Because of the government-imposed currency and foreign-investment curbs, automaker Ford could cancel its planned US$1 billion investment to build a new factory and upgrade existing facilities in Thailand. "[The coup and the economic measures] make it extremely difficult to do business in a globally competitive environment," said Steve Biegun, Ford's vice president for international government affairs. "What we need in our business is predictability." Ford will decide where to invest the earmarked US$1 billion in the first half of this year, Biegun said, citing China and India as alternative investment destinations.
Bloomberg
International Herald Tribune
Bloomberg
International Herald Tribune
Brian Lawler said in this article that Thailand is making a mistake in allowing either the manufacture or importation of generic versions of Abbott's HIV treatment Kaletra and Sanofi-Aventis' blood clot drug Plavix, even though the drugs are still under patent protection and producing generic versions would be illegal in many countries. The annual health care cost savings would amount to just $24 million per year, but would greatly damage the perception of how the country treats intellectual property rights and patents, Lawler said.
The Motley Fool
The Motley Fool
Thailand has received the lowest grade in a survey of the business sentiment of five ASEAS countries by the Japan External Trade Organization. Singapore scored the highest on the survey, followed by Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia, respectively. Thailand’s poor performance was attributed to rising production costs, larger wage bills, a slowdown in domestic consumption and investment, rising oil prices, baht appreciation and political instability.
Bangkok Post
MCOT
Bangkok Post
MCOT