Should
one invest in Thailand is a subject often debated in ex-pat circles or at
special evening convened by the various chambers of commerce. This
particular newly released reference book Your Investment Guide to
Thailand (Bruce Bickerstaff, ISBN 978-974-9511-86-2, Silkworm Books
Chiang Mai, 2010) has a foreword by Korn Chatikavanij, the finance minister
for Thailand, so has been given some bona fides, especially as he writes,
“My message to all prospective investors is that Thailand is delete ‘back in
business’. Bruce Bickerstaff’s ‘Your Investment Guide to Thailand’ should
help assist potential investors be in a much better position to take
advantage of the economic opportunities that Thailand will once again
generate.”
The book is split into three main sections : A - Getting
Ready to Invest; B - Your Investment Options and C - Finalizing and
Implementing your Investment Strategy. The three main headings then become
14 chapters, with each chapter having four to six subjects covered, and many
break-out boxes with information, tables and graphs. There appears to be no
shortage of information between its covers. As Bickerstaff writes, “This
book takes a holistic view of the investment process. This involves
considering the overall financial position of the investor, as well as the
implications for lifestyle of particular types of investments.”
Bickerstaff has done his research and describes four
typical investor types, ranging from the rose-colored glasses brigade to the
life-changers, the desperadoes and the shrewd investors, who find that
“shrewd” has a different meaning when taken in the Thai concept compared to
the western model.
He has lists of Do’s and Don’ts and covers the range
between due diligence, daydreaming and wishful thinking. He does pass the
opinion that successful investors in Thailand have generally lived here for
some years, made the necessary adjustments and contacts and after that have
seen a promising opportunity, finally formulating a plan and carrying out
due diligence.
Having met Bruce Bickerstaff at one of the Chiang Mai
networking evenings, I do not believe he is one to inflate a situation or
indulge in hyperbole. He even suggests that rather than buying a 30,000 THB
desk, you buy a pinewood table for 700 THB.
The book covers much more than just investments, and even
has a few pages dedicated to selection of a bank, transferring money into
that bank and how to get the best exchange rate. He also mentions the
“investment” visas which require investments of three million THB or 10
million THB.
With an index and several pages of key investment
resources, it is an inexpensive resource material itself at B. 695. There
should be savings many times more than the purchase price for the astute
reader.
Being someone who has often thought about investments and
trying to make one’s money work a little harder than it does sitting in a
bank, this book certainly does show the pitfalls for the uninitiated and the
counseling is sound.
As a final snippet of advice, Bickerstaff cautions, “If you choose to
invest in Thailand you may need to learn to take the good with the bad.
Experience, enjoy, just don’t lose the farm!”
