 50 percent for foreign imported western processed food, and export to the west food at sometimes 3 percent import tax.
Result a massive trade surplus in Thailand’s favour, which puts the Thai baht sky high.
Why is a packet of tea bags two times the price they are in the west. This is the reason.
The import tax.
That is not the only high import taxes for western imports.
Anything into Thailand – massive import taxes, while they enjoy low reasonable taxes exporting elsewhere.
Realise what these people are are. They would fake water if they could.

Reply
Simon Peterson

Saturday, April 17, 2021 at 10:12 pm

It’s odd that they are not concerned about the currency manipulation in “Vientman”. Surely the fact that this country doesn’t exist should raise multiple red flags.

Reply
Rolin'-in-Dough.

Sunday, April 18, 2021 at 7:49 am

I hope America includes itself on this watch list. It is surly the biggest offender.

Reply
Simon Small

Sunday, April 18, 2021 at 9:30 am

“Why is a packet of tea bags two times the price they are in the west.”

That’s not how I recalled it, @toby andrews, so I checked the price of mine on line – a 100 x 2g box of Lipton’s Yellow Label.

Best price at Amazon UK and E-Bay UK was 4.40 GBP (189 baht) which seemed expensive, but I found a box for 3.00 GBP (129 baht) discounted at Tesco.

200 baht at Tops, but 142 baht on Lazada and only 119 on Shopee.

$11.03 to $19.99 (344 to 624 baht) in the USA.

So for an identical 100 x 2g box of Lipton’s Yellow Label:

119 baht in Thailand,
129 baht in the UK,
344 baht in the USA.

To balance that I checked the price of a 5kg bag of Thai Royal Umbrella Jasmine Rice – the top grade red bag, gold award, not the cheaper blue, orange, green or purple ones.

Best price on line in Thailand was 229 baht, up to 550.

In UK it was between 19.99 and 28.99 GBP (860 to 1,248 baht).

In the USA the best price was $33.87 (1,056 baht).

So for an identical 5kg red and gold bag of Royal Umbrella Jasmine Rice from Thailand:

229 baht in Thailand,
860 baht in the UK,
1,056 baht in the USA.

Recollections may vary, @toby andrews …..

Reply
Slugger

Sunday, April 18, 2021 at 10:17 am

Hypocrisy. Pay no attention to the Colonial noise makers. They need to sort themselves out first.

America are on China’s currency manipulation list, ok?

Reply
Ted

Sunday, April 18, 2021 at 12:53 pm

You can call it for ‘currency manipulation or what ever you want, but the import taxation is the reason to why my[business attire] wardrobe is getting warned out.

Same reason to this as to why my mrs and I are still driving around in an old vehicle she had for years, I refuse buying something for x100% the price from back home or any other developed country.

I guess, thank you C19 for forcing my to adopt to Thailand! 😉

Reply
Frank

Sunday, April 18, 2021 at 2:15 pm

Lol let me guess USA is on place 1 the crooks

Reply
Ian

Sunday, April 18, 2021 at 3:37 pm

No they not worried they think they indestructible but the farangs should worry your money and property is not a safe place in thailand but thats only mine and millio s of opinions so do as you wish a fool and his money as they say

Reply
Simon Small

Sunday, April 18, 2021 at 4:55 pm

No “import tax” on vehicles made here, @Ted – and plenty of other countries are happy to buy them.

Reply
Ted

Monday, April 19, 2021 at 9:00 am

@Simon that a Toyota, manufactured here, cost what a BMW cost in Europe (not necessarily in Germany, where the cars is built) should tell you that something is really wrong.

Reply
toby andrews

Monday, April 19, 2021 at 11:26 am

Wrong, taxes can be as high as 300 percent. Read: driving-in-thailand.com
Officially they write it is possible. And they also write no car is worth the hassle.
Read it Small Simon.
It is the Thai way: yes you can do it, but when you try, you cannot without paying a lot of money.
Bribes probably.

Reply
toby andrews

Monday, April 19, 2021 at 11:57 am

This report on Tea bags Small Simon is incomplete. WHAT are the quantities. You do not state except for one. And these are online prices.
Are they 25 bags; 100 bags or what? How can they be compared without quantities?
Plus online prices where you quoted quantities. Is post added? Is tax added? Have you checked?
This is what I found. In-store prices.
Twinnings English breakfast tea, Thailand Tesco Lotus. 25 bags – B225. £5.23
In the UK Twinnings English breakfast tea bags. ONE Hundred tea bags £5 – B215.
As for the price of rice.
Your point is defective. The prices you quote are retail prices! What price the retailer charges is irrelevant.
Have a lie down Small Simon and return with a more sensible post.
However seven out of ten for effort . . .

Reply
Harry1

Monday, April 19, 2021 at 12:48 pm

the government unintentionally have already devalued the baht against all major currencies and it will get weaker, due to this very slow vaccine roll out,will delay opening up,prolonging a economy recovery

Reply
Simon Small

Monday, April 19, 2021 at 8:11 pm

“@Simon that a Toyota, manufactured here, cost what a BMW cost in Europe (not necessarily in Germany, where the cars is built) should tell you that something is really wrong”

All it tells me is that some Toyotas are more than some BMWs. That’s the same anywhere!

Reply
Simon Small

Monday, April 19, 2021 at 9:04 pm

“WHAT are the quantities. You do not state except for one…..
Are they 25 bags; 100 bags or what? How can they be compared without quantities?”

?????

Ummm … 100 bags, @andrew tobys. That’s why I said “a 100 x 2g box”. Twice. Sorry if that wasn’t clear.

“And these are online prices.”

Very astute of you, @andrew. I thought I made that clear when I said “so I checked the price of mine on line”!

“Is post added? Is tax added? Have you checked?”

