Thai investment funds exiting for amulet economy (08-05-07)
By Jon Fernquest[Introduction|Vocabulary|Article]
[Reading Questions|Answers]
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How one small business person in Thailand's booming amulet economy has made lots of money recently is the focus of today's article.
Vocabulary to describe sacred and supernatural things is a key point in this article, so it is listed at the beginning of the vocabulary list.
The amulet economy is also part of Thailand's shadow economy because it is tax-free and beyond the reach of government.
Unlike other investment markets, neither VAT tax nor income tax is collected.
If a lot of money is shifted from investing in companies to investing in amulets will there be negative economic repercussions? This is a key question that some are beginning to ask.
What if people suddenly lose confidence in the value of the amulets, that they are trading in so enthusiastically nowadays?
Could amulet speculation cause a speculative asset price bubble similar to what real estate markets have suffered from in the past?
Thailand is not the only country with widespread belief in magic and the supernatural. Read an interesting article on magical practices in the American game of baseball.
Read a previous article on Thailand's new amulet economy and check out the new Amulet Economy category in our archives.
Reading Questions
Here are some questions to guide your reading (See answers at end):1. What name does the small investor in the article go by?
2. Where were his investment funds invested initially?
3. Where did he move his investment funds? Why?
4. When investing in the stock market, is a strategy of buy and hold for a long period of time better or worse then moving your funds around frequently looking for a profit? (Express your opinion)
5. Why do people value the original Jatukarm Ramathep amulets so much?
6. Why have so many different collections of Jatukarm Ramathep amulets appeared recently?
7. Did Lek get his wife's permission before he moved the investment funds from the stock market to amulets?
8. What rates of return is Lek seeing on his amulet investments?
9. Why is Lek worried about his amulet investments?
10. Does Lek buy and sell his amulets directly with customers?
11. Does Lek have to travel a lot to find buyers for his amulets?
12. How long do experts predict the current amulet boom will last?
13. Will the current amulet boom end one day? What will happen to investors, brokers, and the economy if it does end? (Express your opinion)
14. Why is investing in amulets not a fad, according to many Thais?
Bangkok Post Article Monday May 07, 2007
JATUKARM RAMATHEP / HIGH DEMAND FOR BLESSED CHARMS
Talismans prove lucky for investor
More profitable than the stock market
KAMOLWAT PRAPRUTITUM & NAOWARAT SUKSAMRAN
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The investor, who prefers to be called Lek, said stock trading was a disappointment and he was looking for a place to park his investment funds.
Three months ago, luck knocked on his door. While welcoming friends to a house-warming party in Bangkok, he noticed that one of them was wearing what he thought was a ridiculously oversized locket around his neck.
Wine flowed, they clinked glasses and the friend breathed a secret. He told Lek that he was given a rare edition of the Jatukarm Ramathep amulet by his in-laws, who bought it for 200 baht. The amulets were now selling for 3,500 baht.
Lek sobered up straight away, quickly realising that the profit margin from trading in the amulets would comfortably outstrip the stocks he was holding.
Through the friend, he was able to contact a middleman who obtained a selection of the talismans in various sizes, colours and scents. Lek's eyes, however, were fixed on the prized edition produced and blessed in Nakhon Si Thammarat, site of the ancient Srivijaya kingdom where Jatukarm and Ramathep were guardians.
The popular belief that the amulets are wealth spinners explains the launch of Jatukarm Ramathep collections with extreme and odd labels such as Kote Ruay Maha Sarn (Enormously Super Rich) and Kum Sap Thep Prathan (Divine-Given Treasure).
Lek went behind his wife's back, the reason he wishes to remain anonymous, delved into their savings, a portion of which was previously invested in stocks, and bought the Jatukarm Ramathep collections considered to be rare.
He is now in possession of 1.5 million baht worth of the amulets. Some he resold for twice their original price in a matter of weeks.
Already Lek is looking at a 100% profit.
"I'm planning to purchase more amulets but I need to be wary of volatility in the market caused by excessive speculation," he said, pointing to the proliferation of mass "blessing venues" where rites of sanctification finalise the production of the talismans.
He phones "brokers" to place orders for the amulets and for a nominal fee the brokers also make Lek's name known to prospective buyers.
"Customers come to my house for the amulets. I don't even have to leave home to make money," he said.
