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[Archives of Easy Business English]
Shift in Thai condominium market
to Asian buyers
By Jon Fernquest
[Download: MP3
Audio from
article starting below]
 Some
unexpected trends are emerging in
Thailand's condominium market.
At Raimon Land's Pattaya projects "67.4%
buyers are now Thais and 9% are
Russians, while two large prospective groups - Indians and Chinese
-
are emerging."
Courting "weekend visitors from
Bangkok rather than holiday
makers
from Europe" as potential buyers is one firm's shift in
strategy.
Today's article
discusses these new trends. It starts after the vocabulary
below.
condominium - a
building full of apartments that are individually owned by different
people, common facilities such as
hallways, heating system, lights, elevators and exterior are paid for
by an annual fee (See Wikipedia)
unexpected - did
know it was going to happen, surprising
Raimon Land -
listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) in 1994 and subsequently
focused on developing middle income residential housing in the suburbs
of Bangkok, restructured in 2002, has recently pursued several
innovative projects in the premium property sector in Bangkok’s CBD and
inner city including The Lofts, The Lakes, The Legend, The River on the
Chaophraya River, Northshore Condominium in Pattaya, and Kata Gardens
and The Heights in Phuket (See overview and property
sector news)
prospective - likely
to happen or likely to become something (here: these people are likely
to buy condos, likely to become buyers)
emerging - starting
to become more important
courting - trying
to win a young lady as your bride (here: win a new customer)
holiday makers - people
taking a vacation
potential -
possible
strategy - long-term plan for success
in competition and to achieve goals กลยุทธ
shift in strategy - change
in your plans to achieve long-term goals
Economics
Western condo
buyers scarce
10/09/2010
The baht's appreciation against European currencies
has changed the demographics of condominium buyers in
Thailand, especially in Pattaya, a new study from the listed developer
Raimon Land shows.
The 1.9-billion-baht A
Attitude Asoke- Ratchada is the only condominium
in the pipeline
from Areeya this year. The other five will be
detached-housing
estates
or townhouses.
Deputy vice-president
Simon Derville said the condominium market in the
first quarter, while historically high, was supported by strong economic
fundamentals.
It was the second quarter that performed
beyond expectations
in the face of political protests.
western
- from the western part of the world, meaning Europe and US
(and Australia, New Zealand, Canada, etc)
scarce - not easy to find or get ขาดแคลน,
ไม่เพียงพอ, หายาก
appreciation
- when a country's currency becomes more valuable compared to the
currencies of other countries (which makes goods exported from the
country more expensive) Mr Winai said a resurgence in Thai exports
would certainly lead to improved tax revenues, as companies post
stronger profits and revenues. But department officials say that
demographics - the
study of human populations, in a country, region or the whole (births,
deaths, age and ethnic distribution)
in the pipeline - working
on a project but not yet completed
detached - not attached or connected to something
detached housing - a house that stands alone and is not
connected to other houses with a wall or roof
housing estates - a
residential area, a contained area with only homes (often built by only
one company or developer)
townhouses - a house with more than one level built on a
small piece of land (See Wikipedia)
fundamentals
- the underlying health of a company or economy (that will determine
whether it is profitable and survives in the long-run) ที่สำคัญ
ที่เป็นตัวกำหนดความมั่นคงของบริษัท
expectations - what people think will happen in the
future การคาดคะเน
performed beyond
expectations - they did better than people thought they
would do
protests - meetings, sometimes forceful or violent,
or public statements by people who strongly disagree with something
ชุมนุมประท้วง
One of the key findings of our research is that demand from Thai buyers is stronger
than ever, with many developers adjusting their strategies to tap this market. At Raimon Land, foreign
demand switched to Asian nationals while European demand continued to struggle with their own economies and
weak currencies," he said.
At its Pattaya
projects, 67.4% buyers are now Thais and 9% are
Russians, while two large prospective groups - Indians and Chinese
-
are emerging.
The company found a shift in focus toward Pattaya's urban area, where 89% of new
condominium launches were budget units priced from 1-5 million
baht and located inland, close to the city centre. "We expect future
launches to tap into a more affordable market, targeting weekend visitors from Bangkok
rather than holiday makers from Europe," said Mr Derville.
