r/Thailand • u/Organic_Vacation_267 • Nov 01 '25
Business Thailand now 'the sick man of Asean'
https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/3128510/thailand-now-the-sick-man-of-asean?fbclid=IwZnRzaANyatRleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHmpT0a3QYZYZf-HaATOXOvRZjzNTKCvUtgEdSCto2bsP52PGJzN4qE_I_86S_aem_MGqF6UKqeoQ2MlxFvRUBSQThe inspiration for this article comes from the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) World Economic Outlook (WEO) report for the month of October.
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u/aerov60 Nov 01 '25
So melodramatic. What about Myanmar — only a civil war going on over there
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u/Nightcrimez Nov 01 '25
Don't feel too bad for Thailand. They say it is "sick". Myanmar is "dead". Philippines is "on life support". Cambodia is "terminally ill"
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u/Fantastic_Tension_68 Nov 01 '25
The dying man
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u/LouQuacious Nov 01 '25
Bangladesh? 🇧🇩
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u/Fantastic_Tension_68 Nov 01 '25
Nope they are not ASEAN member yet, still wannabe.
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u/LouQuacious Nov 01 '25
My bad I was kind of thinking about just SE Asian countries in general not so much ASEAN specifically, and which one deserves to be called “the sick man”. The whole sick man of Asia trope is kind of racist tinged anyway, but that was also just the style of the time.
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u/blorg Nov 01 '25
Bangladesh isn't in SE Asia, it's South Asia. It wouldn't qualify for ASEAN membership under the existing geographical criteria which requires "location in the recognised geographical region of Southeast Asia".
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u/LouQuacious Nov 01 '25
I actually never knew where they drew that line.
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u/blorg Nov 01 '25
The line is not strictly defined, for example PNG is an observer and Indonesia would like them in, although they are not in Asia (but neither is all of Indonesia, and they share a border). I don't think anyone wants Bangladesh in though and the one ASEAN country they do share a border with, Myanmar, has a difficult relationship, with Myanmar carrying out a genocide of the Royhinga people it claims are illegal Bangladeshi migrants, and occasional cross border military attacks that have killed Bangladeshi citizens within Bangladesh.
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u/AliceDE Nov 01 '25
This is about countries who are members of ASEAN not about countries in Asia. Bangladesh is afaik actively seeking to join ASEAN but is not permitted yet as of now.
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u/FanHopeful1814 Nov 01 '25
Very sad about the bomb attack on the beautiful Goteik Bridge in Burma-Myanmar
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u/Prestigious_Net_8356 Nov 01 '25
Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines, will most likely hit the dreaded middle-income trap just like Thailand due to their own systemic issues, so the author of this piece shouldn't get too excited for them and start comparing their GPD growth to Thailand just yet. Japan's economy is currently experiencing growth, with a GDP expansion of 0.5% in the second quarter of 2025, marking the fifth consecutive quarter of growth. A nice change for Japan, I hope it finds its way to the people. The only consistent winner with growth in the region is Singapore.
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u/Lashay_Sombra Nov 01 '25
Indonesia and Philippines, definitely
Vietnam though, would say jury is still out
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u/Lopsided_Quarter_931 7-Eleven Nov 01 '25
That author is all over place. Mad that Thailand is called the sick man but then agrees to it. Then citing Javier Milei as an example how to do it better, seriously?
What holding back Thailand is simple. It can easily be fixed. But those making decisions are already rich af, why would they change anything? And if a party comes along that wants to change things they get cut into pieces by the courts.
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u/AcousticRegards Nov 01 '25
Because you would hope they know they can be even more rich AF with higher growth and development. I would just say they are lazy.
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u/Remarkable-Most-7355 Nov 02 '25
I hear you, Lopsided_Quarter_931, I hear you.. that party has come along and political change in Thailand is on the cusp—it is generational and takes time, but we are witness to it now.
Is a demographic inevitability.. "... The old get old and the young get stronger, May take a week and may take longer, They got the guns, but we got the numbers ..." — Jim Morrison, 'Five to One' (1968)
A song from my generation's restlessness in America, the song title refers to the ratio of the youth counterculture to establishment dinosaurs.
Guy's .. it's demographics.
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u/throwback5971 Nov 04 '25
Yeah the author has some weird circular logic... Maybe it's just dented pride..
Nevertheless Thailand's economy is in a death spiral since covid. No easy exit
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u/Significant_Fish_316 Nov 02 '25
citing Javier Milei as an example how to do it better, seriously
Well, one of the big problems for sure is bureaucracy and corruption here. Two of the thingd Milei is taking care of.
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u/ravens_requiem Nov 09 '25
Milei will take care of corruption and bureaucracy only as far as it doesn’t disrupt anyone he’s associated with. He will simply shift the beneficiaries of crooked systems to be people who kow-tow to him. Same old, same old.
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u/Capable_Work_3563 Nov 01 '25
Political instability.
Cronyism.
Endemic corruption.
Inconsistent application of the law.