He has not been back to the stock trading room in months. Lek said seeing all the "reds" disheartened him - a reference to falling share values marked by red lights on the trading board.
Sociologist Narong Boonsuayfan, of Walailak University in Nakhon Si Thammarat, predicts the burgeoning supply of the amulets will be sustained by the present almost insatiable demand for at least the next six months.
He sees Jatukarm Ramathep as symbolic of a very indigenous and deep-rooted wisdom that is above any fad or hype.
Vocabulary (related to the sacred and supernatural)
the amulet economy - Thailand's shadow economy in which people produce, buy, and sell amulets for a profit
magic - influencing events, objects, people and the physical world by supernatural means (See Wikipedia on magic (paranormal), magic and religion and magical thinking as well as the Encyclopedia of Religion and Society)
the supernatural - creatures, forces, and events that people believe in, that are beyond scientific laws
x blesses y - a monk or priest x prays to give y supernatural favour and protection
charms - good luck charms, owning this object is believed to bring good luck (for example a lucky rabbit's foot)
blessed charms - good luck charms that has been given supernatural powers by a priest or monk
a talisman - an object believed to have magical or supernatural powers of protection or luck
an amulet - an object that protects a person from trouble, usually worn around the neck on a chain (See Wikipedia on amulets and supernatural magic)
Jatukarm Ramathep talisman - a very popular amulet (Read a history of the amulet and visit www.jatukarm-ramathep.com)
a blessing (noun) - the prayer of a monk or priest made to give a person or thing supernatural favour, protection, or power
a venue (noun) - the place where an event or activity happens (for example, Queen Sirrikhit Center was the venue for the annual book show)
blessing venues (noun) - places where monks or priests perform blessings
a rite - a traditional ceremony (in a religion or a society)
sacred - holy, believed to have a special connection with god or the supernatural
sanctification - the act of making sacred (for example, a blessing, see above)
a rite of sanctification - a blessing (see above)
intervention - someone outside the situation enters and tries to change the situation
divine intervention - when some supernatural force enters the world and changes events and history (for example, your car gets hit by a big truck, but you miraculously survive)
a miracle (noun) - a surprising, unexpected, and good supernatural event
miraculous (adjective) - surprising and unexpected like a miracle
a locket - a jewelry case containing some object like a photo or an amulet, worn on a chain around the neck
Srivijaya kingdom - an ancient kingdom stretching across Indonesia, Malaysia, and parts of southern Thailand (See Wikipedia)
x is symbolic of y - x represents or is typical of y
indigenous - not foreign, belonging to the country where you find them (for example Thais are indigenous to Thailand and the many hill tribes are too, but "Farang" are not indigeneous to Thailand)
deep-rooted - has existed for a long time ("deep seated" has the same meaning, imagine a plant with very long roots going deep into the ground)
Vocabulary (other)
shadow economy, underground economy - business that avoids paying taxes, it is not controlled by the government and is not counted in statistics (See Wikipedia and articles at shadoweconomy.com)
VAT tax - tax paid when goods are bought and sold (as a percentage of the purchase price)
appreciation - increase in value over time (See glossary)
income tax - tax paid on money earned (in the case of amulets from short-term price appreciation)
repercussions - bad or unpleasant things that are caused by an event (See glossary)
speculative asset price bubble - high volume trade of assets (real estate, stocks...maybe amulets) at prices above their true value (See glossary and Wikipedia on economic bubble and Japanese asset price bubble)
x remains anonymous - people do not know x's real name or who he or she is (so we don't know who did or said something)
x goes by the name y - y is not the real name of x used to hide his identity (x wishes to remain anonymous)
despaired of x - felt that x had problems and would never improve
stagnating - stop improving, stop moving forwards, stop developing, stop growing wealthier, stop progressing
luck knocked on his door - he was lucky (this is using metaphor or figurative language, luck is described as being similar to someone knocking on the door to give you something good)
a place to park his investment funds - a place to put his investment funds (this also uses metaphor, just as you find a place to "park" your car, you find a place to "park" your investment funds)
breathed a secret - quietly tell a secret (also using metaphor, usually you "tell" someone a secret, "breathed" makes sound very soft like a whisper)
metaphor - indirect comparison between two or more seemingly unrelated subjects, understanding of one conceptual domain in terms of another (See wikipedia on metaphor and conceptual metaphor, literal and figurative language, and figure of speech)