key
- important คนสำคัญ
findings - the results or conclusions of an
investigation or research
demand - the need and desire to buy goods and
services by households and businesses
strategies - long-term plans for success in
competition and to achieve goals กลยุทธ
tap this market - find
opportunities to sell things and do business in this market
struggle - a very difficult task that you can do
only by making a great effort ความพยายาม
prospective -
likely to happen or likely to become something (here: these people are
likely to buy condos, likely to become buyers)
shift - to change, to transfer; to move from one
place to another เคลื่อนย้าย โยกย้าย
focus - the thing considered most important, the
main thing it is concerned with ให้ความสำคัญ
shift in focus - change what you
treat as important in some activity, business, work or project
urban - connected with towns and cities
ที่เกี่ยวกับเมือง
budget - not expensive, for people with a small
"budget" who have little money to spend
budget units - cheap
condos
affordable - not expensive ไม่แพง
targeting - directing advertising and a product at
someone เล็งไปที่
New launches at
seaside locations declined to just 158 units in the
first half of the year, while another 3,659 units remain on hold. Only
379 units were completed by the seaside, while owners deciding to rent
out their units are achieving yields of 5% to 7%.
For Bangkok, Raimon
Land found 4,098 new condo units were completed in
the central area in the first half, increasing total supply by 7%.
Another 9,866 units remain in the pipeline, of which 75% have been
taken up so far.
The average price of
condominiums sold in central Bangkok in the first half was 108,125 baht
per square metre. Top-end
launches
in prime
locations are now going for 180,000 baht per sq m upwards, with
projects such as the St Regis Residences, Ritz-Carlton Residences and
185 Rajadamri achieving double that price.
yield
- the income or profit that you get from an investment
top-end - of
the highest quality and most expensive
launches - introducing
a new product on the market for the first time
prime - of the best quality ที่ดีที่สุด
(Source: Western condo buyers scarce, 10/09/2010, link)
Should the soaring fee-based income of
Thai banks be cut?
By Jon Fernquest
[Download: MP3
Audio for article starting below]
 Banks
profits didn't suffer much during the global financial crisis and they
continue to do well under what are typically adverse conditions (Read analysis
in Bangkok Post).
Fee-based
income
(money from services such as money
transfers
or certain ATM withdrawals) seems to be one major source
of these profits as Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij recently
demonstrated on his Facebook page (See Facebook
book page).
One thing is certainly
true about bank fees, bank customers often don't know about them before
they have been taken out of their bank account and by that time it is
too late.
Today's article
discusses this issue.
fee-based income - money
paid to the bank for services the bank provides customers
Y-based X
- X comes from Y, also expressed as: X
based on Y
transfer - changing the location of something โยกย้าย
money transfers -
moving money from one bank account to another bank account
withdrawals -
taking money out of a bank account การถอนเงิน
Economics
BANKING
Banks 'must discuss
fees'
9/09/2010
Local bank executives will meet with bank regulators today to discuss fee charges
on transactions and services.
Finance Minister Korn
Chatikavanij, writing in his personal Facebook page, said fee-based
income
accounted for over 23% of the total income of banks as of the first
quarter,
compared with just over 17% in 2004.
Kasikornbank,
the country's third-largest bank, expects its fee-based income to reach
45% of total income this year compared with 28% in 2009.
Simply put, [banks]
don't have to lend much at all to still post
significant profits,"
Mr Korn wrote.
Four of the country's
top banks - Bangkok Bank, Kasikornbank, Krung Thai and Bank of Ayudhya
- are on track to post profit growth of 25% this year, a
combined 95 billion baht, he added.
The question that must
be answered [today] is whether these fees are fair or not. Personally,
I already have my own answer," Mr Korn wrote.
Bank of Thailand
officials have already hinted that local banks will face
increased restrictions on fees for services such as electronic
fund
transfers or inter-provincial
transactions.
A study last year by
the Thailand
Development Research Institute for the central bank found that the fees for cash, interbank and ATM transfers were set
uniformly across the system and reflected a lack of competition.
Fees have also risen
despite the growing use of electronic banking services, which have much
lower operating
costs
than counter-based cash
transactions.