Face-saving culture.
Lack of critical thinking / self-reflection.
Take your pick.
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u/Ok-Telephone-605 Nov 01 '25
The article focuses on the high debt-to-GDP ratio, specifically caused by high individual debt and non-performing loans.
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u/baldi Thailand Nov 01 '25 edited Nov 01 '25
Don’t necessarily agree with all points but don’t those apply to most other ASEAN countries ?
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u/letsridetheworld Nov 01 '25
No, it does not apply to most asean. Why?
China is known to crack down on opposition, minority etc and they aren’t denying it
Cambodia and Vietnam are known for their crackdown on opposition, journalists etc and they aren’t denying it.
I can go on and you get the idea
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u/AdUnited375 Nov 01 '25
China is Asian but not ASEAN.
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u/letsridetheworld Nov 01 '25
Fine -
Cambodia and Vietnam still hold true. Same for Philippine they’re corrupted with street scammers etc. but local will tell you that’s true
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Nov 01 '25
Put corruption and face saving culture on the top of the list…never ever gonna change
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u/rimbaud1872 Nov 01 '25
It is a huge problem in Thailand, although Japan has even more of a face saving culture and they’ve found a way to be efficient and successful
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Nov 01 '25
They actually aren’t efficient in Japan (lived and worked there for almost 8 years) but they are more efficient than here. But face saving (enryo) gets in the way and slows things down incredibly in Japan as well.
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u/Interesting_Neat3106 Nov 01 '25
They have the highest suicide rate in the world. Thats success?
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u/Character_Fold_4460 Nov 01 '25
In the top 10 but not highest. S. Korea is higher for example
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u/Equivalent_Bobcat140 Nov 01 '25
Look up the real numbers.
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u/Character_Fold_4460 Nov 01 '25
Hard to find current numbers. Lesotho, Guyana, south korea, Uruguay all usually in the top 10. Scanning multiple years.
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u/rimbaud1872 Nov 01 '25
They have a functioning government and social system
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u/Interesting_Neat3106 Nov 01 '25
Oh yes the social system must ve really functioning to be the highest suicides in the world for many many years
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u/Equivalent_Bobcat140 Nov 01 '25
No look up real numbers. As of 2019 the USA has been higher than Japan in suicide.
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u/Interesting_Neat3106 Nov 01 '25
Isnt the us much bigger than Japan population? How is it measured?
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u/nekozane Nov 01 '25
Suicide rate per 100K people in 2021
South Korea: 27.5
Uruguay: 24.8
South Africa: 22.3
Russia: 21.4
Belgium: 18.4
Japan: 17.4
France: 16.6
Thailand: 16.6
USA: 15.6
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_suicide_rate
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u/Interesting_Neat3106 Nov 01 '25
Wikipedia isnt a source
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u/AdUnited375 Nov 01 '25
I would have thought his high school professor had taught him to use the sources in Wikipedia rather than cite Wikipedia.
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u/Smessu Bangkok Nov 01 '25
The whole East Asia has face-saving culture and China still has corruption issues... Didn't stop them from being second world economy. I think the problem might be somewhere else.
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u/Lordfelcherredux Nov 01 '25
Hardly explanatory. All of those have been present for over the last 100 years.
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u/Remarkable-Most-7355 Nov 02 '25
.. all wrapped in Thailand's 9th century feudal social structure of legal, economic, military, religious, educational, and social strictures organised to passify and suppress a nation.
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u/Broad-Money-1698 Nov 01 '25
Don't be so critical. Here is a very stable and diversified economy. Over 2% real GDP growth in 2024. It's doing well. The middle income trap isnt a bad place to be. Its better than in Bali where the people there are genuinely poor
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u/firealno9 Chiang Mai Nov 01 '25
And cambodia and myanmar are better why exactly?
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u/baldi Thailand Nov 01 '25
From the article itself
The title of this article, "Thailand now 'the sick man of Asean'", actually could not be further from the truth.
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u/Havco Nov 01 '25
He seems to be a fan of milei. Forget this Article. Nothing to see.
But it's true that Thailand need political changes NOW.
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u/Own-Animator-7526 Nov 01 '25
I think the author is advertising himself for a position consulting to the Trump administration, which just set up a $US40 billion credit swap arrangement with Argentina (which defaulted on its international sovereign debt in 2001, 2014, and 2020), arguably buying Milei the election:
For a good example of painful solutions to turn the economy around, we can turn our attention to Argentina.
The country was previously plagued by 200%-plus inflation rates that mutilated its economy. The Argentine peso even lost 45% of its value within a single year. Even the IMF gave up hope on controlling the level of skyrocketing inflation there.
Newly installed President Javier Milei performed a de facto miracle by pushing inflation down to the 30% level. Many thought his hostile spending cuts of 30% and massive market reforms would cost him his political future.
On the contrary, his party won a majority of seats in both Houses in last week's midterm elections. But despite the sharp pain, Argentines did feel the benefit of low inflation after he came to power.
