Showing 1 - 9 of 9
Will foreign investors still be wooed?
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 28/12/2023
» This is my last article for 2023. Appropriately, I should write about the 2024 economic outlook but I have decided to postpone that to be the first article of 2024 as the analysis might be too unpleasant to digest right now. However, I will leave a "teaser" for readers to ponder over during the long holidays. As such, I am left with two choices: an article about informal debt -- I estimate outstanding debt to be over 400 billion baht and that it could have strong ties with grey money -- or an article about Thailand's ability to attract foreign investors, as our Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin travels all over the world to attract them. In the end, I opted for the latter.
Putting a dampener on Thai recovery
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 26/01/2023
» After three years in which the economy suffered from Covid effects, I am sorry to say that 2023 will not be the year of economic recovery as everyone had hoped. The global economy will still be plagued by inflation threats and several adverse factors such as excessive debt and the Russia-Ukraine war. These negative factors prompted the World Bank to revise its global economic growth prospects downward from 3.0% to 1.7% for 2023. The key point is a marked slowdown from 2.9% growth in 2022.
Economic risks to watch out for in 2023
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 29/12/2022
» The world will end 2022 with big celebrations. Yet not because of robust economic growth, as growth this year is projected to be only 3.2% -- following the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) recent projections -- compared to 6.0% growth in 2021.
World economy downhill from here
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 17/11/2022
» When I planned for this week's article, I wanted to write about the illusions of today's economic picture such as the robust GDP growth in emerging economies, declining inflation rates, booming travel business, strengthening of the Thai baht, and so on. But even with the economic data and theories to back up my claims, who would believe me? Who would believe that the current robust demand is nothing but an example of short-term, pent-up demand after two years of the Covid-19 outbreak? Who would consider the fact that consumers have no increased purchasing power to sustain today's level of consumption? Most of all, who would imagine that things would change drastically in the fourth quarter after consumers face the reality of a higher cost of living and stagnant income?
Beware of looming labour shortages
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 28/10/2021
» Despite the recent estimation that there are now close to a million unemployed Thai workers, Thai tourism and service industries will face a severe labour shortage of 300,000 to 500,000 people after the relaxation of Covid-19 control measures and the opening up of the country to foreign visitors.
Thai economy nearing 'do it, or die'
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 19/08/2021
» In my previous articles, I have suggested the economy is in bad shape, and that at least 2 trillion baht in economic relief packages is needed to prevent the economy from collapsing.
Let me play the role of Nostradamus
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 17/12/2020
» Time flies. The dreadful year of 2020 is coming to a close. Therefore, I've decided to have fun by writing something "comical". No earth-shattering economic analysis. That will be the next article. This week I will make educated predictions of things that might happen in the year 2021. I am no fortune teller, but I will try my best.
Not looking like Xmas this year, or next
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 03/12/2020
» Everybody has high hopes for the year 2021. Stock markets seem to think so. The Dow Jones Industrial average started the year at around the 29,000 mark and dropped by one-third to 20,000 when Covid-19 became a global threat in late March. Today, despite the second, third, and fourth rounds of outbreaks around the globe, Dow Jones is approaching the 30,000 mark.
The worst of Covid-19 is yet to come
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 30/07/2020
» I am not talking about the pandemic. I optimistically assume the Covid-19 pandemic is over for Thailand as we have had zero domestic infections for almost two months. The lockdown, aimed at barring visitors from entering Thailand, is substantially relaxed and most economic activities are permitted to resume.