"Last year, medical tourists pumped as much as $4.7 billion into the Thai
economy, according to government statistics. “While the U.S. is still
first choice for the ultrarich, Thailand is unquestionably No. 1 among
everyone seeking affordable care,” Patients Beyond Borders founder Josef
Woodman says.
The country is also among the world’s biggest exporters of products as
diverse as computer disk drives, canned tuna, rice and rubber. It’s the
region’s leading auto manufacturer and last year ranked as one of the
top 10 global tourist destinations.
Army chief–turned–Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha, 60, seized power on May 22. The general has also placed himself on the front line in the battle
to revive an economy that shrank 2.2 percent in the first quarter of
2014. Appointing himself head of the Board of Investment, he promptly
signed off on $4 billion of foreign investment that had been awaiting
approval from the government he deposed. He also pledged to press ahead
with his own, modified version of a $60 billion, 10-year program to
upgrade railways, roads and ports.
Under
Prayuth, Thailand has avoided a technical recession in 2014, growing
1.1 percent in the three months ended on June 30 and another 1.1 percent
in the quarter ended Sept. 30.
Investors are betting the government’s infrastructure spending will provide a bonanza for the nation’s construction companies.
Prayuth has said elections won’t be held until at least late 2015 and
then only after his junta approves a new constitution and enacts
unspecified measures to “reform” Thai politics and society."
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| Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak |
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