executives
- a high level manager in a company (making plans and ensuring they
executed successfully) ผู้บริหาร
regulators - the government agencies that make rules
and laws
and regulations for different industries (food, drugs, banking,
transportation, commerce) and then check to see if they are being
followed
transaction - a
piece of business done between two people or a customer and a company
(examples: buy or sell goods, deposit or withdraw money from a bank
account)
first quarter - the
first three months of the year (a time period used by company's and
government for budgeting and financial reporting)
post profits - when
a company makes profits and then it is reported in the company's annual
financial reports
post significant profits -
company makes a lot of money (as shown officially in financial reports)
track - a mark or line of marks showing the
direction that something has moved ร่องรอย
on track - following
a certain track or path with a certain goal (here: like achieve the
goal of profit growth of 25%)
profit - money that you make from selling goods and
services after all your costs have been paid กำไร
hinted - to
say
what you are thinking or feeling but not directly
(people who have a little knowledge of the situation must guess what
you are saying)
restrictions - the
act of controlling or limiting something (especially what actions or
activities a person can do)
funds - an amount of money kept in an
account เงินทุน กองทุน
transfers - changing the location โยกย้าย
electronic fund transfers (EFT) -
moving money from one bank account to another using computer networks
(See Wikipedia)
inter-provincial
transactions - sending money to other provinces in
Thailand (or withdrawing money in Bangkok from your bank account in
Chiang Mai, for example)
Thailand Development
Research Institute (TDRI) -
Thailand's first public policy think tank with economics research a
specialty (See website)
cash - money in the form of notes or coins เงินสด
set uniformly across the
system - make it be the same everywhere
X reflected Y - X
shows that Y is true, is the situation
lack - does not have ขาดแคลน
operating costs -
money that a company spends daily to run a business Supplies, small
equipment, training, etc)
counter - the surface (like a table) in a store or
bank where employees carry out transactions with customers
(deposit money in bank, withdraw money from bank, buy goods from store,
etc)
counter-based cash transactions - when
bank customers go into the bank and do their transactions with a
"teller" rather than outside with an ATM
(Source: Bangkok Post: Economics,
BANKING, Banks 'must discuss fees', 9/09/2010, link)
Is it safe for
foreigners to own land in Thailand?
By Jon Fernquest
[Download: MP3
Audio for article starting below]
You
bought that condo in downtown Bangkok for millions of baht.
You spent your whole
life savings.
But was it legal?
Do you really own it?
Could it be taken away
from you?
If, for example, the
condo administrator didn't follow the proper procedures?
Perhaps, even as part
of a fraudulent scheme that would only be detected many years
later....after it was too late.
These are the scary
questions addressed in today's article extract below.
Does the set of Thai
laws passed in 2008 to protect condominium buyers really
offer enough
protection? (Read about the
2008 laws).
Property
NET WORTH
Foreign property ownership in
Thailand
6/09/2010
Andrew Wood
A growing number of expats now own properties in
Thailand. Are you one
of them and if so, can you confidently say that you own your
property
legally.
In recent years the
market in Thailand has opened up somewhat
to foreigners who wish to legitimately own properties. However,
there
are some grey areas and expats who continue with
the structures they
put in place some years ago might be in
for a
shock if they are
challenged.
It is illegal for
foreigners to own land in Thailand. As an expat you cannot own the land
your house stands on. Strata title
ownership
is allowed. Most apartments and condominiums are strata title
leasehold,
allowing foreigners to own the units. However, the law caps
ownership by non-Thais at 49% of the space in a given development.
It
thus does not follow that just because you find a leasehold
condominium that you can automatically own a unit. The developer must
obtain government approval to have a portion of the units foreign-owned
and then there is a strict control over the allocation to ensure that majority Thai ownership is maintained. Developers have been known
to be less than honest when it comes to this allocation. They have
sometimes allocated space by means that the government
disallows, and thus foreigners illegally own their units.
property - land and
buildings
expats - people
who are living for a long time outside of their own country (not just
short-term "tourists")
confidentally - being
sure about something (that it will happen or that it is true)
legitimately -
legally
grey areas -
issues the answer to which is not clear and certain
might be in for a ... - could
experience something unpleasant...
title - official
legal ownership of real estate (land, buildings)
strata title - ownership of
rooms in a building that are not touching the ground (that are in a
level or "strata" above the ground) (See Wikipedia)
leasehold -
the right to use land and/or buildings (according to the arrangements
made in a lease contract)
caps - upper
limits (cannot go higher than this level)
a development - the gradual growth and formation of
something
approval - official permission การอนุมัต
portion - a part of something ส่วน
strict - very careful and exact เข้มงวด
allocation - an amount or share of something that is
given to someone การแบ่งส่วน
ensure - to make certain that something happens or
is done รับรอง ให้ความมั่นใจ ให้การยืนยัน
majority - more than 50 percent ส่วนมาก เสียงส่วนมาก
maintained - kept at the same level (not allowed to
increase or decrease)
means - methods; ways วิธี, วิธีการ
The maximum allowable lease term in
Thailand is 30 years, which is considered short in the western world.
Leases cannot be legally arranged to run consecutively, removing that option for you to secure a 60-year lease, even though in practice this is often exercised.
If you wish to own a
house there is the question of land ownership. Some expats have their
Thai spouses own the property. This does
not give security to you as the effective owner. Joint ownership is not
allowed.
