News Forum - EEC housing market crashes: It’s a real estate shake-up

[Thaiger]

Sales of residential units in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) have taken a nosedive, particularly near industrial estates, following a wave of factory closures. Vichai Viratkapan, acting director-general of the Real Estate Information Center (REIC), pointed the finger at the shuttering of large factories since last year, which has severely impacted housing demand in Chon … …

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[AussieBob]

I know these are stupid questions, but did they (Thai Authorities) not realise the following :-

1.  All the complications, fees and taxation Thailand demands from overseas investors has not changed since well before Covid, but meanwhile other countries in SEAsia have been making things very attractive for businesses to locate their manufacturing and distribution businesses there.

2. The ever increasing value of the Baht, means it costs more to do business in Thailand, compared to doing it in other nearby SEAsian countries - Indonesia, Malaysia are the main competition, with Vietnam and The Philippines getting into the game. They have all been making it more attractive to invest there since Covid ended - especially with the decline of China since Covid - unlike Thailand which still thinks it is 1980s/90s and they are the only game in town.  I recall a Thai 'EEC Manager' spoke out about the EEC early last year and said that Thailand taxes them far too much and offers very little - he was quoted in the media as saying that they need to offer more than just a nice beach (he has probably been 'moved to an inactive post').

3. Foreign employees who work in Thailand for more than 179 days are soon going to be subjected to global worldwide taxation on ALL their incomes and investments (here and back home). There has been SFA allowances and exemptions for foreigners made by TRD since September 2023 - and there appears to be little/no chance that Thailand will not 'go hard' when implementing this new 'tax regime'.  This incompetently ignorant implementation of a new tax regime is a reason why foreign investors are pulling out, and others are not coming. 

4.  Increasing the minimum salary has been talked about for a long time, and they are soon very likely to do that. This will cost those businesses who employ cheaper labour in their factories a lot more in salary expenses.  Just as an aside, if all the workers in hotels are going to get an increase in salary, do they not realise this will mean higher charges for rooms/stays, and that is a negative?

I know the answers to those stupid questions, but I still wanted to ask them - and I have another one.

Will the authorities in Thailand ever wake up to what their incompetence and ignorance is doing, or will they continue to focus on their own benefits - being the graft and corruption.