£1 gets you 50 baht now!

[paulj92]

just looked on xe 5031.33 to the 100 pounds

[fleeing]

You're focusing on the exchange rate with sterling too much!

The baht is ridiculously over-valued against all western currencies at the moment. It has gained 10% against the euro in the last 2 months.

The main cause is inaction by the Thai authorities, which for an export and tourism based economy looks like a kamikaze policy, at least seen from a western perspective. But the strengthening of the baht may have more to do with the Asian free trade agreement that started this year, and be an attempt to limit damaging cheap imports from neighbouring cheaper countries. Either that or someone is looking at exchanging large amounts of baht to $ ?

Whatever way you look at it, a strong baht is bad news for an already suffering tourism market and of course for export companies. My budget has been cut by 10% so that is 10% less for beers, LBs and hotels.

Perhaps that says more about the Thai government/bank's economic priorities or their ineptitude.

[robbo]

i would say at a guess that that is more like it,as we know that often Thailand makes no sense atall on a lot of occasions, 6 years ago bars etc were open till at least 2 am legally, then it was 1 am soon it will be 10 pm and tuck yourself in bed with horlicks and a good book ( and a ladyboy cock in your ass ) few years back it was ok all night long.
i know it sounds like nit picking,but take Pattaya for and example, closing times have been changed and enforced even there,just think if you took all the bars gogos etc etc out of Patts just how much money and how many visitors would that place lose? without its p4p scene Patts would be a right shitehole instead of just a shitehole.
whats the LB,s answer to fees for customers in economic hard times with fewer customers........put the prices up!....its Thai mentality.
without Tourism in all its guises then Thailand would be just another 80% 3rd world country.
im sure they do know this but then sometimes you dont know the value of something till its gone or has been diminished.
a healthy balance between its laws and currency culture and needs is very important.

[pacman]

As Robbo says, sometimes Thailand makes no sense at all. Or at least not to farangs.

Decisions are made that have no bearing to money. 30 odd years ago, a number of Buddhist monks were elected into Government on the platform of cleaning up the sex industry.

This was a popular idea for many Thais who were none too comfortable about the image of their country being promoted as a destination for cheap sex holidays. Being devout Buddhists they happily elected these guys who held great power for a few years.

They said they would do something about Patpong & they did. What is left today is a shadow of the four city blocks containing hundreds of bars, clubs, etc that were there all through the 70's.

One night the police arrived & ordered bar owners out & the next night it was like a ghost town. I saw the before & the after but wasn't there when it happened. If the Kings Group who own most of the existing places weren't highly connected, there wouldn't be any night life scene in Patpong today.

These monks had Royal patronage & for once, the corrupt way of doing business in Thailand had no bearing on the outcome. If it is decided that Nana has outstayed its welcome, one night that will disappear too.

As for Pattaya, the plans to make the place family friendly with shopping centres taking the place of the sex industry, are well advanced.

There is little point in telling the authorities that they will lose most of their clientele, once the decision is made, they will allow lives to be ruined & employees to starve, rather than lose face.

Yes, the sex industry will relocate but it will be a disaster for those who have invested a fortune into existing premises. This is Thailand & the Thais will decide what business gets done where.

[mardhi]

I am not sure why people keep complaining about the Baht being too strong - its just reflecting the trend of Asian currencies as a whole as smart money continues to move into Asia. As to sterling falling, thats surely more to do with the fact that people dont like the printing presses running 24/7 printing lots of new money (oops sorry Quantitive Easing) and then receiving all of 1% interest on their deposits. The UK Inc. Balance sheet looks a total mess - that will impact the value of sterling - surely its not rocket science. Comparing Thailand to the UK Balance sheet wise will show quite how amazing is the difference. That reflects in currency values.

Aside from the fact that the Brit's are getting screwed on their holiday money, its not exactly going make much difference to the bigger scheme of things - the Pound is down against almost all currencies - however Thailand still ranks as one of the best value destinations. On the flip side, Thailand companies are now serious investors in other markets - they are on large scale buying spree's picking up assets at much lower prices due to the collapse in values on many exchange rates. if I were a hi so Thai - i'd be buying prime property in London right now - its now some 30% cheaper than 5 years ago.

But for sure - I dont think anything is going to change anytime soon especially as the historic rate prior to the 1997 crash was that the Pound bought approx: 46 baht and that rate had been failry constant for years prior.

Cheers
Mardhi

[PigDogg]

From The Wall Street Journal:

Is A Sterling Crisis Next?

As the Greek debt crisis rumbles on, is a sterling crisis next?

With high-deficit countries in investors' sights, the pound fell to a nine-month low against the dollar this week and, perhaps more surprisingly, to a six-week low against the euro€“ even as Greece descended into national strikes. A crisis can be avoided, but the pound faces both internal and external vulnerabilities that will continue to make investors jittery.

Three key factors are weighing on sterling: fears over the depth of the recovery, with business investment falling sharply; worries that the Bank of England may resurrect its quantitative easing program; and growing concerns that an election due in the next three months will deliver no clear winner€”and therefore deadlock on the deficit. Friday's revision to fourth-quarter gross domestic product to show growth of 0.3% failed to deliver succor, driven as it was by government spending, leaving the pound at $1.52 and the euro up at £0.89.

There are a few comforting factors. At least sterling doesn't suffer from the structural and institutional flaws that the Greek crisis has exposed in the European currency project. And sterling is arguably no longer overvalued: the 28% depreciation against the dollar in 2008 means it is close to its long-run average real exchange rate of $1.56, Barclays Capital notes. Sterling can still act as a safety valve to help rebalance the economy.

But sterling's vulnerability is exacerbated by the widespread foreign ownership of U.K. assets: foreign investors own around half of U.K.-issued bonds, including 30% of the gilt market, RAB Capital notes. Sterling therefore is subject to variations in global risk appetite: If foreign investors were to lose confidence in monetary or fiscal policy, sterling could be the main victim.

This combination means any number of flashpoints could lead to a crisis. UBS warns that overzealous fiscal tightening could send the pound to $1.05 or below; others argue the opposite risk €”a failure to tackle the fiscal deficit€”would hit the pound. Disappointing domestic economic data, from slower growth to higher inflation, a failed gilt auction or a sharp rise in risk aversion could also trip sterling up. Nervous times indeed.

[Foggy]

As my question relates to the exchange rates I thought I'd ask it here.

I want to transfer 4 million Baht into my Siam Commercial bank as I will be needing to use that for a project over the next 4 / 5 months and dont want to loose out with the rates going down any more.

My question... how safe is it to do that or are there any other ideas... as I dont want to have any thing 'disappear'

Any advice is much appreciated

[mardhi]

I have always found SCB to be excellent - however remember to send the money IN in the original currency - do not transfer it to Baht - let SCB do that on its arrival - you get a much better rate than if you ocnvert it back where the money is.

Cheers
Mardhi

[Foggy]

Thanks Mardhi,

Appreciate the advice

[azza33]

if that is project ladyboy, I can't wait for the pics

[Foggy]

I guess it is indirectly as it finishes a house where numerous activities will take place....

[PigDogg]

Mardhi's not talking about a small difference either. It could easily amount to over 1000 pounds.

[Bumpa STIKKA]

Oh dear... someone get a doctor - the pound is sick!

[azza33]

You know during the tech boom GBP-AUD was 3

[TTChang]

....   Maybe I won't be travelling downunder next winter     The exchange rate looks like a one-way bet at present. A bet on sterling is like betting on Wolves to beat ManU next weekend ...