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Is Thailand the New Japan?
Thailand remains completely depressed at home, with no sign of buoyancy in any of the domestic indicators we cover.
By contrast, the Thai trade numbers are still shooting up dramatically - but just as we have highlighted for the rest of East Asia, this is (i) all concentrated in IT/electronics goods headed for developed AI investment, and (ii) it's also all "round-tripping", with an explosion of imports from China matched by an explosion of exports to the US and to a lesser extent Europe. As a result, there's surprisingly little impact on the local economy.
Is Thailand now "Japan"? It's become fashionable to see the country headed for long-term structural deflation, ostensibly in light of high debt levels - but in reality Thailand looks nothing like Japan.
Meanwhile, not much to do in Thai assets. There's no real earnings growth in the equity market, and local yield and carry are extremely low. Basically, we're waiting for the country to start spending again.
Is Thailand the New Japan? (PDF)
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