Showing 1 - 6 of 6
Gold rush crawls to a standstill
Spectrum, Nanchanok Wongsamuth, Published on 06/12/2015
» It was a billion-baht aerial survey of potential mineral deposits that sparked an enthusiastic start to gold mining in Thailand 32 years ago. Foreign investors were wooed and local communities were excited about the idea of new roads leading into their villages.
More bang for bucks, but how low can the baht go?
Spectrum, Nanchanok Wongsamuth, Published on 13/09/2015
» Late last month, when the baht was 35.95 against the United States dollar, Jeremy (not his real name) withdrew half a million baht from his bank account and sold them for US dollars at a foreign exchange dealer on Asok Road.
Teflon Thailand starts to flake
Spectrum, Nanchanok Wongsamuth, Published on 12/04/2015
» It’s almost noon and the Toyota saleswoman still hasn’t seen her first customer. Thaiyont, a Toyota dealership in Chon Buri’s Muang district, used to serve at least eight customers a day. But these days, they are lucky to have two.
Rise of the rural middle class
Spectrum, Nanchanok Wongsamuth, Published on 10/08/2014
» Outside the Central department store in Ubon Ratchathani, a black Mercedes-Benz S-Class with yellow Lao licence plates drove from the car park. It was a Wednesday, but at weekends, a security guard told me, some 20% of the vehicles parked here are from Laos, many of which are European cars travelling to the northeastern province through Pakse or Mukdahan.
Minding Thailand's business
Spectrum, Nanchanok Wongsamuth, Published on 06/07/2014
» Pranom Kowinwipat never missed any of the 60 general meetings during her five years on the audit committee at Bangchak Petroleum Plc.
Meeting resistance: the hard road of opposition in exile
Spectrum, Nanchanok Wongsamuth, Published on 15/06/2014
» After waiting for 90 minutes at the hotel for the man who many in the Thai establishment consider the “most dangerous mind” in politics, a white Toyota Fortuner rumbles to the entrance.