Stories tagged with economics
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Less baht for your dollar
Tourists to Thailand this year will find themselves getting less value for their money, as the baht continues to strengthen against foreign currencies. Easing of restrictions on capital controls on March 1st are likely to accellerate this appreciate, with the baht expected to soon hit 30 to US1$. This is a 20% gain in 18 months.
The original capital controls were implemented in December 2006 to guard against speculators as the baht continued to strength. Unattractive economic factors in the US have caused investors to flood the Thai markets with money, causing a steadily improving baht to dollar exchange rate that was hurting the country’s export competitiveness.
The Thai baht has appreciated at a much stronger rate against the floundering dollar compared to other Asian currencies. The introduction of capital controls had created a dual rate with the offshore exchange rate set at 31 baht to a dollar while rates given here in Thailand were a more favourable 33.5. The two will now merge but the Bank of Thailand is expected to spend several billion baht in foreign reserves to manage the appreciation gradually.
The baht has also moved up to its strongest exchange rate against the British pound in more than five years, reaching 63 baht to £1. The net result is that monies exchanged are devalued by approximately 8% year-on-year and regular visitors will certainly notice the increased expense of their holidays.
Posted by: Andrew on 06 Mar 2008, 11:40 -
Thailand Exempts Neighbours' Agricultural Products from Duties
Government spokesman Yongyuth Mayalarp told the MCOT News that Thai government has agreed to exempt the import tariffs for agricultural goods from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam as part of the economic cooperation projects under the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS) which we mentioned yesterday.
Posted by: Toony on 20 Jun 2007, 13:51 -
Vietnam Cooperates with Neighbours to Boost Rice Exports
The People's Daily Online carries details of the cooperation agreement between Vietnam and the other countries of the five-way Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy to boost rice exports. The strategy focuses on the transfer of farming techniques to improve quality across the board, and the sharing of market insights to increase competitiveness.
VietNamNet Bridge has a few more details courtesy of Viet Nam News.
Posted by: Toony on 19 Jun 2007, 08:31