Prepared By: Shreeya Kharel

BRIEF HISTORY Founded in the 13 th century Was known as Siam until 1939 People of Thailand are called ‘Thai’ meaning Free. One of the Southeast Asian country never to have been colonized. King Rama I established Bangkok as the capital in 1782.

 Population:65.28 Millions(2007)  Population growth rate: 0.64% (2008 est.)  Literacy Rate: 92.6 (2007) %  Religions: Buddhism- 94.6%, Islam- 4.6%, Christianity- 0.7%, Hinduism- 0.1%, other- 0.1% (2000)  Language: Thai, English (secondary language), Mandarin, Vietnamese, ethnic and regional dialects.

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Head Of State King Bhumibol Adulyadej The Executive Head Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej Government People’s Power Party (PPP) Democrats Party (DP) Other Small Parties

 The failure to dampen overheating pressures that had become increasingly evident in Thailand and many other countries in the region and were manifested in large external deficits and property and stock market bubbles.  Maintenance of pegged exchange rate regimes for too long, which encouraged external borrowing and led to excessive exposure to foreign exchange risk.

 Thailand was no exception when Asia was hit by the financial crisis in  From Thai currency was pegged.  Thailand's difficulties resulted from its earlier economic success. Strong growth, averaging almost 10 percent per year from  Thailand GDP fell to -10%.  Thai Bhat devalued immensely. 56 BHT for 1$  By 2003 Thailand had recovered, paid back its debt to the IMF.

 2005: General Election. People were not happy with the outcome. Corruption let to the election winner.  2006:Significant pressure from corruption allegations.  Call for a snap election. The opposition boycotted the elections.  Pressure continued to build, leading to a military coup on 19 September  First non-constitutional change of government in fifteen years.  Right now the country is under the state of emergency. Military law in-forced.

 9/01/thailand.protests.ap/index.html#cnnSTCVid eo 9/01/thailand.protests.ap/index.html#cnnSTCVid eo  E  * Source: CNN

 ASEAN: Association of East Asian Nations  Founded in  Original Members: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand  New Members: Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.  ASEAN Goal: Accelerate Economic Growth, Social Progress and Cultural Development, Promote Regional Peace and Stability under the guidelines of the UN.

RGDP Growth Indonesia Malaysia Philippines Thailand Singapore

Key Export Products% 1. Machinery Electrical Apparatus Electrical Appliances8.8 4.Vehicles parts & accessories6.0 Key Import Products% 1. Fuel & Lubricants Minerals & Metal Products Electronic Parts: Industrial11.7 Machinery, Tools.10.1 Key Export Partners% 1. U.S.A Japan China Singapore6.3 Key Import Partners% 1. Japan China U.S.A Malaysia6.2

Foreign DenominationThailand Bhat (THB) 1 USD($) Yen(¥) Euro (€) Pound (£)55.80 * The exchange rate market can be quite volatile and predicting future rates accurately is not easy. *The Thailand Bhat has been slowly appreciating against the USD over the years which means that the the purchasing power of the Thailand Bhat had increased.

Economic IndicatorsRankings 1. Economic Openness GINI Index42 (Medium) 3. Corruption Perception Index (CPI)3.3 on a scale of 10. USA: 7.2

 The economic prosperity comes not only from government programs but also from entrepreneurial inspiration – productivity.  Policies to Affect the Saving Rate  Policies to Raise the Rate of Productivity Growth. (Technology, HD, R&D, Education, Health Care)  Establish the right institutions.  Use its resources efficiently. *Source: Prof. Yu (WSU)

 ASEAN-5 may have been overlooked after the financial crisis in  Attractive alternative destination for business, trade, investment and tourism.  Economic growth post financial crisis (1997) had picked up significantly, until 2006 due to political imbalance in the country.  Highly educated workers, reasonably competitive wage rate.  Strong agricultural sector. Emerging industrial sector.

 In conclusion, Thailand holds a promising base for manufacturing and agricultural sectors supported by its abundant labor force, reasonable wage, highly educated human capital and good infrastructure.  Rising per capita means growing middle class with higher spending power.  The regions long term prospects will be further enhanced by its openness to trade and foreign investment-friendly policies.

 With economic support from various countries and economic integration projects which are underway such as AFTA (ASEAN Free Trade Area), Chiang Mai Initiative, Thailand has potential to grow from a developing nation towards a developed nation.