a house-warming party - the party you have when you move to a new home
in-laws - the family of your husband or wife
sobered up - became serious and thoughtful ("sober" more basic meaning is "not drunk")
margin between x and y - the difference between amounts x and y (x - y)
profit margin - profits, the difference between revenues and expenses (revenues - expenses) (See glossary)
x outstrips y - x becomes larger than y
comfortably outstrip - becomes larger by a large amount
a middleman - a broker, a person who buys and then resells to other people
prized - considered to have great value and importance
an edition of x - a version of x produced at one time (for example, a new edition of a book)
a prized edition - a version that people consider more valuable than other versions
wealth spinners - profitable businesses, businesses that make wealth
the launch of - the product launch of a new product, introducing a new product into the market for the first time (See Wikipedia)
do behind x's back - do without person x knowing about it
delved into - started studying to learn more about (for example, when I became interested in amulets, I used the internet to delve deeper into the subject)
the proliferation of x - x's rapid increase in number
wary of x - cautious about x because you don't know much about x and think that x might be a little dangerous
place orders - request a special type of product to buy
a nominal fee - a small fee (compared to the real value)
prospective buyers - a likely customer, a potential customer, may buy in the future (See glossary on prospects and prospective)
disheartened - disappointed, losing hope
burgeoning - growing quickly
insatiable - cannot be satisfied
insatiable demand for x - demand for x has no limits (cannot be satisfied)
fad - something very popular for a short time, but boredom quickly follows
hype - when a company creates a lot of excitement and interest in a new product (the product is actually not that exciting or great) (See glossary)
Answer Key:
1. What name does the small investor in the article go by?
He goes by the name "Lek".
2. Where were his investment funds invested initially?
They were invested in the stock market.
3. Where did he move his investment funds? Why?
He moved his investment funds to amulets because:
a. Stock trading was a disappointment.
b. He was looking for a place to put his investment funds.
c. A friend told him about how his amulet had appreciated in price.
4. When investing in the stock market, is a strategy of buy and hold for a long period of time better or worse then moving your funds around frequently looking for a profit? (Express your opinion)
Evidence shows that unless you are a very sophisticated stock market trader, the best strategy is buy and hold. There are a lot of wealthy and smart people with a lot of market knowedge investing in the stock market, so it is difficult to compete with them. (See economist Brad DeLong's blog on buy and hold)
5. Why do people value the original Jatukarm Ramathep amulets so much?
They value the amulets because they were produced and blessed in the city of Nakhon Si Thammarat, "site of the ancient Srivijaya kingdom where Jatukarm and Ramathep were guardians.
" (See previous article on the history of the amulet)
6. Why have so many different collections of Jatukarm Ramathep amulets appeared recently?
These amulet collections have been launched because there has been great demand for the Jatukarm Ramathep amulet due to the popular belief that it provides supernatural help in making money and gaining wealth to the owner.
7. Did Lek get his wife's permission before he moved the investment funds from the stock market to amulets?
No, he "went behind his wife's back." Do you think his wife was happy or unhappy about this. Express your opinion.
8. What rates of return is Lek seeing on his amulet investments?
100% return in only weeks.
("He is now in possession of 1.5 million baht worth of the amulets. Some he resold for twice their original price in a matter of weeks. Already Lek is looking at a 100% profit.")
9. Why is Lek worried about his amulet investments?
He is worried about price volatility in his amulet collection due to excessive speculation and excess production in the amulet market.
10. Does Lek buy and sell his amulets directly with customers?
No, he uses a broker to buy and sell his amulets.
11. Does Lek have to travel a lot to find buyers for his amulets?
No, the buyers come to his home.
12. How long do experts predict the current amulet boom will last?
The boom is predicted to last for at least the next six months, according to Sociologist Narong Boonsuayfan of Walailak University in Nakhon Si Thammarat.
13. Will the current amulet boom end one day? What will happen to investors, brokers, and the economy if it does end? (Express your opinion)
14. Why is investing in amulets not a fad, according to many Thais?
Many Thais believe that it is "above any fad or hype" because amulets are part of an important part of ancient indigenous wisdom.
("He sees Jatukarm Ramathep as symbolic of a very indigenous and deep-rooted wisdom that is above any fad or hype.")
