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Low interest rates and excess liquidity in Western economies could result in Asia’s markets falling prey to asset bubbles and speculation throughout the coming year, leading international and regional financial experts say.
Relatively high interest rates and plentiful opportunities will increasingly spur western investors to look to Asia. The International Monetary Fund forecast the region will [...]

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While Phuket and Pattaya´s property markets have boomed over the past few years, with high-rise condominiums and luxury villas projects dotting the respective landscapes, something more moderate has been taking place along the Gulf of Thailand´s western coast.
Hua Hin, which was established as the country´s first beach resort by King Rama VII in the 1920s, [...]

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Professor Pakdee Pothisiri has his work cut out.
As one of Thailand’s nine anti-corruption commissioners he is in the front line of the battle against graft in the country’s political and public sectors. But he remains upbeat in the face of the Herculean task that lies in front of him and the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC): [...]

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Thailand’s Eastern Seaboard (ESB) zone’s fundamentals are strong enough to weather the global recession and to maintain its position as a regional hub for manufacturing, petrochemical and export-based industries, according to industry experts.
They say its solid infrastructure, logistical facilities and utilities, underpinned by highly competitive Board of Investment (BOI) privileges and a relatively cheap, [...]

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Street-side is where it’s at for lovers of authentic Thai dishes, but eating like a local calls for knowledge only a Bangkok insider can supply. GREG LOWE serves up a street food primer
Along with smiles, temples and beaches, Thailand’s food has to be considered a marquee attraction. And while this ?ery form of culinary expression [...]

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The extent of the damage to Thailand’s economy is just starting to come clear in the wake of the chaos wrought by anti-government protestors who drove away risk-averse investors and wrecked the tourism industry with the closure of Bangkok’s international airports.
With the Democrat Party’s leader Abhisit Vejjajiva installed Monday as the new Thai prime minister, [...]

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Agencies feared children would be at greater risk of trafficking in the wake of Cyclone Nargis
MAE SOT, 11 December 2008 (IRIN) - When Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar in May, leaving close to 140,000 people dead or missing, aid workers feared an increase in child trafficking from the region.
Burmese children have long been trafficked into Bangkok [...]

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MAE SOT, 3 December 2008 (IRIN) - When Lynn Mon and his family arrived in the Thai border town of Mae Sot in June, they were penniless.
Cyclone Nargis had devastated their village in the Ayeyarwady Delta, destroying their home, farmland and livelihood, as well as killing 30 members of their family.
“We had to sell everything,” [...]

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Author Paul Theroux ponders the changing face of travel as he’s witnessed it and tells GREG LOWE how to make the most of your trips
There is a misconception about how travel has changed, like the misconception about the Internet. That it makes people more intelligent, that it puts them in touch, that it gives [...]

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Thailand´s property market will be hit by the double impact of domestic politics and global economic turmoil next year, but while both prices and demand may fall by up to 20 percent as the Thai economy falters, the market´s sound fundamentals will continue to provide solid medium to long term profits for cash-rich investors.
The lack [...]

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