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[simon43]

Quote

... is going to face stiff resistance ...

or to rephrase this:

... is going to become a stiff ...


Simon

[stingray]

JR Texas, on 2009-12-30 11:27:24, said:

Bagwan, on 2009-12-30 10:45:55, said:

britadders28, on 2009-12-29 22:01:11, said:

Maybe tescos, sony, honda, suzuki etc.. should move out of thailand and see how they like that!!!

Add Siemens, Bosch, Mercedes Benz, BMW, Ferrari and all those purveyors of BS designer gear in the posh malls. Hit the phu yais where it will hurt.

I just don't understand why the govt. continues to pursue outdated economic policies that keep Thailand firmly embedded in Third World status. They need to open up their markets to foreign competition, especially small scaled businesses that generate the most employment.

On another note, I am sittiing in Paragon Mall right now typing this. I just walked all over it. This is the "high season." But hardly anybody is here. There are more staff than customers.

The food stalls look deserted.........how they can stay in business is a mystery to me.

People simply are no longer flocking to Thailand......clearly the Paragon Mall wants to attract rich Japanese, but I only saw a handful.

Of course, this is just my impression at 11:30 in the afternoon on a Wednesday........I just think this place should be packed. It isn't.

This is correct. All this "high nose" shopping malls will go down, i guess. Peaple in a thirth world country can't afford to buy Lius Voton bags, Rolexes, etc. Japaneses Tourists, they go to Hawaii. In Waikiki are plenty of this "High Nose" Shops, like ABC, Store, etc, etc. Overthere they can make money, because it's different for a tourist to say the friend: I bough this bag in Hawaii" Than to say" I bought this bag in Bangkok" The friends would think it's a fake anyway. So all this "High Nose" Shopping Malls are on the wrong place overhere, I think, they don't belong here.

Edited by stingray, 2010-01-06 13:14:57.

[robertson468]

I don't understand the philosophy, bordering on paranoia in the constraints imposed on both land ownership and the operation of businesses by foreigners in Thailand. My perception is we are now working globally and this has been strongly advocated by all the World Leaders during all their meetings during the recession. They all shouted from the roof-tops, "don't start operating exclusion policies and looking inwards". I would have thought this message from developed Countries and experienced high ranking politicians would have carried a message to the Thai Politicians. If I were cynical, my thought might be, perhaps the more difficult it is for a foreigner to operate in this Country, the more scope there is for the payment of "tea-money". Thank goodness I am not cynical then . I believe full democracy with far less corruption is coming to Thailand, perhaps not tomorrow, but come it will.

[Thai at Heart]

robertson468, on 2010-01-06 07:40:00, said:

I don't understand the philosophy, bordering on paranoia in the constraints imposed on both land ownership and the operation of businesses by foreigners in Thailand. My perception is we are now working globally and this has been strongly advocated by all the World Leaders during all their meetings during the recession. They all shouted from the roof-tops, "don't start operating exclusion policies and looking inwards". I would have thought this message from developed Countries and experienced high ranking politicians would have carried a message to the Thai Politicians. If I were cynical, my thought might be, perhaps the more difficult it is for a foreigner to operate in this Country, the more scope there is for the payment of "tea-money". Thank goodness I am not cynical then . I believe full democracy with far less corruption is coming to Thailand, perhaps not tomorrow, but come it will.

Unfortunately history has shown that making business difficult for Johnny foreigner hasn't really caused any tangible problem for Thailand. Until 97, they rumbled along at 5 to 8% GDP growth perfectly happily, post 97, they got back to decent growth all with these apparently restrictive laws on the books. What compelling explanation can be given to convince anyone that they NEED more FDI for the good of the country?

The change in the next few years will be that exports in Thailand have risen in price significantly in the last few years, and Vietnam and Cambodia are on the up and up. There hasn't been this type of competition on Thailands doorstep in many years. Thailand does need more FDI in order to replace the jobs and manufacturing that it is currently and will in future lose to China, Vietnam and Cambodia. Of course, it is a rare thing for politicians anywhere to tackle a problem BEFORE it happens, so I wouldn't expect Thailand to react at all.