Some systems have been developed for the ownership of land through a
Thai company. This is allowable but does not actually give you full proof protection. You are only allowed to own
the minority of shares in a local
company. Thus you still only have up to 49% ownership of the property
in practice. To get around this, arrangements are often made for shares
to be held by nominees. Lawyers arrange for a
company registration where the legal
practice staff are the other Thai
shareholders.
Until recently there
were seven Thai shareholders required for a Thai
company. This was recently reduced to three. So the fact is that 51% or
more of your house is owned by a lawyer and his Thai staff; maybe a
secretary, accountant and driver. If you cannot substantiate that the capital for their shares was actually
paid from their individual bank accounts, then the company registrar may declare your company
illegal...
maximum
- the most possible ที่สูงสุด ที่มากที่สุด
lease - a legal agreement in which you pay money in
order to use
a building, piece of land, vehicle, etc. for a period of time สัญญาเช่า
term - a period of time ช่วงเวลา
option - a choice; something that you can choose in
a particular situation ทางเลือก
secure - to get or achieve something การได้มาซึ่ง
practice - a way of doing something การปฏิบัติ
in practice - what
actually happens in real life situations (not just ideas or theory)
exercise - use your power or rights การใช้สิทธิ
spouses - wife or husband
security - safety and protecetion from harm
ความปลอดภัย
effective - not the real thing, but very close to
being the real thing, in all the details
the effective owner - not
the owner, but almost exactly the same as being the owner
proof - some fact or argument that shows the truth
of something
foolproof - a method or
system that is certain to succeed (cannot go wrong)
minority
- a small percentage, less than 50% จำนวนน้อย
local - in this country
nominees - not
a true owner, acting for another person who is the true owner
registration - recording in an official list
legal practice - a
group of lawyers who provide legal services (practice law) as a business
staff - the workers, employees or a company พนักงาน
substantiate - find evidence to prove that some fact is
true
capital - money invested in a business (See glossary)
individual - relating to or involving a single,
separate
person or thing แต่ละบุคคล
bank account - arrangement
with a bank for you keep money at the bank
registrar - an official whose job is to keep
official records นายทะเบียน
company registrar - a
government agency that keeps records of companies and also gives
permission for them to exist and operate
Questions to the
author can be directed to PFS International on 02-653-1971 or e-mail to
enquiriesthailand@fsplatinum.com
(Source: Property, NET WORTH, Foreign property ownership in Thailand,
6/09/2010, Andrew Wood, link)
Map Ta Phut industrial estate
shutdown nearing an end
By
Jon Fernquest
 [Download:
MP3
Audio]
It looks like the Map Ta Phut
industrial estate
closure saga is drawing to
a close.
The required environmental
and health impact
assessments (EIA and HIA) will soon be completed.
Of course, only time
will tell how
much the administrative
court ruling
and closure has benefited local communities impacted by Map Ta Phut factories.
Today's article begins
after the vocabulary.
Map Ta Phut - one
of Thailand's largest industrial estates located in Rayong
(See interactive
map)
industrial estate,
industrial park - a
special area especially for factories with special facilities (roads,
transportation, water, electricity, waste disposal) (See Wikipedia)
saga - a
long story that never seems to end, keeps going on and on
drawing to a close - will
end after a short period of time
only time will tell - meaning: must wait for the
future to see how the story will end
Administrative Court - the court
which deals with disputes between the private sector and government
agencies ศาลปกครอง
ruling - a decision by a court of law คำตัดสิน
คำชี้ขาด
impact - impact
- an effect or influence ผลกระทบ
Economics
MAP TA PHUT
Suspended projects
to stay
7/09/2010
Nareerat Wiriyapong
& Nanchanok Wongsamuth
The operators of the two projects in the Map Ta Phut
industrial estate
that remain suspended after the Administrative
Court ruling vowed not to move elsewhere now
that long-awaited environmental
regulations have become clear.
Speaking after a meeting with Industry Minister
Chaiwuti
Bannawat, representatives from PTT Plc said TOC Glycol's 2-billion-baht
project to produce ethylene
oxide and
ethylene
glycol
will continue at
Map Ta Phut.
