Engine failure
Source: Bangkok Post
4 December 2016
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Industrial production is now at 0%. Exports for October dropped 4.2% year-on-year, and fell a little over 1% for the first 10 months of 2016 compared with last year.
The Bank of Thailand reported personal spending plunged like a rock following the death of King Bhumibol, down 5.5% for the month and now at the lowest level since the great flood five years ago.
There's not a happy figure in the data set. Consumer debt rose during the month from 3.78 trillion baht to 3.81 trillion. Consumer confidence fell again. Retail sales, up 4.3% in 2015, rose 3.2% this year . Even fuel prices went up. Industrial production dropped 0.6% when every "expert" predicted it would rise 0.75%.
The New York Times took 1,060 words under the headline, "How to save the Thai economy" to say: Devalue the baht and raise farm prices. Great. Remember the last time the government tried to control the currency exchange rate? In 1997? And caused the Asian recession?
The government and the new Ministry of Truth said for the third straight year that "next year" would see economic recovery.
On the other hand, the aerobics classes are going well.
...
Every day for two months, Thai and Chinese airlines and charter firms have cancelled 30 or more flights -- 18,000 tourists a day, a quarter of a million a month.
the junta's own Gen Tanasak Patimapragorn and his National Tourism Policy Committee confessed that, well, yes, Thailand won't actually meet the tourism target this year after all. For example, 10 million Chinese were supposed to come, only 8.8 million will make it.
Then, in a classic panic, authorities waived all visa fees for all nationalities for the next 90 days.
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To read full article, please go to:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1151109/engine-failure
