Thailand International Political Economy

Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and the Thai government have announced a state of emergency in Thailand as Bangkok protests continue according to The Independent.

The mass protest is primarily driven by pro People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) designed to oust Samak who is considered a proxy for the former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The anti Thai government protests have shut down at least three airports severely affecting the Thai tourist market.

The Bank of Thailand raised interest rates for a second month in a row in order to fight inflation that continues inflict the Thailand economy according to Bloomberg.

While the quarter point hike to 3.75 percent certainly will help quell Thailand inflation it will also impact Thailand economic growth as many other Asian markets are seeing 6 to 8 plus percent year over year growth.

Thailand inflation hit 9.2 percent last month at its fastest pace since 1998.

Former Thai government Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra jumped bail and has fled Thailand according to The Wall Street Journal.

Thaksin made clear that he did not trust he would receive a fair trial with the Thailand government denies that this is the case.

The decision for Thaksin Shinawatra to flee comes after a slew of problems facing the current proxy leadership under the current Thai government’s Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej.

See:
Thai Government Removes Five Ministers
Thai Foreign Minister Resigns
Thai Prime Minister Samak Faces Impeachment
Thaksin Goes On Trial
Thai PM Under Fire Over Loyalty to Thai Monarchy
[Read more →]

The world’s biggest automaker, General Motors Corp (GM), announced it will invest in Thailand $445 million according to Bloomberg.

The Thailand investment will go towards upgrading existing assembly facilities and towards a new diesel engine factory scheduled for a 2010 open with a 100,000 expected output capacity.

Overall, Thailand produced 1.28 million cars in 2007 and is ranked as Asia’s fifth largest automobile producer. [Read more →]

The Thailand government’s Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej has removed five ministers according to Bloomberg.

The move comes after months of protests and numerous court rulings that have forced the Samak Sundaravej to replace the ministers with new appointees.

While the Thai government news comes has Prime Minister Samak continues to face criticism for his connection with former Prime Minister Thakshin Shinawatra, it also comes as Thailand SET Index has dropped over 22 percent and as Thai consumer confidence has dropped three straight months. [Read more →]

Thailand exports rose 27 percent in June creating a Thailand trade surplus of 628 million according to M&C.

Key drivers of the increase in Thai trade exports are rice, computer parts, electronic appliances, automobiles, and garments.

The Thai trade news is positive for the Thailand economy as Thailand initially registered a trade deficit of 1 billion first six months of 2008. [Read more →]

The Bank of Thailand, Thailand’s central bank, raised its benchmark interest rate up a quarter point to 3.5 percent in order to ease Thailand inflation that continues to creep into the Thai economy according to Bloomberg.

While the decision was expected and has been consider ‘good for the Baht, Thailand inflation still sits at 8.9 percent as the Thai economy continues to fight raising oil and food prices. [Read more →]

Noppadon Pattama, the Thailand government’s foreign minister, resigned after being accused of jeopardizing land claims near the ancient Preah Vihear Cambodian Hindu temple on the Thai border according to AP.

The Thai government’s Thai Constitutional Court ruled that the foreign minister acted unconstitutionally by endorsing Cambodia’s UNESCO application to have the temple deemed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The move comes as the Thai government’s Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej faces possible impeachment charges, the trial of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and various other charges and outings of current administration officials.

See:
Thai Prime Minister Samak Faces Impeachment
Thaksin Goes On Trial
Thai PM Under Fire Over Loyalty to Thai Monarchy

New elections or a coup are eminent at this point. [Read more →]

The Thai government’s Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej faces possible impeachment charges by Thailand’s opposition Democrat party according to Jurist Legal News & Research.

The move against the current Thai government comes after a series of Thai Constitutional Court decisions against key People Power Party (PPP) officials over the last few weeks.

The news also comes as former Thailand prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra goes on trail for corruption charges and could face up to 13 years in prison if found guilty. See Thaksin Goes On Trial [Read more →]

After two years since former Thai Prime Minister was ousted from the Thai government in a bloodless coup, Thakin Shinawatra finally went on trial face real estate corruption charges according to BBC News.

In addition, the Thailand government’s Supreme Court jailed three of Thaksin’s lawyers last month and banned Yongyut Tiyapairat of the People Power Party (PPP) participating in Thai politics for five years.

The likelihood of a Thaksin return to Thai politics continues to look grimmer [Read more →]

The Thailand government’s Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej is under fire as he is questioned over his loyalty to the Thai monarchy according to AFP.

The new round of Thai political criticism comes at the same time of mass protest over former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

It is expected that a vote of no-confidence will likely take place on Friday leaving the possibility of yet a new Thai government before the [Read more →]

The threat of protest by truck drivers and fisherman over soaring prices are beginning to challenge the Thailand government according to AP.

The biggest threat to the Thai government over the deadline to subsidize fuel prices by next Tuesday or else at least 100,000 trucks may drive into Bangkok and cause havoc in the cities already traffic congested streets.

In addition it is estimated that over 50,000 fishing boats are grounded because of the high cost of diesel fuel according to Mana Sripitak the [Read more →]

Toyota Motor Corp continues to invest in Thailand, the Detroit of Southeast Asia, as it plans to start producing hybrid cars in Thailand according to Bloomberg.

The move expects to leverage existing Thailand investments by producing a hybrid version of the [Read more →]

The Thailand government plans to implement a rice purchase scheme to help local Thai rice farmers according to Forbes.