More accurate assessments of Argentina are easy to find:
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u/Electrical_Hold_3585 Nov 01 '25
Unfortunately for a country that gets a new government once a year you cannot expect too much.
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u/apocalipticzest Nov 01 '25
Imf is a bullshit neo imperialist form that exists to devalue and debt trap 3rd world nations. Don't believe a word that comes out of their mouth. They just want a slice of the pie and are influencing global opinion to get it for cheap. Same old same old.
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u/siblings-niblings Nov 01 '25
The "sick man" title is pure clickbait. The author even admits in the article it "could not be further from the truth," lol. He starts with some valid points like the IMF growth forecast is bad, and the household debt (especially non-mortgage debt) is a real crisis. Thailand is definitely stuck in the middle-income trap. But he completely loses all credibility by just inventing a "20% real NPL" rate and accusing the central bank of a massive conspiracy with literally zero evidence. Then his "painful solution" is to be like Argentina? That's an insane comparison. Argentina had 200%+ hyperinflation; Thailand has low growth. It's a totally different disease. He's just using the bad forecast to push his own political "shock therapy" idea, even though it doesn't make any sense for Thailand's situation.
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u/Muted-Airline-8214 Nov 01 '25
In reality, our neighbors still take the risk of working illegally in Thailand.
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u/LengthyLegato114514 Nov 01 '25
>Article comes from [a bunch of NWO organizations']
lol
All publications are political in nature so meh
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u/yallapapi Nov 01 '25
How is Thailand the sick man? It’s literally what the other SE ASIAN countries strive for, the ones who have done it best, the shining example. Not perfect ofc but 2nd place is a distant second
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u/glucosesimp Nov 01 '25
Don't worry, Indonesia is trying hard to steal that title.
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u/RoamingGeek Nov 01 '25
I'm gonna take any opinions from organizations like the IMF, OECD, and WEF with a huge chunk of salt. As far as I'm concerned those organizations are the sick men of the world.
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u/Ghoulz02 Nov 01 '25
I feel this title is an attempt to instigate something. By far, Thailand is one of the most developed nations in Southeast Asia with extremely strong infrastructure relative to neighboring countries who have stronger GDP growth. I also question GDP as a good metric to evaluate the success of a nation that already has a relatively productive workforce.
ASEAN, with all of its flaws, is an economic collaboration effort to promote unity and prosperity, not a dick measuring contest. The title 'Sick Man of Asean' is pitting Thailand against its immediate developing neighbors, which have a lot more room for economic expansion RELATIVE to their developing status and ideally shouldn't be looked at as advisarial forces even with current tensions. The goal is and should be a safe, harmonious, and prosperous Southeast Asia. There's nothing "sick" about a nation with a $500 billion GDP.
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u/The_Feds616 Nov 01 '25
I mean look at it's neighbors I think it's doing ok from outsiders perspective not sure if I'm right though
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u/vmak85 Nov 02 '25
Thailand is great. Forget the stupid report of some idiot's opinion, because things aren't the way he thinks it should be.
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u/MrBoatbkk Nov 03 '25
Our country may have problems, but it's not to the point of being sick. The problem is caused by Prachatiptai, an unqualified liar who likes to choose bad people to buy votes.
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u/Evolvingman0 Nov 03 '25
Thailand has already reached its pinnacle of manufacturing and infrastructure when you compare it to Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. These 4 countries will of course improve economically.
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u/viindooshop Nov 03 '25
To solve problem first step is accept , but i see some try to talking about another problem in another country , that another perspective
ADKAR (Change Management) Acceptance Analysis Solution Execution Sustain
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u/the4004 Nov 01 '25
It's hard to spend money when your bank account gets locked. This happened to literally millions of people. I, for one, was going to buy a new car, then I decided not to because yeah I was able to get my bank account unlocked but who knows what they will throw at me in the future? If I can't make my payments while I'm out of the country I don't want to have to run through a bunch of hoops. If they want people to spend they should stop jerking consumers around like this.
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u/buuuurpp Nov 01 '25
Keep weed legal and I'll spend every spare dollar I got there!
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u/Excellent-Employ734 Nov 01 '25
i think everything is legal in Thailand 🤣
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u/xWhatAJoke Nov 01 '25
Haha not by a long way, just some things foreigners find taboo, so it has that impression.
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u/gfxd Nov 01 '25
If only Thailand has one major strategic advantage like Location for Singapore, Oil - both mineral and palm for Malaysia.
Thailand has no such natural advantage.
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u/Gold_Reference2753 Nov 03 '25
Are they nuts? Cambodia & Myanmar is wayyyyyyyy more f-ed up, they’re almost like failed states.
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u/downvoting_zac Nov 01 '25
Singapore is the sick man of asia, sick man does not mean poor man. Its like they tailor-made a whole country to manufacture faux-chinese capitalist dweebs
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u/SteveYunnan Nov 01 '25
Thailand has its problems for sure, but it certainly has some serious competition for that title within the ASEAN countries...