operators
- companies doing or "operating" some kind of business
vowed - promised
suspended - stopped for a period of time
(temporarily)
ruling - a decision by a court of law คำตัดสิน
คำชี้ขาด
long - to want something very much ต้องการ ปรารถนา
environment
(noun) - everything in world of nature including plants and animals,
air, water and the land
environmental (adjective)
regulations - official rules made by the government
that control the way that things are done ระเบียบปฏิบัติ, ระเบียบ
ข้อบังคับ
clear - easy to understand
meeting - when a group of people come together to
discuss issues and make decisions การประชุม
PTT Plc - "
a Thailand-based company engaged in the in upstream petroleum,
downstream petroleum, coal business and other related businesses. Its
business activities include the exploration for, the development and
production of, natural gas, condensate and crude oil through
subsidiaries; the procurement, transmission, processing, marketing and
distribution of natural gas and gas products; the marketing of refined
products through various distribution channels including commercial,
retail, reseller and international markets, and the import and export
of crude oil, condensate, petroleum feedstock and petrochemical
products" (See Google
Finance)
TOC Glycol - owned by PTT, runs an ethylene/ethylene
oxide (EO/EG) plant (See website)
ethylene oxide - also used to produce ethylene
glycol below (See Wikipedia)
ethylene
glycol - "used as antifreeze, in the production of
polyester and polyethylene
terephthalate (PET – raw material for plastic bottles), liquid coolants
and solvents" (See Wikipedia)
The court's latest
ruling allowed 74 out of 76 projects to operate after suspension for almost a year for violation of Section 67
of the 2007 Constitution that required industries deemed harmful to conduct environmental
and health
impact
assessments (EIA and HIA).
The company's HIA is
in the process of public review and the
final report is expected to be submitted [to concerned agencies] very soon," said
Surak Sujaritputangoon, public and government affairs manager at HMC Polymers, a subsidiary of PTT....
suspension
- stopping for a period of time (temporarily)
violation - breaking the law, an action that is
against a law, agreement, principle, etc. การฝ่าฝืนกฎหมาย,
การกระทำผิดกฎหมาย
Section 67 of the 2007
Constitution - "bans
industrial projects considered 'severely harmful' until four activities
have been undertaken: environmental impact assessment (EIA), health
impact assessment (HIA), public hearings within the community and an
opinion by an independent agency" (See previous
article)
2007 Thai Constitution - the
constitution that replaced Thailand's 1997 People's Constitution after
the 2006 coup (See Wikipedia)
1997 People's Constitution (or
charter) -Thailand's
innovative constitution written during a long process of public
consultation during the 1990s, guarantees the Thai people many rights
(See Wikipedia)
deemed - considered to be เห็นว่า ถือว่า
conduct - to do something in an organised way; to
carry out
impact - an effect or influence ผลกระทบ
environmental impact assessment
(EIA) - a
report that details the likely positive and negative effects a project
may have on the environment (See Wikipedia)
Health Impact Assessment (HIA) - procedures
to judge the potential
effects of a construction or industrial project on the health of a
population (See Wikipedia)
process - a series of actions that you take in order
to achieve a result แนวทางปฏิบัติ, กระบวน, วิธีการ
process - a series of actions taken to achieve a
result
expected - believe will happen คาดว่า (จะเกิดขึ้น)
submitted - formally given to someone so that they
can make a decision about it ยื่น
submitted - formally given to someone so they can
make a decision about it ยื่นเอกสารเพื่อการพิจารณา
concerned - worried about something มีความกังวล
affairs
- events and activities relating to the government, politics, economy
etc of a country, region, or the world ความสัมพันธ์ระหว่างประเทศ
polymer - an
important chemical used in the production of many different kinds of
products (See Wikipedia)
subsidiary - a company owned or controlled by
another company บริษัทในเครือ, บริษัทลูก
...The court noted
that the two projects might be included in the
list of 11 harmful activities recently approved by the Natural
Resources and Environment Ministry. Thai
Plastic and Chemicals Plc (TPC), a unit of Siam Cement
Group,
expects the HIA and EIA of its vinyl chloride monomer capacity expansion will be completed by the end
of this year.
TPC wants to increase
capacity by 40,000 tonnes a year and expects the project should be
ready for operation in the third
quarter of
next year, it said in its statement.
As the majority of Map Ta Phut projects
remain unsure whether they can proceed, Mr Chaiwuti said additional
information should be sent to authorities on approved operating
permits
for each project within the next week to clarify which ones are on the list of
harmful activities....
...The Industrial
Estate Authority of Thailand, the Industrial Works
Department and the Primary Industries and Mines Department are
responsible for granting
permits for projects. The three agencies have been assigned to examine
within 30 days the projects that conducted EIAs to decide if they fall
on the harmful list....