The move comes as Thai farmers threaten to protest over the fact that while Rice prices have gained significantly over the past few months the millers and exporters have not passed along those gains to producers.

The scheme by the Thailand government and proposed by Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej suggests that the Thai government bank would purchase rice $428 per ton direct from Thai rice farmers.

Politically, the move is timely as protest in Bangkok continued this week over the Thailand governments attempt to alter the Thai constitution in a favor of former ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. [Read more →]

Protests continue to mount against the Thailand government according to the International Herald Tribune.

Protester in the thousands have gathered near Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej office just outside the United Nations offices in Bangkok over the Thai government’s attempt to change the Thai constitution in favor of Thaksin Shinawatra.

The protest come at a time that only hurts the Thailand economy it threatens the attractiveness of Thailand foreign direct investment. [Read more →]

New concerns over a possible new Thailand government coup have erupted according to the Guardian.

With mass anti-government demonstrations expected and General Boonsang Niempradit, Thailand’s most senior military commander, publicly stating that he would not rule out the notion of a possible new coup, the Thailand government is faced with new challenges not seen since the Thaksin [Read more →]

Luxottica, Italy’s luxury eyewear maker, plans to invest in Thailand according to Reuters.

The Thailand investment involves franchising agreement with Swiss headquartered Diethelm Keller Limited.

While the Thailand investment deal amount was not disclosed, the plan is expand the Luxottica footprint by [Read more →]

SRF Ltd, India’s leading tire cord manufacturer, plans to invest in Thailand by acquiring Thai Baroda Industries (TBIL) according to The Times of India.

The investment in Thailand is estimated at [Read more →]

United Arab Emirates state own investment firm Dubai World may invest in Thailand according to the International Herald Tribune.

While the intent is in the feasibility study stage, the Thailand investment would surround infrastructure and real estate.

The estimated size of Dubai World’s proposed investment in Thailand was not disclosed.

Dubai World currently controls [Read more →]

Thailand’s largest cement producer, Siam Cement, plans to build a second cement plant according to Bloomberg.

The Thailand investment move by Siam Cement is worth possibly $189 million and is expected to triple cement production in the country.

Other big commodity investment deals in Cambodia include [Read more →]

Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia, as well as Myanmar and Laos have agreed to form a rice cartel according to Forbes.

The Thailand trade move with its neighboring countries would act similar to OPEC but would be called the Organization of Rice Exporting Countries (OREC).

While intentions may be good considering recent runaway rice prices, it will be interesting to see how the World Trade Organization (WTO) reacts to the announcement with regard to [Read more →]

The Thailand government announced that it would sell its entire rice stockpile of 2.1 million tons according to AFP.

The while the move by the Thailand government is aimed to maintain domestic prices, the announcement has made an impact globally as rice prices have begun to come down.

The rice stockpile plan will result in [Read more →]

The Thailand government has announced it will release rice stockpile in order to quell rising domestic prices of rice according to Forbes.

The amount of the 2 million ton rice stockpile that the Thailand government will release was not disclosed. Nonetheless, any added supply to the Thailand economy will help since Thai rice [Read more →]

Thai rice hit a record high of $1,080 a ton and closed at $1,000 a ton according to The Guardian.

The Thai rice price is up from last weeks $950 per ton and up from $383 a ton in early January causing concern for not only the Thailand government and the Thailand economy but the world as a whole [Read more →]

The Thailand government has announced that it may cut excise tax on diesel fuel according to The Economic Times.

The move would reduce retail prices of diesel fuel by up to 7 percent and help the Thailand economy by easing [Read more →]

Seamico Securities, Thailand’s 7th ranked brokerage firm, plans to enter the Cambodian market according to Reuters.

While the details of the Thailand investment by Seamico to expand were not disclosed, a license to enter Cambodia market is likely to go through later this year.

The key driver for Seamico’s interest in Cambodia surrounds the fact that the Cambodia economy [Read more →]

New Zealand’s biggest producer of washers and dryers, Fisher & Paykel Appliances (F&P), plans to further invest in Thailand according to Bloomberg.

In addition to the Thailand investment, F&P set up plants in Mexico and Italy as it closes down three plants in New Zealand, Australia, and in the US.

The company moved its electronics and laundry units to Thailand last year in an attempt to [Read more →]

The Thailand government estimates that it is missing 200,000 tons of rice from its rice stockpile of 2.1 million tons according to Earthtimes.

The missing rice is estimated to be worth $100 million and news comes at a time when rice prices continue to rise and challenge the Thailand government to help the poorer population keep up with inflation.

The rise in global food prices has recently caused riots in Egypt and Haiti therefore setting the stage for other unrest around the globe. Thailand is likely immune because of its sizable rice output, but neighboring Asian countries such as the Philippines and Indonesia could impact the Thailand economy if there where [Read more →]

ArcelorMittal, the world’s number one steel company, has indicted that it is interested in a Thailand investment according to AFP.

However, ArcelorMittal is not quite ready to move forward as it has concerns about the high cost of doing business in Thailand and Thailand’s productivity challenges.

Interestingly, ArcelorMittal announcement about a possible investment in Thailand came at a [Read more →]

The Thailand government has no plans to cut rice exports despite rumors according to Reuters.

The concern over the Thailand trade of rice comes as countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia, India, and Egypt have either reduced rice exports or halted rice exports all together in order to protect domestic supply as rice prices continues to rise.

In just this year alone, Thai rice prices have risen [Read more →]