The Thai-Burma Railway Man to film in Thailand

A £12 MILLION movie about the true story of a Scottish prisoner of war and his journey to confront his captors is due to start filming in Scotland this weekend, with Oscar-winning stars Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman playing the lead roles.

The Railway Man, based on the life and book of Eric Lomax, will begin its shoot in and around Edinburgh on Monday, before moving to Thailand in May and Australia in June.

The film, which has been funded by £300,000 from Creative Scotland, also stars Jeremy Irvine as the young Lomax, who was one of thousands of Allied prisoners forced to work on the construction of the Thai /Burma railway during the Second World War by the Japanese.

Thai consular office to reopen in Perth

Thailand is to reopen its consular offices in Perth with the initial appointment of businessman and consultant Ruben Kooperman, the Thai Foreign Ministry says.

Kooperman, 59, describes himself as an independent construction project management consultant, as well as cultural events and long-time supporter of Aboriginal Theatre group Yirra Yaakin.

The decision to appoint Kooperman came during a Thai Cabinet meeting on February 12, 2012, but confirmation of the appointment only became available this week.

A Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman said the re-opening date of the consular offices, closed since 2010, was still to be set.

How Long Would Your Money Last If You Retired Today? An Expat Case Study

Creveling & Creveling protects its clients' privacy. The following is a fictitious example designed to demonstrate the type of financial decision-making required to achieve financial security and does not refer to any specific case.

Many working expatriates dream of the day when they can throw in the towel and retire on their savings, beginning to enjoy the benefits that an international lifestyle can bring without the added hassle of having to work. But how do you know if you have enough to retire? How long would your money last if you retired today? Is there anything you can do to help stretch your savings over the course of your retirement? To help answer these questions, consider the following case study.

Case Study: How Long Will This Expat Couple's Savings Last in Retirement?

Situation: Jim is an expat considering early retirement. He is 52 years old, married and lives in Southeast Asia. He and his wife Beth, also 52, have two grown children. They have saved over the years and have an estimated net worth of US$2.0M, and no debt. Their financial assets include the following:

• A new investment condo with a market value of THB15M (US$500K), rented out with a gross yield of 5% and producing net annual cash flow after all expenses of THB600K ($20K).
• An investment portfolio worth US$1.5M consisting of US$1.3M in U.S. taxable assets and US$200K in a traditional U.S. Individual Retirement Account (IRA). Overall, the portfolio is invested 55% in stocks, 30% in cash and fixed income, and 15% in gold. Total portfolio expenses average 1.5% per year.
• U.S. Social Security benefits (Jim and Beth together) worth about $6,000 per year in current dollars when they are 67 years old.

Jim and Beth estimate that their lifestyle costs approximately US$80K per year, including living expenses, housing, medical costs, gifts and charitable donations, and travel. They plan to keep the investment condo for about 10 years for its cash flow, and then hope to sell it at an expected small profit.

Analysis: Although US$2.0M is not an insignificant amount of savings, unfortunately it may not be enough to support Jim and Beth in their expected lifestyle for the rest of their lives...

Read more at http://crevelingandcreveling.com/blog-list/110-how-long-would-your-money-last-if-you-retired-today-an-expat-case-study.html

Belford man sets up his own fishery in Thailand

A FISHING adventurer's globe trotting days in pursuit of huge fish have reached the end of the line.

Instead Bruce Dale, whose fascination for the water world began as a three-year-old outwitting newts in a pool on a Tyneside railway station, has become a pioneer in the land of the tigers.

Bruce, 58, now no longer needs to travel the world to catch exotic species because he has set up his own fishery in Thailand and literally has specimens from all around the globe on his own doorstep.

Bruce’s love of Northern Thailand started eight years ago when he began a business exporting furniture, fabric, jewellery and handicrafts from Asia to sell from his then home in Belford, Northumberland.

Six years ago he married Noon, a Lisu hill tribeswoman and together they put down roots.

UK Embassy launches ‘priority visas’ for Thai nationals

 
In response to the growing demand for visitor visas to the United Kingdom, the UK Border Agency and its commercial partner, VFS Global, have introduced two new premium visa services to provide customers with greater choice and flexibility, the UK Embassy in Bangkok announced today.
 