Thai Plastic and Chemicals Plc
(TPC) - "engaged in the manufacture and distribution of
polyvinyl chloride (PVC) polymers" (See Google Finance)
unit -
one part of a large company (doing a certain kind of business)
Siam Cement Group (SCG) -
"a
Thailand-based industrial holding company. SCG operates in six
segments: Chemicals, which includes the manufacture and sale of
olefins, polyolefin and other chemical products; Paper, which includes
the manufacture and sale of printing and writing paper, gypsum
linerboard, industrial paper, corrugated boxes and securities document;
Cement, which include the manufacture and sale of grey cement,
ready-mixed concrete, white cement and dry mortar; Building Materials,
which include the manufacture and sale of roof tiles, concrete paving
blocks, ceramic tiles, sanitary wares and sanitary fittings;
Distribution, which include the distribution and export of cement,
steel, building and decorative products and others, and Investment,
which jointly invest with companies in other businesses, mainly
agricultural machine, automotive parts and components, steel and
property." (See Google Finance)
capacity - the amount of something that can be
produced ความสามารถในการ (ผลิต)
expansion - when something increases in size, number
or importance การขยายออก
capacity expansion - increased
the maximum amount that can be produced by a factory
quarter - three
months of the year, used by companies, organizations and government for
budgeting money to projects and also for financial reporting on
performance
third quarter - the
three months July, August, and September, period of time used by
companies for budgeting and reporting
majority - more than 50 percent
ส่วนมาก เสียงส่วนมาก
proceed - to continue as planned ดำเนินการ
authorities
- the police or people in official organisations who have the legal
power to make people obey laws or rules เจ้าหน้าที่ (ตำรวจ
หรือผู้มีอำนาจ)
operating permits -
official permission to do some activity, given by the government
clarify - to make something clearer and easier to
understand ชี้แจงเหตุผล
granting - officially giving (changing ownership,
not lending for a time period)
(Source: Bangkok Post, Economics, MAP
TA PHUT, Suspended projects to stay, 7/09/2010, Nareerat Wiriyapong
& Nanchanok Wongsamuth, link)
education
Mismatch
between education and jobs in Thailand?
By Jon Fernquest
 The
school that comes after high school often fails to give
students the skills they need to get jobs.
A recent op-ed piece
in Post Today, the Thailand language sister paper of the
Bangkok Post, discussed this issue.
Of course, this is a
commonly heard complaint made by both recent
graduates and parents. It is not unique to Thailand (Read recent
article about the same problem in the US).
Today's article comes
from the In Print column of Kamol Hengkietsak
in the Bangkok Post. This column translates important articles in Thai
language newspapers for the foreign audience. The article begins after
the vocabulary below.
op-ed piece -
an article that provides an opinion in a newspaper (See Wikipedia)
Post Today -
the Thai language sister paper of the Bangkok Post with a focus on
business news (See website)
sister - an
organization with close connections to another organization
mismatch - not
matching or going together very well
Too many degrees for few
job openings
Parinya Chulekha, Post
Today
Translated in In Print
section by Kamol Hengkietisak
.
The problem of
education in Thailand is not about access
to education but about the quality,
especially graduates who can respond
to the needs of the economic, social and political environment,
noted Parinya Chulekha, writing for Post Today.
Every year,
universities churn out hundreds of
thousands of graduates but many of them cannot get work in the fields
they specialise in. At the same time, certain
industries experience a shortage of highly skilled
workers.
access
- the right or opportunity to have or use
something ได้รับสิทธิ์หรือโอกาสในการใช้
access
to education - the
right and opportunity to get an education (up to a certain level and of
a certain standard of quality)
respond
- to say or do something as a reaction to
something that has been said or done ตอบสนอง, ตอบรับ
environment - the
situation in which a person or organization lives and
operates, which presents conditions
that they must deal with
churn out - produce
large numbers or amounts of low quality things
specialise - to concentrate on and know a lot about
one particular subject มีความชำนาญเป็นพิเศษ
shortage - when there is not enough of something
การขาดแคลน
Pavich Thongroj,
former secretary-general of the Tertiary
Education
Commission,
accepted that thousands upon thousands of bachelor
degree
graduates are jobless every year. It is a common
sight to
see thousands of applicants for only
a few job openings in the
civil service. Even newly minted
teachers from
faculties of education find it hard to get a job as there are only
3,000 to 4,000 positions available each year while there are more than
10,000 graduates.
tertiary education -
university and college education coming after high school
bachelor degree
- the first university degree after high school, usually lasting for
four years (See Wikipedia)
commission -
a group of people in charge of something (who investigate some issue or
oversee some activity)
common - usual, ordinary, see or encounter all the
time ธรรมดา
common
sight - something you see all the time
applicant
- a person who "applies" making a formal request for something such as
a loan, a job or entrance to a university or school
ผู้ยื่นคำร้อง
civil service
- government
workers (who have to take special tests to get their jobs, wear special
uniforms at work and have protection from being fired from their job)
newly minted
- newly created (mint = creation of money in the form of coins and
bills)
This problem
is termed "structural"
in that most universities,
including Rajabhat
universities
and private universities, churn out
huge numbers of graduates in easy fields without caring for the real demand
in the job market.
