Thailand Voice

knock knock… The Finance Ministry has published data for february . VAT collection was up by 23 %, compared to february 2009, at 39,05 billions THB. Impressive ? It’s the base effect… What is interesting is that VAT was… down compared to the previous… Read full story >>>

“ Tired #redshirt sleeps on the pavement in #Bangkok ” by @alohalavina On the forth day of the anti-government protests Prime Minister Abhisit has unsurprisingly dismissed the demand to dissolve parliament and therefore the Red Shirts (a part of them), after the deadline expired at noon on… Read full story >>>

Available across web, blogosphere and Twitter platforms, thanks to the long, hard and hot work of a dedicated band of Bangkok Twitterati. Legal Nomads: Red Shirt Rallies – Thailand 2010 Day 2 A Picasaweb collection from Legal Nomads , who spent the last two days turning progressively more red. No, I don’t think her experience has transformed … Read full story >>>

I want to bother you a bit. You’ re waiting for news about the Red Shirts Rallye ? Let’s talk instead about foreign direct investments. Here is an update of my first chart about FDI ( here ), with datas for the last quarter of 2009. (Source… Read full story >>>

New company registrations increased last month by 40.5 per cent year on year to 4,644 firms, the highest figure in almost a century, thanks to the government’s stimulus measures and clearer signs of an economic recovery. Moreover, the number of companies shutting down operations dropped by 5.35 per cent to just 1,238 firms, the lowest in … Read full story >>>

(source Bank Of Thailand ) They did it. The group China+HK+SK+Taiwan managed to order more from Thailand in december, compared to the “Thai Peak Exports” that is to say july 2008 : +3 % at 109,88 billions THB. China alone went from 55,1 billions… Read full story >>>

Infighting between Chalerm Yubamrung, a Puea Thai MP from Bangkok, and Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan, of the dissolved TRT and a Minister under Thaksin and also based in Bangkok, broke out over the last few days. The Bangkok Post: Puea Thai Party senior MP Chalerm Yubamrung has slammed Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan, former deputy leader … Read full story >>>

Here are photos from a recent Sanuk My Saturday where we had all the children and volunteers help us assemble and color Big Fish books ( go to the original blog post to see all the photos ). Being a Big Fish is … Read full story >>>

It started again ! As fast as a V8 engine… The car market has been euphoric in december in Thailand, eventhough with a view per quarter, we are back to “normal levels” (catching up effect). Let’s start per month. Both market, commercial and passengers, … Read full story >>>

Job2Do is without a doubt the best known Thai Reggae Band in Thailand. Job2Do, with lead singer Job Bunjob, has a huge cult following in Thailand and thanks to the many visitors who have seen his concerts in Thailand Read full story >>>

Have previously blogged multiple times about the arrest and conviction of Da Torpedo on lese majeste charges. She was sentenced to 18 years in jail. New Mandala has two posts look… Read full story >>>

Absolutely Bangkok has a post of Stephen Young’s op-ed helpful rules for Thai politicians and then another … Read full story >>>

Let’s burry 2009… A year that lot of people would like to forget. All my best wishes for you and all the Thailand-lovers. And remember the 2 main mantras of 2009 : -On going Recovery -Change Yes We Can(‘t) And be prepared for a … Read full story >>>

Back to business (I took a few days off). Bank Of Thailand has published data for exports in october. Total : 495,33 billions THB, that’s lower than the previous month (503,63) and it’s -4 % compared to october 2008. As forecasted, the Green Shoots start to… well… vanish (have they ever existed ?). The Read full story >>>

Bloomberg: Narathiwat province hasn’t attracted any investment in the past five years, while neighboring Yala and Pattani had 8 projects valued at a combined 805 million baht ($23.3 million) approved, according … Read full story >>>

If You Have 8 Minutes You Gotta Watch This… is a post from my: ThaiPulse.com/blog/ Thailand focused website. ©2009-2010 ThaiPulse. If You Have 8 Minutes You Gotta Watch This… is a post from my: ThaiPulse.com/blog/ Thailand focused website. ©2009-2010 ThaiPulse. I found this guy’s part 5 of tips for teaching in Japan… and… Read full story >>>

Yes. This is a Green Shoot. And as Green Shoot Amateur and hunter , I know when I see one. Here is my beloved indicator : oil. Oil consumption seen through the prism of imports… more precisely net imports (imports minus exports), because Thailand produces and exports oil too. Why oil (as the first … Read full story >>>

I recently spent a few days in the city of Udon Thani, something I do on each of my holidays to Thailand. I look on Udon Thani as my barometer of how well tourism in Thailand is faring. In Bangkok the long tail boats on the Chao Phraya River may be bobbing … Read full story >>>

Britney Spears ? Nope. The Bank Of Thailand. Time passes and the BOT pursues with a striking constance -like all the other asian central banks- their suicidal mission : buying US Dollars, mountains of it, and worse  US Treasuries, AKA US debts in US Dollars, in order … Read full story >>>

There is a new Bangkok University poll asking those surveyed their views on how to handle the current situation with Cambodia and their views of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's interview with The Times (UK) (see blog post here about the interview). The Bangkok Post… Read full story >>>

At last ! A Green Shoot… And, obviously -8,5 % in september (year on year) is better than the -25 % we had in july. The Commerce Ministry has released the first data for exports in september : 14,99 billions USD. Imports fell 17,9 % … Read full story >>>

You can never be too sure what he is up to. Sometimes, you are led to think he is a super strategist. Other times, you are tempted to believe that he is nothing but a confused old man. Whatever your conclusion, … Read full story >>>

End of september, end of the fiscal year for the thai government. Data have been updated on the website of the Finance Ministry . Result ? Total (gross) : -8,8 %, compared to the previous fiscal year (october 2007 to september 2008) (at 1 674 billions THB) Corporation taxes : -14,8 % (392 billions THB) Personal income taxes : -3,5 % (197 billions THB)… Read full story >>>

We had an interesting string of events this week : -dollar was hammered -gold shot up … and Asian central banks said to be intervening in currency markets overnight by buying dollars included South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines and possibly, Indonesia, according to analysts. ( Reuters ) A pathetic … Read full story >>>

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My recent holiday in Thailand took me to Kanchanaburi for the first four nights and my visit to the seven tier Erawan Waterfall was one of the best days of my whole holiday. For those of you who have yet to visit this picturesque province situated 130 kilometres from Bangkok on the west … Read full story >>>

Thai Takes By PHILIP GOLINGAI THE military has the famous saying that “old soldiers never die, they just fade away”. But in Thailand, where generals can become the prime minister, it may be more accurate to say “old soldiers never die nor do they… Read full story >>>

Apichatpong Weerasethakul is among six finalists for the 2010 Hugo Boss Prize, according to the New York Times . The US$100,000 award is given every two years by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and is named for the German men’s wear company that sponsors it. The other … Read full story >>>

In his roundup of the Pusan International Film Festival , the Bangkok Post’s Kong Rithdee profiles a project by child actor turned bearded indie filmmaker Pramote Sangsorn . In August, it was announced that Pramote was to receive script-development funds from Pusan’s Asian Cinema Fund for his long… Read full story >>>

Ekachai Uekrongtham is at the Pusan International Film Festival, where he’s pitching his next feature-film project, Enemies . The only Thai project accepted for the Pusan Promotion Plan , Enemies is a thriller set during the “war on drugs” during the Thaksin era in Thailand in 2003. The script is co-written… Read full story >>>