money transfers

[fredlk]

Just to prevent abnormality's here are yearly charts.

That 50 at the beginning .... oh I remember it well. I transferred my savings just as it started going down again so the house is being built at 49 Baht to the Euro.
The roof and everything else is at 39 or 40 Baht to the Euro and if I'm short I might have to borrow some money from a Canadian.

[BKKBILL]

Sorry forgot to post the rest of the bad news. USD-THB.

[fredlk]

Bkkbill I think I have to concede defeat: the Euro is now at 39.931.
I might be moving in a month later than originally planned if I want the floors tiled and the house glazed.

[BKKBILL]

It is a ride that is affecting us all.

Like you I was lucky enough to bring my vast fortune here when the CAD was at its peak.

Canada being rich in natural resources has been able to hold up a little better than some of the other world currencies. Hopefully for me that will continue.

[fredlk]

Now they've really lost me:

"The baht has weakened due to the depreciation of the euro against the US dollar, Bank of Thailand assistant governor Suchada Kirakul said on Tuesday.
"The baht's weakening today is not caused by the central bank's intervention. It is moving in the same direction as other regional currencies," Mrs Suchada said. ... "

[MGV12]

Now they've really lost me:

"The baht has weakened due to the depreciation of the euro against the US dollar, Bank of Thailand assistant governor Suchada Kirakul said on Tuesday.
"The baht's weakening today is not caused by the central bank's intervention. It is moving in the same direction as other regional currencies," Mrs Suchada said. ... "

Just been looking at the path of the Baht v's GBP, Euro, US$ [sorry Bill] over the last week on SCB's website and it makes no sense at all compared to the above nor any of the financial news that I have read over the same period. Rich folks playing games and government/central bank people not really knowing what they are doing.

The 'big boys' are hunting in packs these days on the FX markets so we should give up trying to make sense of it.

I have a finely-balanced deposit in the bank for my 'retirement' visa and if the GBP is less than 47.5 [70.5 when I arrived in 2007] on the day I could be a little bit

[Roger Ramjet]

MGV12,
My wife and I have a number of investments for our daughter's university education, all of which, except one, are through SCB. Korean Bonds are getting 2% at the moment, but are tied down for 12 months. The best investment is the SCBRF, which after the crash in 2007, has since nearly doubled. It's a dodgy one though and can be worth thousands one day and hundreds the next (2007 crash) when it lost nearly 10% overnight and another 12% the next day. We have tried term deposits, education funds, in fact just about the whole lot, and none are worth the hassles for a few thousand baht over 2 years in interest. And of course the government is/has now introducing a new tax on them. Imagine my shock when I updated a fixed term deposit and found the government had taken half in tax; hence the Korean bonds.
The Aussie dollar has remained fairly stable throughout and has fluctuated between 26 and 32 and is currently at 28 - 29. I get a far better rate when the Australian Government deposits my pension in Thai Baht than I could converting it over here, which means the banks and the Central Bank are robbing everyone blind with their exchange rates. The same with Visa and Mastercard conversions; I get a far better rate when Visa or Mastercard do the conversion than are advertised in the newspapers or at the bank's counter.
Thailand has virtually no natural resources so I wonder where all the money is coming from? I know the Japanese car makers and other large industry (electronics) give the economy a huge boost, as does the tourist industry, but I still can't figure out where the money comes from (besides rice).
If the economists can't tell where the money is coming from, how can we?

[BKKBILL]

Thailand has virtually no natural resources so I wonder where all the money is coming from? I know the Japanese car makers and other large industry (electronics) give the economy a huge boost, as does the tourist industry, but I still can't figure out where the money comes from (besides rice).

Well yes except for............

Metallic resources in Thailand include lead, tin, tantalum and tungsten. A variety of other natural resources for the country include gypsum, fluorite, natural gas, lignite, timber, fish, rubber and arable land.

Thailand's leading agricultural exports are rice, cassava (tapioca), rubber, corn, sugarcane, coconuts, soybeans. Let’s not even get into manufacturing.

As for investments I did very well with the Bank of Ayudhya. They have a mutual fund tied to the stock market. Guaranteed 2% and there is no income tax on any stock-market profits. It’s been a few year since I had this account but think if you have a few Baht to spare this might be a good investment at the rate Thai market is going up.

[MGV12]

Thailand has virtually no natural resources so I wonder where all the money is coming from? I know the Japanese car makers and other large industry (electronics) give the economy a huge boost, as does the tourist industry, but I still can't figure out where the money comes from (besides rice).

Well yes except for............

Metallic resources in Thailand include lead, tin, tantalum and tungsten. A variety of other natural resources for the country include gypsum, fluorite, natural gas, lignite, timber, fish, rubber and arable land.

Thailand's leading agricultural exports are rice, cassava (tapioca), rubber, corn, sugarcane, coconuts, soybeans. Let’s not even get into manufacturing.