Nowadays several
universities, both government and private, try to make
money by offering easy courses for master and
doctoral
degree
levels. It can be said that they deceive
students and only postpone their unemployment
for a few more years," Mr Pavich said.
structure (noun) -
the way that the parts of something are arranged to make a whole
structural (adjective)
structural problem - an
economic problem that needs to be solved by changing the structure of
the economy (for example by creating more university graduates with
skills needed by industry, "structural unemployment" is the most common
kind of "structural problem" talked about)
structural unemployment
- the
loss of jobs due to changes in the "structure" of the economy (caused
by, for example, changes in the demand for products or changes in
technology)
Rajabhat universities - started
out as a system of colleges to train teachers spread out over the whole
of provincial Thailand, recently converted to a formal 4 year
university system that offers a wide variety of degrees (See Wikipedia)
demand - the need and desire to buy goods and
services by households and businesses
masters degree
-
the degree that follows the "bachelor's degree" that lasts for about
one to two years, often focusing on professional or job-related skills
such as business (MBA) (See Wikipedia)
doctoral degree
- doctorate, PhD, the final academic degree that lasts four years or
more, geared towards preparing students to do original research and/or
teach in universities as professors (See Wikipedia)
deceive - to persuade someone that something false
is the truth หลอก
postpone - delay, reschedule, make a later date for
an event เลื่อนออกไป
unemployment - the number of people without a job
and who are looking for a job (See Wikipedia)
การว่างงาน
Meanwhile, many
universities fail to produce graduates in the fields of
automotive engineering, science, petrochemicals and
electronics in great enough numbers to satisfy the real demand in the
job market, he said.
Since there are many
bachelor degree graduates looking for jobs, some
even lower themselves and compete for jobs against vocational
and higher vocational certificate graduates,
compelling those certificate owners to continue their education to a
higher level, which is not necessary for the job requirement at all...
petrochemicals
- chemicals made from oil or natural
gas สินค้าหรือผลิตภัณฑ์ปิโตรเคมี
vocational - teaching the skills necessary for
particular jobs การสอนวิชาชีพ
vocational
education - education
that provides the training and skills necessary for a job (for
example, motorcycle
repair or cooking in a restaurant) โรงเรียนอาชีวศึกษา
(See Wikipedia)
certificate - an official document or record stating
that particular facts are true ประกาศนียบัตร เกียรติบัตร
(Source:
Bangkok Post, Too many degrees for few job openings, Parinya Chulekha,
Post Today, Translated in In Print section by Kamol Hengkietisak, link)
The fight against antibiotic overuse
and drug resistance
in Thailand
By Jon Fernquest
 The first rule of antibiotics is try
not to use them, and the second rule is try not to use too many of them
- Paul L. Marino, The ICU Book ( Source)
The article extract begins after the vocabulary (See full article here).
antibiotics
- a drug that kills or inhibits the growth of bacteria (See Wikipedia)
drug resistance - the
reduction of the effectiveness of a drug in curing an illness over time
(See Wikipedia on drug
resistance and antibiotic
resistance)
pharmacy - a
store that sells medicine (See Wikipedia)
prescribe - when a doctor writes out
medicine for you to take,
on an official piece of paper, when presented a pharmacy supplies you
with the medicine สั่งยา
bacteria -
very small living things (microorganisms) that can cause infection and
disease (See Wikipedia)
resistant bacteria emerge - bacteria
that medicine cannot
destroy begin to appear
medicine - 1.
a drug, pills or liquid taken to treat and cure an illness or disease,
2. the study and practice by doctors of treating and curing illnesses
and injuries
ineffective - does
not do what it is required to do (or does a bad job of it)
negative effects - bad
things that happen from an event or action (here: action is taking a
drug)
Local News
MEDICINE
Abuse of antibiotics is rampant,
say researchers
6/09/2010
Apiradee
Treerutkuarkul
 Thai
people are overusing antibiotics, a trend that could lead to an
increase in drug
resistance and disease
transmission,
warn pharmaceutical researchers.
