Yehtmae Posted August 22, 2003 Report Share Posted August 22, 2003 Cheese Cheese CHEESE CHEESE CHEESE! CHEESE!!! CHEESE!!!!! CHEESE!!!!!!! Oh yeah, and some decently priced imported cheese please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaiHome Posted August 23, 2003 Report Share Posted August 23, 2003 "Although the common perception among laypeople unfamiliar with basic economics is that it is a zero/sum game, the truth is otherwise." I love it when you people talk dirty TH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaiHome Posted August 23, 2003 Report Share Posted August 23, 2003 BizAsia Investment 2003-01-15 09:59:56-05 China reports record Direct Foreign Investment Government issues data on Asia?s new investment ?darling,? China?s success forces new strategies for other Asian nations BizAsia, by ds - The Chinese government reported a record year in 2002 for foreign direct investment (FDI) as companies shifted production to the world?s most populous country in search of lower labor and production costs as well as access to the world?s largest single domestic market. Foreign investment in factories, chain stores and apartment buildings rose 13 percent to $52.7 billion in 2002, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation said this week. The Chinese government made it easier for companies such as Nissan Motor Corp and Samsung Electronics to expand their businesses to provide employment for the 27 million workers fired from state-run factories since 1998. Promotions for many government bureaucrats are tied to their ability to attract FDI. Foreign observers indicate that there has been a significant change in the government attitude toward foreign investors. Foreign investors are now regarded as ?knights in shining armor.? The large amount of FDI helped China surpass the Unites States as the world?s top recipient of FDI. Rising foreign investment is helping China to grow at the fastest pace among the world?s top 10 economies. In 2002, China?s growth accelerated to 8 percent from 7.3 percent in 2001. The switch of investment to China has put the squeeze on such smaller Asian countries as Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore. Thailand, a country we are intimately familiar with as the main headquarters of BizAsia are in Bangkok, is in for a real tussle. Thailand has developed a well-earned reputation for being able to assemble and produce automobiles. Most of the world?s major auto producers have factories in Thailand. Will the Thais be able to continue their auto production capability or will future expansion go to China and the Thai plants forced to look at a gradual phasing out? Serious questions for Thailand and other ASEAN countries to ponder as the dollars and euros make their want to Chinese pockets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jp1 Posted August 23, 2003 Report Share Posted August 23, 2003 Thaihome, According to the 'Far Eastern Economic Review' the outlook for Thailand is not so gloomy at all. In their newest edition (Aug. 28th) they have country reports for the whole of East Asia. Here's the Thailand report: ASIAN ECONOMIC OUTLOOK: THAILAND Demand-Driven By Shawn W. Crispin Issue cover-dated August 28, 2003 THAILAND'S ECONOMIC recovery keeps ticking along. Consensus Economics predicts that the country's inflation-adjusted GDP will expand by 4.5% this year. The Thai economy expanded 6.7% in the first quarter of this year, mainly on the back of strong domestic consumption and surprisingly buoyant exports. Apart from tourism, most economic indicators show that Thailand sailed relatively unscathed through the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome scare earlier this year. Such upbeat results have recently prodded the Thai government and some private-sector economists to upgrade their 2003 and 2004 GDP forecasts. For instance, in early August the central bank upped its 2003 forecast a whole percentage point from 3.5%-4.5% to 4.5%-5.5%. There are plenty of reasons to be optimistic. The Thai Chamber of Commerce reported that consumer confidence reached a record high in July, as consumers continue to spend lavishly on new cars, housing and consumer goods. Meanwhile, exports continue to surprise on the upside, growing in value nearly 20% year on year through the first half of 2003. Rising global commodity prices have helped, boosting the value of important Thai agricultural shipments such as rice and rubber. In particular, higher prices have sweetened the reward of Thailand's growing commodity-based exports to China. And with interest rates at record lows, government spending geared towards high growth, and the current account in surplus, some economists believe the economic momentum will continue well into 2004. "The Thai economy is supercharged right now," says Arthur Woo, an economist at HSBC in Singapore. "There are plenty of reasons to be optimistic growth will continue." Yet there are some important contrary indicators, too. Overall factory usage fell from 73.8% in April to 64.8% in June, according to the Bank of Thailand. That overcapacity means that a new cycle of private investment-led growth in new plant and equipment is still a long way off. That is gloomy news for Thai banks, which lend mainly to corporate rather than retail clients. International ratings agency Standard & Poor's estimates nonperforming loans represent as much as 30% of total assets in the Thai financial system. Some analysts believe that figure will go higher once global interest rates start to rise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThaiHome Posted August 23, 2003 Report Share Posted August 23, 2003 The discussion wasn't about Thailand?s economic outlook. It was on FDI and movement of it from SEA to China. Gadfly was making the argument that that the increase in FDI in China was not the reason it was down in Thailand. It took me less then a minute to find an article that refuted that. Your articles statement on over capacity is one several reasons MNC's are not investing in Thailand right now. The other main reason, IMHO, is because China is a much more favourable place right now. Even if Thailand was able to deal with the transparency issues (which are even worse in China ), MNC?s would still be investing in China, not Thailand, right now. TH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torneyboy Posted August 23, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2003 Says Yehtmae: Cheese Cheese CHEESE CHEESE CHEESE! CHEESE!!! CHEESE!!!!! CHEESE!!!!!!! Oh yeah, and some decently priced imported cheese please? Say...Cheese...yes looks good for you Yehtmae Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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