As for investments I did very well with the Bank of Ayudhya. They have a mutual fund tied to the stock market. Guaranteed 2% and there is no income tax on any stock-market profits. It’s been a few year since I had this account but think if you have a few Baht to spare this might be a good investment at the rate Thai market is going up.

So ... you are also an expert on Thailand's natural resources Bill ... what do you know about Laterite?

[BKKBILL]

So ... you are also an expert on Thailand's natural resources Bill ... what do you know about Laterite?

MGV12 Google is my friend.

[BKKBILL]

More bad news read at one's peril.

I’m not an expert and we are not alone but the Baht appreciation appears to be continuing and will do so for some time. This sure doesn’t help anyone relying on a pension.

It will be even worse for those planning to bring in funds for a home.

The only good thing is what goes up must come down. Or so I’m told.


STRONG BAHT
PM Abhisit warns baht may rise even further
By The Nation, Agencies

BANGKOK: -- Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva hinted that the baht could strengthen even further after rising to Bt30.84 per dollar yesterday, breaking a 13-year record.

The baht's rapid appreciation prompted the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce economic forecasting centre to caution that the country could lose an estimated Bt100 billion in export and tourism revenues.

Opposition MP Suraphong Tovichakchaikul, chairman of the House committee on finance, money, banking and financial institutions, urged the government to intervene.

If the baht rose to 29 to the dollar, exports in the fourth quarter of this year would be badly hit, he said.

Kasikorn Bank yesterday issued a revised forecast that the baht would likely appreciate to 30.2 per dollar by year-end and to 29.5 per dollar next year.

Kiat Sithi-amorn, president of the Office of Thai Trade Representatives, said exporters should adjust themselves to the prevailing exchange rate, rather than expecting the baht to stay weak all the time.

"The private sector has to adapt and boost competitiveness," he said, citing the example of Singapore whose currency had appreciated over the past decade from Bt10 per Singapore dollar to the present Bt24 per dollar.

However, Samphun Eamrungroj, the acting president of Export-Import Bank, said many clients have been facing losses due to the baht's rapid rise.

"Fortunately, exporters have made profits in the first half of this year, so they should still be alright considering the whole-year operation, even though they would likely suffer losses in the second half."

"The outlook is worrisome for next year if the baht continues its up-trend," said Samphun, adding that most Thai exporters had already slowed taking new foreign orders due to the baht's rise.

Thiti Tantikulanan, head of capital markets at Kasikornbank, said the baht had risen in line with other regional units, up 7 per cent this year so far, while the Malaysian ringgit is up 9 per cent and currencies in Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore have seen a 4.5 per cent increase.

Thiti said around $2.5 billion had flooded into Thai markets, while a positive balance in trade driven by strong exports and a weaker dollar - as the US recovery appears to falter - had also helped boost the currency.

Federation of Thai Industries chairman Payungsak Chartsuthipol expressed concern about the impact on Thai exporters if the currency accelerates past regional neighbours, according to an AFP report.

[Roger Ramjet]

Bill,
I just checked my account at Siam Commercial Bank where one of my pensions goes direct in Baht from the Australian Government every 28 days (not every month). The money was due in today anyway. Good news for all you Aussies, even though the Baht has appreciated, it has not done so by much. My calculations show it has risen/dropped just a little over .43% (less than 2,000 in every 100,000). I'm pleased I'm not American the way the US is going with its economy. I wonder when they'll take over their so-called Federal Reserve Bank (from the Germans and others) and properly regulate their banks?

[BKKBILL]

Right you are RR.

The way I see it country's with natural resources are fairing better.

No matter how you look at it we are all losing purchasing power.

The blip in September must be when fredlk drew his monthly allowance.

[otis-a]

Just did my 1st transfer. Schwab bank to TMB was 12 hour transaction, via Swift system.
Sent $ and let TMB do the conversion, based on CTH posts.

I also find that Card purchases at major stores give good X rates but my card does 0.3% on cash advances plus some type interest and will not present bill
for payment at min 3 business days (typ 5 business days) and this why did Xfer.

Since bulk of my savings are not unavailable for another 4 years unless take 20% penality, then am looking at ways to hedge $/Tb. ETF's TTF, TF are under research but many of these funds do hedges then u pay 2X's (management fee and reverse hedge fees) so looking at ADR's of which I find about 15 stocks.
Any pointers from readers? Also review Thai savings bonds but 10 yr yields really pittiful. Why not sell put options and pay Cap Gains taxes?

[Roger Ramjet]

Otis,
This is Thailand. You are talking about America. If you are going to invest here, don't forget you must put down 30% that will do nothing.
If you want to invest in stocks and bonds the best people to talk to are the brokers.
Most of the people here have pensions. At least they know they have a pension no matter what happens to the Thai Baht.