CALCULATING THE SCALE OF ECONOMIC
INPUT BY FOREIGNERS TO THAILAND – A FIRST ATTEMPT
By Bruce Bickerstaff
When the Thai media talks about the financial impact of foreigners in Thailand they often focus only on spending by international tourists, although this is only one component of a much large picture.
1. Spending by
international tourists in Thailand (2010)
592,794.09 million baht (Source: http://www.tourism.g...rism.php?cid=30)
2. Spending by
resident foreigners within Thailand
Median living expenses 1500 baht day x 365 x 300,000 expats = 164,250,000,000
per annum
In addition the mean capital expenditure by each foreigner household was 3
million baht. Dividing this by the average length of residence (7 years) =
428,571 baht per household. But as the average foreigner household size is
unknown, a total expenditure figure cannot be calculated at this time. Further,
real estate purchased in the name of a foreigner is already included in the
Bank of Thailand's IIP data as shown below.
Source 1: An online survey conducted in September 2011 of approximately 330 expats who have lived in Thailand for more than one year. Survey respondents were self-selected. Refer http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/494208-poll-regarding-expat-expenditure-in-thailand
Source 2: The calculation of the number of resident expats is described at www.burning-bison.com/expats.htm, and the figure of 300,000 people is considered to be a conservative estimate.
3. Foreign
investment in Thailand
223,754 million USD = 7272005000000 baht Using a currency conversion rate 32.5
(as of around mid-2010)
(Source: Bank of Thailand International Investment Position Report - to end
2009)
http://www.bot.or.th/English/EconomicConditions/Survey/reportEN/IIPSurvey_E.pdf
4. Purchase of
Thai exports – annual receipts to end 2010
6,176,302.05 million baht
(Source: http://www2.bot.or.t...58&language=eng)
4. Remittance by
Thai people from overseas in 2010
55,792
million baht - Mainly comprising returns on investment in foreign companies, salaries
paid by foreigners
(Source: http://www2.bot.or.t...11&language=eng)
In summary
Type
of capital input by, or due to, foreigners (Value
in Thai baht)
Annual spending by
international tourists in Thailand (592,794,090,000)
Annual spending by
resident foreigners in Thailand (164,250,000,000)
Annual investment by
foreigners in Thailand (7,272,005,000,000)
Annual purchase of
Thai exports by foreigners (6,176,302,050,000)
Annual remittance by
Thais living overseas (55,792,000,000)
Total
14,261,143,140,000 baht
By way
of a point of comparison, total GDP of Thailand 2010 = 10.1048 trillion baht
(Source: http://www2.bot.or.th/statistics/BOTWEBSTAT.aspx?reportID=409&language=ENG)
The author is not an economist and there are many qualifications and disclaimers to this initial analysis. These include:
At the end of the day, however, if this initial somewhat clumsy analysis prompts the undertaking of a more rigorous study then I would consider that to be a most worthwhile outcome.
Bruce Bickerstaff is the author of “Your Investment Guide to Thailand” which is available in both hard-copy and e-book format. Further details at www.burning-bison.com