Mekong Posted June 3, 2008 Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 Cent, Its a bit more than $40 for a tank of Diesel nowadys, 3 years ago I was paying around 900 THB to fill an empty (warning light on) tank today it costs 2,200 THB which is over $65, my fuel bills have risen from 4000 a month to over 10,000 a month. At work I have noticed less cars in the parking lot, there is a lot of car sharing going on now and many people have or are considering converting to NGV, there are a lot of stations where NGV is available on the Eastern Seaboard. Drogon, Same experience as Munchie mentioned, Post 97 work dried up pretty quickly and it was time to hit the Middle East again to make some money until work was available again here. back in 2002 I had a couple of Short Term contracts but it wasn't until 2005 that I was back working full time in Thailand again. On the positive side, when the Baht was over 90 to Sterling I took a risk and bought my apartment at reduced rate (bank closure of loan) and with the strenghtening of the Baht and recovery of the housing market it is currently valued at 15 times more than I paid for it in sterling terms 10 years ago, not that I would expect to get that on the open market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drogon Posted June 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 Thanks for recounting your experience. Was thinking about waiting a bit to see how the situation evolves before buying a condo. If the economy plunges again then it might be worth the wait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian2 Posted June 3, 2008 Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 Everybody who lives here seems to waiting for something to happen. The Thais I speak to are expecting another bust after the current boom and Farangs like me with overseas income are waiting for the baht to crash and burn. The way look at it, as long as the Thais keep their products selling overseas and they're not buying anything back this could go on for quite a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drogon Posted June 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 Thanks, I am not in a hurry as I prefer to be cautious (almost made the mistake to buy a condo here in Spain just before the real estate crash). I am far more worried for a few Thai relations and for the ex gf... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTO Posted June 3, 2008 Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 Housing prices never really plunged - many places the Thai's (CHinese) sat on them. The lower end market had some fluidity. I had Chinese friends "waiting" for prices to drop - their still waiting. Mekong's luck was a mixture of exchange rate movements plus getting in at the exact right time. That window was very small. It's ok - I don't expect a answer from snobs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drogon Posted June 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 CTO I am not waiting for the market to drop. I am just waiting for the right exchange rate, I can then simply jump on it when the time is right. (might be wiser to buy in the US/UK or Spain...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardy641 Posted June 3, 2008 Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 I see it very differently. The world economy became pretty volatile and the current incompetent government focusing on amending the charter to safeguard their power and get Thaksin off the hook makes the situation in Thailand even more worrying. In short Thailand faces the following challenges some having external but most internal reasons: â?¢High inflation mainly caused by high food and oil prices; thus especially the poor masses are hit and suffer â?¢Capacity utilization of over 80% and the high Thai Baht will put a stop of the strong growth in export , so far the motor of the Thai economy over the least years â?¢Much needed FDI to expand the production capacity is missing because unclear policies and frequent changes, hardly any official stipulation packages to attract capital compared to other Asian countries (e.g. Vietnam, China, Malaysia) instead unhealthy discussions to tighten the FBA and about the illegal but commonly accepted nominee scheme â?¢The much need education reform is not in sight; the current system isnâ??t able to provide the necessary resources to change bring Thailand forward; actually is going rather backwards â?¢Despite the much hailed return to democracy the political situation is far from being stable, the split of the society into anti- and pro-Thaksin remains and is currently intensifying â?¢The trust in the current government couldnâ??t be lower (a retired TV cook as PM, the lawyer of Thaksin heading foreign affairs, a trusted medical doctor of Thaksin being Finance minister, and his brother in law education minister. To top it the father of police murder being the interior minister. Not a team that will attract investors In a nutshell I see difficult times ahead and business not being great last year already is further worsening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian2 Posted June 3, 2008 Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 Is the Baht strong or does it just look good against the USD? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elef Posted June 3, 2008 Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 Bank of Thailand is keeping the exchange rate against the dollar low, else the exporters would complain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samak Posted June 3, 2008 Report Share Posted June 3, 2008 Housing prices never really plunged - many places the Thai's (CHinese) sat on them. agree with that. of course there were some bargains out of some foreclosures; but the majority was kept on NPL. however prices remained on a low level until around 2003. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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