Fears of a looming US recession: side effect on Thailand
- From: Blade@xxxxxxxxxx (Deckard)
- Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2008 20:18:34 GMT
In Thailand, all that glitters is probably not gold
by Ploy Chitsomboon and Apornrath Phoonphongphiphat
Thailand's sluggish economy and record gold prices have prompted many
elderly Thais to cash in family heirlooms as they struggle to make
ends meet.
"This is family jewellery," said Thai-Chinese grandmother Pannee Sae
Kaow, standing outside a gold shop in Bangkok's Chinatown clutching a
tarnished gold necklace given to her years ago by her mother. "The
economy has left me no choice but to sell it," the 78-year-old said
forlornly. "Everything is more expensive and it's tougher to live in a
time like this. We're not rich people." (...)
GOLD LEAF GONE?
The slow economy and sky-high gold are also accelerating a
cost-cutting trend at Thailand's Buddhist pagodas and statues, now
more likely to glitter with synthetic fiber than gold leaf.
"Gold leaf is my only family business but I can't do it any longer,"
said Sureeporn Panichrum, a lifelong gold-leaf trader watching her
business go to the wall. "Raw materials are way too high and people
just don't bother to use real a gold leaf any more," she said.
Synthetic gold leaf may not shimmer like the real thing, hammered for
hours into an incredibly thin film, but at only a third the price, it
is a simple decision for even the most devout of Buddhists, she said.
Temples, too, are switching to acrylic paint. "Everything that used to
be gilt is now yellow acrylic paint," said temple craftsman Jullanop
Nark-kaew, 54. Paint cost a quarter of the real thing, he added.
"It's sad. There's not much gold leaf left to see in temples these
days," he said.
Soaring gold prices also appear to have caused a rash of gold shop
heists, with newspapers reporting one hold up a week. Many shop-owners
have taken to putting up iron bars, hiring undercover guards or even
keeping a gun under the counter where previously there was only a
calculator and a pair of scales. "Sometimes it scares me when I'm in
the shop alone," said one female store owner who declined to be named.
full article: news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080228/lf_nm/thailand_gold_dc_1
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