[Arkady]

heykki, on 2009-12-29 18:28:28, said:

Good news for those in financial sector.

It's not particularly good news for those in the financial sector because the FBA and the Commerce Ministry don't really have jurisdiction over finance which is under the Commercial Banking Act and the SEC Act etc and governed by the Finance Ministry. The Commercial Banking Act contains its own foreign ownership restriction of 25% that overrides the 49% restriction in the FBA. But since 1998 the Bank of Thailand and the Finance Ministry have routinely waived the foreign ownership limit for foreign banks they consider respectible enough to manage a Thai bank. There also are pretty easy rules since 1998 for foreign securities companies to get a waiver from the 40% foreign ownership limit for securities companies, if they invest more than a certain amount. I think only insurance is under the jurisdiction of the Commerce Ministry but that has its own law as well. Credit fonciers that the Commerce Ministry also proposes to liberalise effectively don't exist any as the Bank of Thailand has them merge with banks or close down and they also come under the Finance Ministry and the Credit Fonciers Act. Liberalizing banks in the FBA doesn't change the 25% foreign limit in the Commercial Banking Act or the Finance Ministry's power to waive that without consulting the Commerce Ministry.

So clearly this aspect of the liberalization is just a smoke screen that the Commerce Ministry hopes to hide behind in order to have another go at the restrictions on foreign voting rights it failed to get past under the Sarayudh government. Tour guiding and schools may represent a bit of a liberalization but not much serious investment will come into schools because of the interference from the Ministry of Education. Apart from adult language schools most of the foreign involvement in education is merely franchising where local investors pay royalties to be allowed to use their names and there is no reason why these foreign institutions would want to invest their own money in Thailand. I would also not expect any serious foreign investment in godowns as a result of liberalization. For the good of the economy it is high time that the xenophobic senior mandarins at the Commerce Ministry were transferred to inactive posts before they can inflict some serious damage. Perhaps Maj-Gen Khattiya needs some assistance in his responsibilities for arranging callisthenics sessions around the country.

Edited by Arkady, 2010-01-07 02:18:14.

[animatic]

As the economic boom cash cow has died, they are now
looking for ways to make it come alive for themselves.
And looking for people to blame for why the calf died.

Farangs make the perfect target.
They have no effective recourse to bitch about it.

A nationalistic argument can be made that each farang takes a job from a Thai,
even as laws demand each farang employ 4 thais.

And the operative word here is control,
when the world is out of your control,
then you try and control what you can,
so as to make those feelings of impotence diminish.

[jimbeam1]

robertson468, on 2010-01-06 14:40:00, said:

I don't understand the philosophy, bordering on paranoia in the constraints imposed on both land ownership and the operation of businesses by foreigners in Thailand. My perception is we are now working globally and this has been strongly advocated by all the World Leaders during all their meetings during the recession. They all shouted from the roof-tops, "don't start operating exclusions.

And I believe Thailands Prime Minister was at some of these meetings?????????????????????????????????

[bangon04]

"However, it may affect some Thai businesses that are not competitive with foreign firms," said a senior Commerce Industry source.

Surely not. Foreigners simply have no idea how to do business in Thailand the Thai way.

[Old Man River]

jimbeam1, on 2010-01-08 23:05:03, said:

robertson468, on 2010-01-06 14:40:00, said:

I don't understand the philosophy, bordering on paranoia in the constraints imposed on both land ownership and the operation of businesses by foreigners in Thailand. My perception is we are now working globally and this has been strongly advocated by all the World Leaders during all their meetings during the recession. They all shouted from the roof-tops, "don't start operating exclusions.

And I believe Thailands Prime Minister was at some of these meetings?????????????????????????????????

It is politics. Foreigners can't vote. Thai's can. Watch what they do, not what they say.

