Showing 1-9 of 9 results
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Chinese savers won't save China
News, Christopher Balding, Published on 09/07/2018
» Chinese are, in the popular imagination as well as some economic statistics, inveterate savers. According to the International Monetary Fund, the Chinese savings rate stood at an astonishing 46% in 2016, compared to a global average around 25%. Chinese planners have long sought to bring that ratio down in order to promote consumption and ease the economy's overreliance on investment. If only Chinese would shop more, the thinking goes, China wouldn't need to rely on smokestack factories and boondoggle infrastructure projects to drive growth.
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Phuket boat tragedy shows our indifference
News, Ploenpote Atthakor, Published on 09/07/2018
» Forty-two is the latest number of tourists who fell victims to a boat mishap in Phuket last week. Or should I say, to be more exact, that they were victims of negligence, sheer dereliction of duty of the authorities concerned and of a "This Is Thailand" culture?
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BTS fails to communicate
News, Editorial, Published on 09/07/2018
» The BTS Skytrain has gone off the rails. Not literally, thank goodness, but in the past two weeks this vital travel line has failed the public and shamed itself. It has stranded tens of thousands of its own customers, and blocked and inconvenienced hundreds of thousands of others. There is some blame to share, but it is inescapable that the spotlight should fall on the Skytrain operator Bangkok Mass Transit System Plc (BTSC).
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Mahathir: How old is too old to be a world leader?
News, Published on 09/07/2018
» A year ago, at the advanced age of 92, ex-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad announced he would fight in the Malaysian general elections, this time leading the opposition. If successful, he could be the next Prime Minister of Malaysia once again. How extraordinary.
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English proficiency in Thailand still a ways to go
News, Published on 09/07/2018
» Past assessments of English proficiency within Thailand have been disappointing. English First (EF), a private company that collects data based on results from English proficiency tests, found that Thailand ranked 53 out of 80 countries globally and 15 out of 20 Asian countries examined. These scores actually reflect an improvement over prior years with Thailand now outscoring some of its neighbours, namely Cambodia and Laos. Myanmar's dedication to English proficiency is so low that it does not even have an EF presence. However, Thailand is still outranked by regional countries like China, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam.
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Carelessness first
News, Postbag, Published on 09/07/2018
» I would like to bring your attention on the worrying similarities shared by the two major news items of the past week.
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Asia's memorable World Cup
Asia focus, Erich Parpart, Published on 09/07/2018
» The World Cup approaches its semi-final round this week minus any African or Asian contenders, but Asian teams did much better than I thought they would. I do not think I was the only observer who erred on the side of pessimism before the tournament started with a record five Asian teams.
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Construction destruction
Life, Pichaya Svasti, Published on 09/07/2018
» Problems commonly faced by Bangkokians living in small alleys in Bangkok include the lack of footpaths, danger and vibration caused by running lorries and big buses, and the mushrooming of high-rise buildings. To me and my relatives, we encounter most of these problems.
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Protectionism not good for growth
News, Published on 09/07/2018
» We are passing through an interesting time. There is a likelihood that trade war between two of the world's biggest economies -- China and USA -- may blow out of proportion. The consequence may be another economic downturn in the offing. During an economic crisis, consumers spend less, and investors do not invest (or postpone their investment decisions). There is a general sense of pessimism about future earning prospects, leading to higher unemployment and lower productivity growth.
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