Word: somchai
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Thaksin's critics say some of that confidence might be misplaced. They fear the government has hooked consumers on easy credit and increased debt in the countryside while placing considerable strain on government coffers. "It's not sustainable in the long run," says Somchai Jitsuchon, research director at the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI), an independent economic think tank. "The concern is that when the government eventually stops pumping in money, whenever that is, the economy will collapse." Meanwhile, the country's economic success has diverted attention from Thaksin's more controversial policies, including this year's deadly crackdown...
...proved unwarranted: "It's been very successful. About 97% of loans have been paid back. It's much better than giving loans to businesses where the risk is much higher." But critics believe the government-loan statistics don't tell the whole story. In many cases, claims TDRI economist Somchai, villagers have used their loans to buy consumer goods. "Much of this money has been used for consumption," he says, "not for development." Others charge that many villagers have managed to repay their debt to the Village Fund only by borrowing from ever-present moneylenders who charge high interest rates...
...shape to be leading the charge. Many of them had their dud loans from the crash either wiped out by the government or transferred to asset-management companies. "Because the government cleared the [state-owned] banks' bad debts... they think they can now afford to lend madly," says Somchai. He fears that the banks may be taking on increasing credit risks. "If the economy has a hiccup," he says, "the state-owned banks are going to be in real trouble...
...back. Parliament was lobbied, and scores of taxi drivers, their cabs draped with protest banners, joined a solidarity rally in front of the radio show's offices. Two days later, the military backed down and the station was back on the air. "We were delighted with the support," says Somchai Swangkarn, managing director of the INN Group. "It's the first time in Thai radio history that listeners have protested on a radio station's behalf." Thailand's experience was a subtle presaging of what the Hong Kong government found out last week. This region is tuning in as never...
...medical examiner, says that in more than half the cases she's seen it has been evident that drugs have been planted on the victims after their deaths?they are found jammed in pockets at unnatural angles. And, she says, "Gangsters don't do that." In other cases, says Somchai Homlaor, secretary-general of Forum Asia, a human-rights group, bullets have been removed from corpses so that they can't be traced...