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Thailand Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn was crowned the new King on Thursday, even as the country continues its year-long mourning over the death of his father King Bhumibol Adulyadej.The public crowning ceremony will only take place late-2017 after the previous king’s cremation.The 64-year old will adopt the new title King Rama X of the Chakri dynasty, leading one of Asia’s richest and most powerful monarchies.

The crown regularly invests in businesses and real estate across Thailand.”The announcement of King Vajiralongkorn’s ascension will have a modestly positive impact on investor confidence, which has wavered over uncertainties about the country’s political future since the 2014 coup d’etat,” Ryan Aherin, senior Asia analyst at Verisk Maplecroft, said in a note on Friday.

The official ascension of King Vajiralongkorn will allow the military junta to seek royal consent in order to promulgate the draft constitution, paving the way for the government to prepare for elections late next year, according to Aherin.The government will then ratify new laws to govern the upcoming elections.

The Kingdom is currently ruled by the military junta, which has held power since 2014.While the Thai monarchy might have limited formal powers, it holds the loyalty of the country’s business elite and the military.

The new King Vajiralongkorn is the only son of King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit, and had spent most of his life in Southern Germany.Thailand’s Lèse majesté law, based on Thai Criminal Code section 112, protects the royal family from criticism or defamation.He will “likely use the interim time to earn the trust, prestige and respect of the public and benefit from the legacy of his vastly popular father, who was seen as the moral and spiritual heart of the country,” Verisk Maplecroft’s Aherin said.

Source:CNBC

Above: Between 1.3 million and 1.8 million medical tourists visited Thailand in 2015.

Thailand has come up with a new visa scheme in a bid to boost its medical tourism sector. On Tuesday, the Thai Cabinet extended to 10 years from one, the long-stay visa for foreigners aged 50 or older.

The visa will be valid initially for five years and can be renewed for another five, Colonel Apisit Chaiyanuwat, vice-minister at the Prime Minister’s Office, said. The visa fee is 10,000 baht (S$400), he added.

Above: Thailand has come up with a new visa scheme in a bid to boost its medical tourism sector.

Apart from the age requirement, the new visa requires eligible foreigners to have a monthly income of at least 100,000 baht or a bank deposit of at least 3 million baht, to be maintained for at least one year after receiving the visa.

Besides, they must have health insurance coverage for at least US$1,000 (S$1,430) for outpatient care, and US$10,000 or more for inpatient care per policy per year.

Eligible travellers will also be required to report to the immigration police every 90 days.

Above: Eligible travellers will also be required to report to the immigration police every 90 days.

The new visa seeks to promote medical and wellness tourism in line with the government’s policy. Target groups for the visa are long-stay visitors from Australia, Canada, China, England, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Taiwan and the United States, Col Apisit said.

Between 1.3 million and 1.8 million medical tourists visited Thailand in 2015. Medical tourism generated 107 billion baht in revenue in 2014, according to the latest Thai government estimate.

Recognising the importance of healthcare to the Thai economy, the government drafted a 10-year plan to promote the sector. As part of the plan, patients from China, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam and a number of Middle Eastern nations seeking medical treatment in Thailand can stay in the country without a visa for up to 90 days.

Above: The new visa seeks to promote medical and wellness tourism in line with the government’s policy.

Source: Today Online

Above: Thailand’s Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn will be asked to become the nation’s new monarch this week.

Few Thais have known another monarch besides the prince’s late father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, whose rule spanned seven decades

Thailand’s Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn will be asked to become the nation’s new monarch this week, the ruling junta has announced, following the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej last month.

Above: The subject of succession is a source of deep political tension in Thailand.

Prince Vajiralongkorn, 64, surprised many by not immediately succeeding to the throne after the passing of the 88-year-old Bhumibol on Oct. 13, instead saying he needed a period to grieve for his father, who was lauded as a unifying figure in the Southeast Asian nation.

Senior junta figure General Prawit Wongsuwan told local media Tuesday that the Crown Prince would be invited to accept the role of monarch by the national legislature this week.

“After this, we enter the parliamentary process,” he said, according to Reuters. “We expect an audience [with Vajiralongkorn] within the next one to two days.”