Ummm … yes, I did “check”, andrew, that’s why I said “I checked”.

… and no, I didn’t include “post” as that’s more expensive in the UK so I thought it would have been unfair, and all tax is included otherwise there wouldn’t have been much point since that’s what you’re fantasising about.

“This is what I found. In-store prices.

NO YOU DIDN’T. You claim to be in Cambodia and to have been there for a year, so you’re in no position to check “in-store prices” yourself.

The prices I gave are on-line, so easily verifiable, and they’re for an average teabag which is reasonably popular in both the UK and Thailand, showing clearly that any price differential isn’t due to “massive import taxes” as you claimed.

The prices you give are supposedly “in-store” so they’re not verifiable, and they’re for a teabag for which there is minimal demand in Thailand (easily verifiable by checking on-line availability) which is why the retail price is so much higher.

Nothing to do with “massive import taxes” at all, as the Liptons Yellow Label example proves – just minimal demand for a niche item.

“As for the price of rice.
Your point is defective. The prices you quote are retail prices! What price the retailer charges is irrelevant.”

?????

Of course they’re “retail prices”. Just like the prices for teabags, including your prices.
If “retail prices” are “irrelevant” then your entire comment is “irrelevant”.

0ne out of ten for making a comment and then calling it “irrelevant” – even though it was.

Reply

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Neill Fronde

Neill is a journalist from the United States with 10 years broadcasting experience and national news and magazine publications. He graduated with a degree in journalism and communications from the University of California and has been living in Thailand since 2014.

Economy

Thailand’s manufacturing production highest in 23 months

Published

24 hours ago

Thursday, April 29, 2021

Neill Fronde

PHOTO: Manufacturing is up for the first time in 2 years.

After 2 years of falling, largely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, Thailand’s manufacturing production index has grown for the first time in 23 months. The index, which measures manufacturing activity, hit 107.73 last month, which is the highest it has been since April of 2019. With a growth of 4.12% in the last year, the index had its strongest performance since October of 2018.

The Office of Industrial Economics monitors these figures and attributes the positive growth to Thailand’s trading partners having increased demand for Thai exports. They also pointed out though that growth is more easily achieved from the low bar set by last year’s Covid-19 hampered figures.

The Thai government implemented economic stimulus packages that helped boost production, along with the start of the Covid-19 vaccine rollout. Confidence was raised, and Thailand’s manufacturing capacity utilisation rates rose from 65.06% in February to 69.59% in March.

The numbers were slightly below the predicted 4.4% increase but were still the fastest growth pace in 29 months. Another increase is expected in April’s figures. Thai officials say that Thailand’s manufacturing sector is so far unaffected by the third wave of Covid-19 sweeping the country with much higher infections and deaths than previous waves. With the global economy improving, demand is up and production is capable of delivering. They predict a 2% to 3% rise in the MPI this year, a welcomed improvement over last years 9.3% drop.

SOURCE: Reuters and The Star

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Economy

Foreign investors eye business in Thailand as hotels face closure during new outbreak

Published

3 days ago

Tuesday, April 27, 2021

Thaiger

Stock photo by Tim Mossholder for Unsplash

The new wave of Covid-19 infections this month has led to a drop in occupancy rates at Thailand hotels, some reporting drops of 5% to 30%, battering hoteliers that have already been struggling from a year of little to no foreign tourists. Some hotel operators have been forced to sell their businesses, according to the president of the Arjarnnar Asset Management Group, Thammajak Lenuangprasert.

Soft loans and the debt moratorium programme have helped keep some hotels running, but Thammajak says some have decided to sell their hotels to foreign investment groups who have been taking advantage of the low prices.

“Currently, there are European and Chinese companies looking to buy 4 to 5 star hotels in Thailand priced at over 2 billion baht, while 3 star hotels are also desirable provided they are in a prime location… Investors are eyeing hotels in Thailand as our country is a prominent tourism destination, while the outbreak has driven the selling price down and makes it an excellent opportunity to buy.”

While some foreign investors are putting money down on luxury resorts, others are investing in hostels in Southeast Asia. The Bodega Hostel Group, which runs hostels in Thailand, Indonesia, and Cambodia, was just bought out for 450 million baht by the Collective Hospitality Group.

With the new wave of Covid prompting travel restrictions and closure orders, hotel and hostel operators across Thailand are in need of financial aid, according to the president of the Thai Hotels Association, Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi.

“The government’s soft loan and debt moratorium programme only partly helped the hotel industry… What we really need is a co-payment programme that would help pay half of employee wages to keep the business afloat and maintain employment.”

SOURCE: Nation Thailand

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Economy

Shopping centres, supermarkets and convenience stores to close an hour earlier in Red Zones

Published

6 days ago

Saturday, April 24, 2021

Tim Newton

With the rising reported cases in Thailand, The Thai Retailers Association and Thai Shopping Centre Association has adjusted closing times for shopping centres, supermarkets and your local convenience stores.

The situation applies for red zone provinces only at this stage. The new closing times will operate until at least May 2.

• Shopping centres will close at 8pm
• Supermarkets close at 9pm
• Convenience stores (7-Eleven, Family Mart, etc) will close at 10pm

In all cases the closing times have been brought forward an hour from the previous declaration.

Today, Thailand announced 2,839 new infections, a record high.

Here’s a list of the red zone provinces…

1. Bangkok
2. Chiang Mai
3. Chon Buri
4. Samut Prakan
5. Prachuap Khiri Kan
6. Samut Sakhon
7. Pathum Thani
8. Nakhon Pathom
9. Phuket
10. Nakhon Ratchasima
11. Nonthaburi
12. Songkhla
13. Tak
14. Udon Thani
15. Suphanburi
16. Sa Kaeo
17. Rayong
18. Khon Kaen