[bellste]

JR Texas, on 2010-01-06 06:03:19, said:

ericthai, on 2010-01-06 01:25:46, said:

Bagwan, on 2009-12-30 10:45:55, said:

britadders28, on 2009-12-29 22:01:11, said:

Maybe tescos, sony, honda, suzuki etc.. should move out of thailand and see how they like that!!!

Add Siemens, Bosch, Mercedes Benz, BMW, Ferrari and all those purveyors of BS designer gear in the posh malls. Hit the phu yais where it will hurt.

You guys miss the point here, none of these big companies are affected by these rules. They all bring in big dollars and investment over 10 million baht and in cases like Toyota, BMW etc where they hire thousands of thais will qualify for BOI where they can own the company 100% so things like this does not affect them, it only affects us small guys.

Also, I really dont see any big issues as they have not really said anything, just said tighter controls this can mean anything, I would think with all the talk about shell companies to buy houses, land that this will be aimed at them, but this is my guess.
What it does say is that they are looking at removing business from the list that foreigners could not operate in before but now it looks possible they can. This does seem to be a step in the right direction. As for the voting rights for share holders this is already in place looks like they are just going to look more closely and enforce it.

The big point is that small scale businesses are the backbone of virtually every economy on the planet..........they create the most jobs. The idea that the big companies create most of the jobs is nonsense.

About the Paragon Mall: It was not packed at 11:30 am. Traffic did pick up substantially by 12:30 pm.

Note: I have heard many people say that this is the lowest high season on record, coming after the lowest low season on record. Many do say they are seeing customers, but they are not spending much.

This is reality..........and it is hurting Thailand's economy.

To turn it around they must adjust the business and visa rules to what they used to be and open their economy to foreign investment and competition........also they have to eliminate corruption at all levels and initate fundamental changes to their education system that will make Thailand competitive.

IMHO, of course.

That's true. And the small busninesses the Thais can run. They don't want us to run any business here at all, just spend our money in thai businesses. 

[bellste]

silentnine, on 2010-01-06 09:36:12, said:

"Annex III businesses that might be opened up include tour guide operators; trading in agricultural futures; stock trading; derivatives trading; commercial banking; insurance and assurance; pawnshop operators; warehousing; schools; and credit fonciers."

doe this mean farangs may be able to operate pawn shops legally

Yes if you have the right license to run that sort of business (which is almost impossible to get), and a work permit. But you can only own 49% of it. 

Edited by bellste, 2010-01-11 19:52:01.

[bellste]

Thai at Heart, on 2010-01-06 15:25:27, said:

robertson468, on 2010-01-06 07:40:00, said:

I don't understand the philosophy, bordering on paranoia in the constraints imposed on both land ownership and the operation of businesses by foreigners in Thailand. My perception is we are now working globally and this has been strongly advocated by all the World Leaders during all their meetings during the recession. They all shouted from the roof-tops, "don't start operating exclusion policies and looking inwards". I would have thought this message from developed Countries and experienced high ranking politicians would have carried a message to the Thai Politicians. If I were cynical, my thought might be, perhaps the more difficult it is for a foreigner to operate in this Country, the more scope there is for the payment of "tea-money". Thank goodness I am not cynical then . I believe full democracy with far less corruption is coming to Thailand, perhaps not tomorrow, but come it will.

Unfortunately history has shown that making business difficult for Johnny foreigner hasn't really caused any tangible problem for Thailand. Until 97, they rumbled along at 5 to 8% GDP growth perfectly happily, post 97, they got back to decent growth all with these apparently restrictive laws on the books. What compelling explanation can be given to convince anyone that they NEED more FDI for the good of the country?

The change in the next few years will be that exports in Thailand have risen in price significantly in the last few years, and Vietnam and Cambodia are on the up and up. There hasn't been this type of competition on Thailands doorstep in many years. Thailand does need more FDI in order to replace the jobs and manufacturing that it is currently and will in future lose to China, Vietnam and Cambodia. Of course, it is a rare thing for politicians anywhere to tackle a problem BEFORE it happens, so I wouldn't expect Thailand to react at all.

In Thailand they handle the problem "later", not before. It will go over they say.