Thailand remains the sick man of south east asia

Add this topic to your myFT Digest for news straight to your inbox. Former coup leader Prayuth Chan-ocha accused of overstaying legally mandated eight-year term. Slow inoculation rollout has been aggravated by surge of highly infectious variant. Student-led movement that has roiled kingdom for months wants companies to take sides.

Sinking in heavy repayments to loan sharks, Non says payday is nothing more than a cruel reminder of his dire finances. Household debt has surged to alarming levels in Thailand; just one of a welter of issues dragging on the economy despite a vow by the ruling junta to revive the kingdom's fortunes. Thai households are among the region's biggest borrowers, a credit binge stoked by populist policies and low bank interest rates -- but also low wages that keep the poor perilously close to the breadline and make them ready bait for illegal loan sharks. The debt levels are worrying the generals who seized power last May promising to end a near-decade of political turmoil and restore zip to Thailand's once-dynamic economy. The country narrowly avoided recession during protests against the ousted administration of Yingluck Shinawatra, which paralysed government spending and frightened off tourists and investors.

Thailand remains the sick man of south east asia

Months of political deadlock and stock market volatility have finally come to a close in Thailand. The appointment of new Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin is expected to boost investor confidence in the short term but experts say the long-term economic recovery will prove challenging. While the Move Forward party won May's general election, it was unable to obtain approval from the conservative Senate. Srettha, Pheu Thai's choice for leader, was appointed prime minister on Aug. Thaksin's return is likely part of a power-sharing deal that Pheu Thai negotiated with the military establishment, according to political watchers, who believe he will eventually receive a royal pardon under Srettha's administration. This political turbulence has been reflected in the stock market, where foreign investors have been net sellers since the May election. August marked the seventh consecutive month for net selling but sentiment is slowly ticking up amid hopes for Thaksin's return and Srettha's economic promises to bring much-needed stability to the business environment. Due to the chaos in recent months, officials delayed unveiling the fiscal budget, which is now due at the beginning of even though the fiscal year kicks off on Oct. That could unnerve some investors, geopolitical intelligence firm Stratfor said in an August report: "Budget delays create economic uncertainty among both investors and consumers in terms of fiscal policy direction, while implying reduced government services and higher borrowing costs. Fitch Ratings echoed those concerns in a recent report. Preventing a recession seems to be Srettha's top priority. In a speech on Sept. He argued stimulus is needed due to the slow recovery in tourism and consumer spending. The prime minister also pledged to relieve the country's debt problems.

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Populists and the military voted in Srettha Thavisin, a tycoon. Markets are cheering the end of an impasse. Relief may be brief. Japan and the UAE will soon have legal casinos; Thailand may follow. The winning party remains upbeat it can form a government. No matter who wins, old hostilities will escalate.

Susan Sontag revealed how a disease could be turned into a metaphor in social evolution, from merely a disease of the body to moral judgment or even political oppression. But the metaphors cannot be distanced just by abstaining from them. For example, cancer is a metaphor for the defect of the sick person in personality. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves. Download chapter PDF.

Thailand remains the sick man of south east asia

For the latest, search on ABC Emergency. As the end of approached, Thailand was in an enviable position. As other nations confronted soaring coronavirus case numbers, the country had only 4, infections and just 60 deaths in a population of 70 million people. Life had just about returned to normal. Thailand had even begun to welcome foreign tourists again after a two-week hotel quarantine stay. Then, the week before Christmas, a year-old vendor at a seafood market in Samut Sakhon province, just outside Bangkok, tested positive to COVID despite no overseas travel records. It remains a mystery precisely where and from whom the vendor contracted COVID, but Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has pointed the finger at illegal immigrants from neighbouring Myanmar. The outbreak did spread amongst the local, tight-knit migrant community — a large source of labour for Thailand's seafood industry — but the World Health Organization WHO said there was no evidence it began there. As questions remain over how exactly the outbreak started, new case numbers have ballooned to more than 7, across most of Thailand's 77 provinces.

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Premium content. The Day in Photos. VIDEO More Asia News. Thaksin's return is likely part of a power-sharing deal that Pheu Thai negotiated with the military establishment, according to political watchers, who believe he will eventually receive a royal pardon under Srettha's administration. Friday, 15 February, Learn more Got it! Asia manufacturing. Analysts tip the government to spend its way out of trouble, despite a vow to tighten the purse strings after what it says were years of profligacy from elected civilian governments. BANG Showbiz. Yet the scale of that punt is reduced by the fact this is also a prime real estate deal.

By webfact March 26, in Thailand News. Ath Pisalvanich, director of the university's International Trade Studies Centre, said out of 4, small- and medium-sized Thai enterprises have planned to invest in neighbouring Indonesia, Myanmar and Laos with a total investment of Bt77 billion. The political turmoil will compel other manufacturers to relocate from Thailand, he said, adding that about 1, Thai operators will possibly move their production bases to neighbouring countries.

Nine months after the military power grab, signs of economic recovery are still few with fourth quarter GDP figures, to be released on Monday, expected to come in at around 0. Opposition parties fear junta will rig parliamentary poll as campaigning kicks off. While both sides plan populist handouts, neither has an inspiring economic agenda. Markets Show more Markets. Non borrowed to replace those items, partly from his bank, but mostly from illegal loan sharks who charge interest rates of between 10 and 20 percent. Yet its currency is an outperformer, aggravating both problems. Southeast Asia's first luxury hotel made from retired buses opens in Singapore — take a look inside. Previous page You are on page 1 Next page. Nita Ambani casually wore an enormous emerald necklace and a Thursday, 22 April, Read full article.