A study by clinics at Mahidol University's tropical medicine faculty,
Khon Kaen University's department of medicine and Prince of Songkla
University's pharmaceutical sciences faculty found that 42% of patients
misuse prescription drugs, particularly
antibiotics. Results of the study were included in an annual report on the national drug
system.
rampant
- existing, happening or spreading in an uncontrolled way รุกลาม
อาละวาด กำเริบ รุนแรงจนควบคุมไว้ไม่ได้
trend - a gradual change or development that
produces a particular result ทิศทาง แนวโน้ม
drug resistance - the
reduction of the effectiveness of a drug in curing an illness over time
(See Wikipedia on drug
resistance and antibiotic
resistance)
transmission - the spread of a disease from one
person or animal to another การแพร่เชื้อ
pharmaceutical - connected with the production of
medicines เกี่ยวกับเภสัชกรรม, เกี่ยวกับยา
clinics - places where people go to receive medical
treatment
tropical - relating to the hottest area of the
Earth, between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn
ในเขตร้อน
tropical medicine - the branch of medicine that
deals with the health problems of tropical areas such as malaria or
dengue and other common diseases (See Wikipedia)
faculty - a group of departments in a college which
specialize in a particular subject or group of subjects คณะ
misuse - to use something in an unsuitable way or in
a way that was not intended ใช้ในทางที่ผิด
prescription - medicine that a doctor gives
permission for a person to buy and take in orde to cure an illness
annual - happening once a year ประจำปี
The report focused on
seven factors: good governance, self-reliance on medical products, safety, equity, quality, accessibility and affordability, and rational use.
The main problem identified in the report was doctors
over-prescribing medications.
factors
- one of the things that effects a situation or event ปัจจัย
governance - the way that a country, political unit,
or company is managed and run
self-reliance - doing
things yourself (instead of people helping you all the time)
equity - being fair and reasonable, treating
everyone equally
accessibility - when people are able get or use
something
affordability - able to buy because not too expensive
rational - based
on good reasons and not emotions (reasons that are sensible and
practical)
identified - named ระบุชื่อ
medications - medicine
Nitima Soompradit, a pharmacist with the Food and
Drug Administration,
said a pilot campaign to promote the rational use of
antibiotics was carried out at 10 community hospitals and 87 publicly run
village clinics in Saraburi.
The project worked
with a sample of 100 patients and helped
reduce the number of antibiotic prescriptions given to patients with respiratory problems, diarrhoea and
general wounds from 58 to 21. Their symptoms improved without the
antibiotics.
pharmacist - specially
trained worker whose job is to prepare medications in a shop (pharmacy)
or in a hospital
Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) - the government agency responsible
for "protecting and promoting public health through the regulation and
supervision of food safety, tobacco products, dietary supplements,
prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceutical drugs (medications),
vaccines, biopharmaceuticals, blood transfusions, medical devices,
electromagnetic radiation emitting devices (ERED), veterinary products,
and cosmetics" (See Wikipedia on the FDA
in the US)
pilot - a small test of a new idea or product or
idea before introducing it everywhere
campaign - a planned series of activities which are
intended to achieve a particular aim or convince people to do something
การรณรงค์
promote - to encourage people to do some activity,
to offer support for doing an activity
community - the people living in one particular area
ชุมชน
clinic - a
place where people go to receive medical treatment from doctors, nurses
and dentists (See Wikipedia)
sample - choose some items from a large group to
provide information about the group as a whole
respiratory - involving breathing เกี่ยวกับการหายใจ
More than 1.2 million
baht that would otherwise have been spent at these facilities on antibiotics was also
saved, Ms Nitima said.
Thailand spends more
on antibiotics than any other type of medicine. Most are prescribed unnecessarily or taken improperly, which has had negative side effects, including increasing drug
resistance.
The report found that
54% of patients taking antibiotics experience
side effects. Improper use of antibiotics could also lead to drug
resistance, which in turn could increase the rate of disease particularly among
vulnerable groups such as the elderly, children and patients with diabetes
facilities
- the buildings, equipment and services provided for a particular
purpose สิ่งอำนวยความสะดวก
prescribed - when a doctor writes out medicine for
you to take, on an official piece of paper, when presented a pharmacy
supplies you with the medicine สั่งยา
improperly - not
done in the right (correct, proper) way
negative - bad ที่เป็นด้านลบ
side effects -
negative effects on a person's health that can happen when a drug is
taken to cure an illness (See Wikipedia on adverse
drug reactions)
adverse - negative or harmful
rate
- the level or speed at which something happens or changes, or the
amount or number of times it happens or changes in a particular period
อัตรา
vulnerable - easily damaged or harmed
ซึ่งถูกทำลายได้ง่าย
elderly - older people over 65 สูงวัย,
อาวุโส, อายุมาก
diabetes - a deadly disease in which you have
abnormally high blood sugar levels, body does not produce
enough insulin to reduce the amount of sugar in the blood โรคเบาหวาน
(See Wikipedia)
(Source: Bangkok Post, MEDICINE, Abuse
of antibiotics is rampant, say researchers, 6/09/2010,
Apiradee Treerutkuarkul, link)
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