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Smegma
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Only a few days ago at the RT, we were deabting this with some being of the opinion that SARS was not affecting the economy much.
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TOURISM INDUSTRY: Sars scare eats into revenue
May 31, 2003
Service, transfer account takes an April nosedive
The service and transfer account plummeted to a deficit of US$90 million (Bt3.8 billion) in April - the first in almost four years - as the threat of Sars sharply wiped out tourism income.
Atchana Waiquamdee, senior director of the Bank of Thailand's domestic economic-policy department, said yesterday that tourist arrivals in April had tumbled to an eight-year low of 468,000, representing a whopping 44.8-per-cent year-on-year drop.
The occupancy rate of hotels also sank to 42.2 per cent in the same month from 60.5 per cent in March.
Although the number of outbound tourists in the month was also down, it could only partially offset the steep drop in inbound tourists, she said at a monthly press briefing.
Rushing to soothe market jitters, she said the deficit was not a big deal as the Sars situation in this country was under control and exports were in good shape.
Exports jumped 22.8 per cent on year in April while imports grew 13.5 per cent, leaving a trade surplus of $145 million.
The deficit in the service and transfer account was reflected in the narrowing of the current-account surplus in April to $56 million from $608 million in the previous month.
Balance of payments in April swung to a surplus of $190 million, thanks to capital inflows.
The Sars scare took its toll on domestic consumption, with growth in private consumption in April pared to 4.9 per cent from 6.5 per cent in March.
The cooling-off of consumption was evident at superstores, electric-appliance dealers and cosmetics-purveyors.
"I can't tell you whether the weakening domestic consumption over the past three to four months is short-lived, but we'll have to keep a close eye on its trend," she said.
She did not think the unemployment rate a cause for concern.
"From our survey, hotels here have just allowed their staff to go on temporary leave without pay, and they have tried not to lay any off, so the impact is still not great," she said.
Given subdued domestic consumption, exports will become the main driver for economic growth.
The central bank's business confidence index fell below 50 - the neutral level - to 46.7 per cent in April for the first time in seven months.
However, the index is expected to rebound in three months to 54.9 per cent - close to the level before the Iraqi war.
The economy continued to grow in April as indicated by strong manufacturing production, which surged 16.2 per cent on year. However, the sharp growth in manufacturing production was mainly due to increased sugar output, as producers sought to benefit from high sugar prices.
The private investment index in April rose 7.6 per cent, compared with 4.8 per cent in March. This can be attributed to robust growth in cement, automobiles, commerce and capital-goods imports.
Although private investment was still on the upswing, the single-digit performance was not impressive.
Vichit na Ranong, chairman of the Tourism Council of Thailand, said the association had yesterday submitted its tourism promotion proposal to the government, urging it to allocate Bt400 million to the industry to alleviate the Sars impact.
If the proposal is presented to the Cabinet at its meeting next week and approved, the package will be implemented from July to September with tourism operators of all provinces allowed to participate in the project.
The association believes the number of tourists will stay low for two to three months.
Meanwhile Twatchai Yongkiti-kul, secretary-general of the Thai Bankers' Association, said the greenback should not sink deeper against the euro because the US Federal Reserve would likely nudge its key interest rates down soon in a bid to prop up the feeble American economy. The new round of rate cuts will spur more short-term capital flows into the Asian region, he thought.
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Thai Girls : Meet Sexy Thai Girls
Posted on: 7:08 am on May 31, 2003
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haam sup
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Smegma,
No kidding: could you please post the source of these quotes? Really the proper thing, eh?
Thanks awfully,
hs
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Bangkok Women : Meet Sensual Bangkok Women
Posted on: 11:55 am on May 31, 2003
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Smegma
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The Nation newspaper. Yesterday's edition.
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Thai Girls : Meet Sexy Thai Girls
Posted on: 1:11 am on June 1, 2003
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Kenny
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Smegma- I heard on the radio from some guy that he has proof that the government created SARS in China to keep the ever growing population down.
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Sexy Bangkok Girls
Posted on: 5:14 pm on June 4, 2003
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kev29ie
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wow Kenny, I heard this guy too I think - it was the same guy who has proof that aliens abducted Elvis.
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Thai Women : Meet Matured Thai Women
Posted on: 11:27 am on June 8, 2003
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