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Entries from January 2009

Thai business sentiment dives to all-time low in December

January 28th, 2009 · No Comments

By GREG LOWE IN BANGKOK DOMESTIC political unrest dealt a severe blow to Thai business sentiment, driving it to an all-time low last month, recent reports reveal. Surveys published in January show local confidence is eroding faster than in other regional markets. And the Industries Sentiment Index plunged to 62.9 per cent in December – […]

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Tags: news · Thailand · The Business Times (Singapore)

Thai banks in for tougher times – Analysts cite falling loan growth, likely surge in NPLs and provisioning costs

January 26th, 2009 · No Comments

By GREG LOWE IN BANGKOK THAI banks face a deteriorating outlook for this year, despite having shown resilience against the effects of the global slowdown last year, but the worst is yet to come, according to analysts. Lower provisioning and higher loans growth saw Thailand’s banking system report higher average return on assets (ROA) of […]

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Tags: business · news · The Business Times (Singapore)

Thai auto sales expected to fall 15%

January 21st, 2009 · No Comments

By GREG LOWE IN BANGKOK THAILAND’S domestic auto sales are expected to plunge another 15.4 per cent this year, says the country’s biggest car maker. But industry observers reckon the decline could be worse. While the country’s economic fundamentals remain sound and its low-car ownership rate offers strong sales opportunities, the effects of the global […]

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Tags: business · news · The Business Times (Singapore)

Economists hit out at Thai stimulus plan

January 20th, 2009 · No Comments

By GREG LOWE IN BANGKOK ECONOMISTS lambasted the Thai government’s 115 billion baht (S$4.9 billion) fiscal stimulus package for being populist and insufficient to revive the country’s failing economy, when it was announced last week. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva defended the 18-project supplementary spending budget, which includes 19 billion baht in one-time handouts to low-income […]

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Tags: business · news · Thailand · The Business Times (Singapore)

Thailand slashes rates again, more cuts seen. Central bank acts to boost consumption, soften impact of global downturn

January 15th, 2009 · No Comments

By GREG LOWE IN BANGKOK THAILAND’S central bank yesterday slashed its key interest rate by 75 basis points, in line with market expectations, to offset the effects of the global downturn on an increasingly sluggish domestic economy. And a further rate cut is expected soon. The Bank of Thailand’s monetary policy committee (MPC) reduced its […]

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Tags: business · news · The Business Times (Singapore)

Damage limitation – The existing stimulus package is far from a panacea for Thailand’s flagging residential property market

January 1st, 2009 · No Comments

Political stability must be achieved before any government initiatives to stimulate Thailand´s flagging residential property market will be able to restore confidence, according to industry chiefs and analysts. Extending the current tax breaks for developers and buyers may take the sting out of any downturn but will fall far short of its target without more […]

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Tags: Asia Property Report · news · property

Thai street food feature: Spice Roads

January 1st, 2009 · No Comments

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 […]

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Tags: features · Thailand · tiger airways magazine · travel