Word: baht
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...overvalued local currencies and a flood of cheap foreign investment. But liberalization was badly executed, with political cronies running roughshod over regulators. Companies and consumers borrowed too much, much of it in foreign currencies. When Thailand's central bank ran out of foreign exchange and had to let the baht plunge, other currencies fell as investors lost confidence. There was no shelter when the typhoon...
Last Saturday, a very fancy 10-course meal was consumed in Bangkok. I did not partake. Mostly this was because I don't have a spare 1 million Thai baht (or $29,800) to lavish on a single eating experience. The meal, lovingly constructed by six three-star Michelin chefs flown in from Europe, sounded delectable: highlights included a tartare of Kobe beef with Imperial Beluga caviar and Belon oysters (paired with a 1995 Krug Clos du Mesnil) and a tarte fine with scallops and $350 worth of black truffles (paired with a 1996 Le Montrachet Domaine de la Roman?e...
...plunged and set off a chain reaction that hurt emerging markets from Russia to Vietnam. Nearly a decade later, Thailand last month risked triggering a similar meltdown when the country's central bank imposed capital controls in an attempt to curb a big appreciation of the national currency, the baht. Coming just three months after a military junta seized power, the move spooked foreign investors and sent Thai stocks plunging nearly 15% in a day before the government partially reversed itself. Yet there was no regional domino effect. Some Asian markets dipped in reaction to the Thai scare, but they...
...EUROPE'S OVERDUE REVIVAL Thailand's latest crisis was partly the result of a 16% increase in the value of the baht against the dollar during the first 11 months of 2006. But the euro and the pound sterling have also strengthened, with the E.U. currency rising by about 10% in the past year alone. A stronger currency makes European exports more expensive for foreign buyers. But that didn't prevent Germany from notching up a $200 billion trade surplus in the first 11 months of last year, the largest since the fall of the Berlin Wall. The good news...
...economy is still more open than many of its neighbors'. But in hot investment destinations like Vietnam and China, the trend is toward fewer restrictions, not more. Nor have recent trade figures justified the pleas for protection by Thai exporters, which led to the controversial capital controls. Despite the baht's 15% rise in 2006, Thailand's exports actually climbed 17% last year, to $130 billion. So who loses out? In the short term, mainly foreigners. But given Thailand's dependence on overseas investment, such protectionism may backfire. "The repercussions of these policies will eventually affect Thais too," says...