Leaked palace documents addressed to government ministries appear to tell officials to prepare for the naming of Vajiralongkorn as King on Friday. TIME has not been able to independently verify their authenticity.

Above: Vajiralongkorn, who after a slew of scandals is not as popular as his father, will be known as King Rama X.

Vajiralongkorn, who after a slew of scandals is not as popular as his father, will be known as King Rama X of the 234-year-old Chakri dynasty. However, he can only be formally crowned after his father’s cremation, which is scheduled for next year, Reuters says.

The subject of succession is a source of deep political tension in Thailand. Bhumibol was the world’s richest monarch and many see the coup of May 22, 2014, as a bid to control the royal fortune and system of patronage.

The passing of a controversial constitutional referendum in August means the military will continue as an influential power broker even after elections slated for November. Thailand has the world’s harshest royal-defamation laws, which are increasingly co-opted by the junta to quash dissent.

Above: The passing of a controversial constitutional referendum in August means the military will continue as an influential power broker even after elections slated for November.

Source: TIME

Vietnam’s new residential housing law implemented on 1st July 2015 allows foreigners to buy properties in the country for a 50-year leasehold with renewal possibility upon expiration. This, coupled with the infrastructure development such as the metro (MRT) system in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), new international airport by year 2025, and the Regeneration of Thu Thiem – the new “West Kowloon” / “Pudong” of HCMC, will contribute to the upside in HCMC’s property market.Golden Emperor hosted ‘Ho Chi Minh City Inside-Out in 30 Minutes’ seminar with partnership with Asia’s largest real estate developer CapitaLand (owned by Temasek/Singapore Government, rated AAA/Aaa/AAA) and presented Feliz en Vista, which locates in the prime area of Ho Chi Minh City. The project was launched on the same day in Hong Kong Vietnam, attracting a number of interested investors.

Above: The project was launched on the same day in Hong Kong Vietnam, attracting a number of interested investors.

Above: Mr Terence Chan, Managing Director of Golden Emperor, introduced the investment potential of properties in Ho Chi Minh City as well as the features of the project.

Our team has spent considerable time studying Feliz en Vista  , if you are interested, please contact us. We may be able to arrange for one of our sales representatives to catch you up on what we have presented at the roadshow. Recent presentation topics included:

1. Familiarisation with key areas in Ho Chi Minh City
2. Ho Chi Minh City property market updates
3. Understanding foreign ownership of Vietnam properties
4. Exploring financing alternatives for foreigners
5. Buying and selling costs (i.e. taxes, stamp duty and etc)
6. Leasing and property management services
7. Specific unit recommendations
8. Booking process

Contact us by emailing us at contact @goldenemperor.com or calling us at (852) 3998 3003.  We look forward to hearing from you.

Thailand’s 3Q16 GDP grew 3.2%, vs 3.5% in the previous quarter. After seasonal adjustments, 3Q16 GDP expanded by 0.6% from 2Q16. In the first nine months, the Thai economy registered an average of 3.3% growth.Maybank KimEng notes that this is below Bloomberg’s expectation of 3.4%. However, on a YTD basis, it is still in line with BOT and NESDB’s expectation of 3.2%.

GDP growth in 3Q16 was underpinned by rising private consumption, public spending as well as a rise in the tourism sector.Private consumption grew by 3.5% YoY in 3Q16, continuing momentum from 2Q16 of 3.8%. Meanwhile, public spending grew by 6.3% in 3Q16. However, the growth was lower vs the 11.9% in 2Q16.  Finally, the services sector showed a strong growth of 14.7% in 3Q16, higher than growth of 12.6% in 2Q16.

Another key positive was that the agricultural sector saw growth rebounding to +0.9% YoY in 3Q16 vs – 1.2% in 2Q16 (after seven consecutive quarters of decline).Looking ahead, Maybank KimEng sees multiple headwinds emerging that can affect 4Q16 and have a high risk of spilling into 1Q17, partly because of the dampening effect caused by the mourning on many economic activities; weaker tourism due to crack down of zero dollar tours and weak prices in a number of crops in the current harvest season.

Source:Singapore business review