Continued political unrest could hurt Thailand's economy.
Hello again, and welcome to As It Is! I’m JonathanEvans in Washington.
On our program today, we bring you two reports dealingwith major economies in the Asia-Pacific area. We tellyou which Japanese carmaker says it will move itsmanufacturing out of Australia. Hear that report later in the program. But first, we hear how continuing politicalunrest in Thailand threatens the country’s economy.Christopher Cruise has more.
Political Unrest Threatens Thailand’s Economy
Economists are warning of slower growth in Thailand,Southeast Asia’s biggest economy. In February, amajor credit rating agency reported that continued political unrest in Thailandcould hurt the country’s economy. In its report, Fitch Ratings noted areduction in manufacturing and sharply lower sales of goods and services. Fitch said the trust of both Thai consumers and businesses is at its lowestlevel since the huge floods of 2011.
Some foreign investors have become concerned. The president of ToyotaMotor Corp in Thailand warned that long terms investors may put their moneyin other areas, like Indonesia or Vietnam.
Chris Bake is an expert on business in Thailand. He says major foreigninvestors are concerned about the elections that took place in February. Theyfear the lack of a clear winner will frighten investors. He also says carmakersand related businesses are concerned the government will be unable to makeserious policy decisions.
Thailand’s government is under financial pressure to pay rice farmers billionsof dollars for rice it promised to buy at higher than market prices. Now, thegovernment is having trouble finding the money to pay the farmers. Bankshave been unwilling to loan money for the plan.
Foreign investors have also been pulling back from the Thai stock marketsince political protests began in November.
Andrew McBean is a partner with Grant Thornton Thailand, a businessadvisory service. He says the fact that the elections were largely peacefulwas a hopeful sign.
Still, Thailand’s tourist industry has been hurt by the unrest in the capital,Bangkok. More than 40 countries have announced travel alerts. And tourismofficials estimated losses for the month of January alone at $685 million.
The Thai economy has recovered from earlier political and economicproblems. But continuing unrest may make it harder for foreigners to want toreturn as they have in the past.
I'm Christopher Cruise.
And I’m Jonathan Evans. You are listening to As It Is from VOA LearningEnglish.
Automobile manufacturing in Australia could face serious cuts. Japaneseautomaker Toyota recently announced it would to stop manufacturing cars in the country. We hear more from Mario Ritter.
Japanese Carmaker Toyota to Pull Out of Australia
Vehicles speed past a Toyota dealership in Sydney,Australia.
Industry experts and trade unions are worried thedecision could push parts of Australia into recession. Last May, Ford Motor Company said it would stopmanufacturing in Australia. General Motors announcedlate last year that it also plans to suspend factoryoperations in the country.
Toyota says more than 2,000 of its workers will losetheir jobs. But trade unions say the company’sdecision to end production could leave 50,000Australians jobless. They say the decision could take $19 billion away from the Australian economy. The states of Victoria and South Australia would behurt the most.
Australia’s car manufacturing industry was once very strong. In recent years,Australia produced about 200,000 vehicles a year for sales at home and forexport. The industry spent more than $540 million dollars on research anddevelopment.
John Spoehr is executive director of the Australian Workplace, Innovation andSocial Research Center at the University of Adelaide. He says carmakershave found it difficult to operate in Australia.
“We now have one of the most competitive auto markets in the world with atleast sixty different models here. In addition, we have had declining demandinternationally as a consequence of the global financial crisis, and the rise oflow-cost manufacturing in India, China and Thailand.”
The collapse of automobile industry has also raised concerns in the Australianparliament. The opposition has accused Prime Minster Tony Abbott of notdoing enough to persuade Toyota not to close down its factories.
Mr. Abbott has argued that he cannot be blamed for the industry’s long-termdecline because he has been in office for only a few months. Traditionally,Australia’s car industry has received billions of dollars in governmentassistance.
The government has asked its Productivity Commission to investigate publicsupport for the automotive industry. The commission carries out researchand makes suggestions on economic, social and environmental issues. Thegroup has noted that big changes are taking place in Australia’s car industryfaces. It says the changes are affecting both industry employees andmanufacturers of car parts. The commission is planning to give its final reportto the government by the end of March.
I’m Mario Ritter.
And that’s our program for today. Be sure to join us again tomorrow foranother edition of As It Is. I’m Jonathan Evans. Thanks for listening.
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