thegreglowe.com

By GREG LOWE
IN BANGKOK

THAILAND’S industrial estate market remains upbeat thanks to government tax exemptions for developers, which will drive supply, demand and occupancy, in the face of the credit crunch, domestic politics and inflationary pressures, according to realtors Colliers International Thailand.

But local industry experts disputed the findings of its report, forecasting flat growth instead. [Read more →]

GREG LOWE
in Bangkok

Thai politics will have a heavier impact on the country’s economy than the global financial crisis, according to a report from Moodys Economy.com yesterday.

The standoff between the ruling People Power Party (PPP) and the anti-government People’s Alliance for Democracy sent business and consumer confidence into a tailspin, according to the report. It said Thai households are now as fearful of the future as they were living under military rule last November. [Read more →]

By GREG LOWE
IN BANGKOK

POLITICAL violence and global economic turmoil caused the Stock Exchange of Thailand to nosedive to a five-year low yesterday. Domestic consumption and tourism will be hard hit by the double economic impact, experts said.

SET closed at 492.34 points yesterday, down 6.88 per cent in trade worth 17.46 billion baht (S$740 million), the first time the index has dropped below 500 points since July 2003. [Read more →]

By GREG LOWE
IN BANGKOK

SCORES of people were injured when violence erupted on the streets of Bangkok yesterday after police deployed teargas to disperse anti-government protesters. Hopes of a peaceful resolution to the country’s political impasse lay in tatters, observers said.

Around 100 people were reported injured, more than 20 seriously, after police used teargas in the early hours of yesterday morning to disperse members of the anti-government People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) who were blocking MPs’ access to Parliament. [Read more →]

GREG LOWE in Bangkok

Thailand’s opposition party hammered the government’s new Cabinet line up, which was released yesterday. Appointments were made to satisfy internal power cliques not to serve the country and its people, it said.

Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat heads a six-party coalition government, led by his People Power Party (PPP), whose new Cabinet was royally endorsed on Wednesday and sworn in yesterday. [Read more →]

By GREG LOWE
IN BANGKOK

AMERICA’S financial crisis and the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy will dampen Bangkok property prices, a leading economist said yesterday.

Lehman’s went bankrupt on Sept 15 with 50 billion baht (S$2.1 billion) of assets in Thailand, 80 per cent of which was in property.

Any related sell-off of its assets is likely to devalue the market, which – combined with the drying up of global credit and foreign capital – will cause prices to drop, economists say. [Read more →]

GREG LOWE in Bangkok

Anti-government protestors weakened their political demands yesterday in a move welcomed by Thailand’s major parties. But more detail is needed for informed debate, said an analyst.

The People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) has occupied Government House since August 26, demanding the ouster of the ruling People Power Party (PPP). It accuses PPP of being a proxy for former-PM Thaksin Shinawtra, who was deposed in a military coup two years ago. [Read more →]

By GREG LOWE
IN BANGKOK

THAILAND’S Parliament elected Somchai Wongsawat as prime minister yesterday, but the new premier will be ‘under the gun from day one’, according to a leading political observer.

Mr Somchai became Thailand’s 26th prime minister with a clear majority after winning 298 votes, while opposition Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva won 163 votes. There were five abstentions. [Read more →]

By GREG LOWE
IN BANGKOK

THAILAND’S ruling party ended two days of intense negotiations yesterday by unanimously backing Acting Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat as its candidate for premier.

Last Tuesday, the Constitutional Court sacked Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej over a conflict of interest concerning payments he received for hosting TV cooking programmes. [Read more →]

By GREG LOWE
IN BANGKOK

THAILAND’S government faces serious trouble if the ruling People Power Party (PPP) cannot agree on its prime ministerial candidate before Parliament votes on the matter tomorrow, a party spokesman said yesterday.

The Constitutional Court sacked Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej last week over a conflict of interest for receiving payments for hosting TV cooking shows. He was re-nominated by PPP on Thursday, then dropped on Friday after a rebellion by party members and coalition partners forced the parliamentary vote to be postponed. [Read more →]