A priority visa service is now available to eligible people applying for a visitor visa. The service allows for customers, who meet certain criteria and pay an additional fee, to have their visa application placed at the front of the processing queue.
 
The new priority service costs 3,000 baht and is paid for at the time the application is submitted. The UK Border Agency aims to turn around priority applications within three working days, said the press release issued this morning.

Thai Airways brings WiFi, mobile phone services to the sky

Passengers will soon be able to make calls, use Facebook and tweet about their meals. Just like being in the office, really
 
Expect a surge of Instagram shots of airplane wings and inflight meals when Thai Airways launches its new on-board connectivity services later this year.
 
Thailand's flag carrier announced it has teamed up with airline communications group OnAir to equip its aircraft with in-flight WiFi and mobile capabilities. The first flights are expected to offer the service in mid 2012, with full roll-out completed by 2014.
 
The services will initially be installed on six Airbus A380 and seven Airbus A330 aircraft that fly to European and regional destinations, including Japan. It is part of a major -- and dare we say much needed -- investment program to modernize Thai Airways’ in-flight products.
 
Passengers use the mobile service the same way as they would set up roaming when abroad for calls, text messages and email.

Time to repeal Thailand's retirement law

A senior executive has again raised an important national issue that deserves serious attention. Toyota Motor Thailand vice-chairman Ninnart Chaithirapinyo told a seminar on Thai labour that it is time to raise the retirement age from its current 60, to 63 or 65. While Mr Ninnart was addressing a specific problem of a labour shortage, he is right. The demographics of Thailand have changed considerably in recent decades, and the law should be changed to recognise this.

Sixty is more than a standard retirement age in Thailand. It is compulsory in government and at many companies. There is a tremendous irony to the fact that this is the legal working age limit for employees of the government, since the laws are made and enforced by the cabinet and parliament, where many members are well above 60. Like all laws, the mandatory retirement age will be tough to change.

But there are many reasons it should be changed. The Toyota official produced arguably the most crass reason of them all _ to provide workers for commercial companies. To be fair, Mr Ninnart has in the recent past often defended his workers, even keeping them on the payroll when assembly lines halted last year during the flood. But he could have chosen his cause and words a little more judiciously, aware that it is hardly the nation's responsibility to provide Toyota with a workforce.

Tips for filing your personal income tax return as the deadline looms

April 2 is fast approaching and with it the deadline for filing your 2011 personal income tax return and making any required tax payment.

 So, what is new this time around?
 
_ New Expat ID number: Expatriates filing their tax returns will have to use the new tax ID - the 13-digit identification number that came into effect on February 1. Thai taxpayers have been using the 13-digit National ID number for years, but this is new for expats working in Thailand, who previously had a 10-digit number.

Your employer should be able to give you your new 13-digit number, which can be found on last year's tax receipt, or you can call the Revenue Department on 1161 to obtain your number. Fear not, the all-knowing Revenue Department will recognise you by your old 10-digit number.

Bangkok's Don Mueang Airport scheduled to re-open March 2 2012

Thailand’s Civil Aviation Department (CAD) and the Airports of Thailand (AoT) have agreed to jointly hold a ceremony to officially reopen Don Mueang Airport on March 2 to show the facility’s readiness for commercial use after last year’s flood crisis submerged the airport's runway, according to the CAD chief.

Civil Aviation Department Director General Woradet Hanprasert said here Friday that Nok Air, one of the country's budget airlines, would resume its services at Don Mueang airport on March 6

Flight operations at the airport ceased Oct 25 after its runways were flooded. After the floodwater receded, restoration work was begun, he said, adding that Aeronautical Radio of Thailand (AEROTHAI) has been repaired and installed new aircraft control equipment.

AoT will restore the electricity system and begin maintenance work on the eastern runway, he said.

Mr Woradet said the department is confident that the airlines which operated at Don Mueang before the flood forced them to relocate temporarily at Suvarnabhumi Airport--including Nok Air, Orient Thai Airlines and charter flights -- would resume service at Don Mueang.

New UK immigration fees proposed from 6 April 2012

Immigration minister Damian Green has issued a written ministerial statement proposing an increase in visa fees, and an increase in UK-based visa application fees.

The proposals will be laid in Parliament in 2 separate regulations and, subject to Parliamentary approval, the government hopes to bring the new fees into force from 6 April 2012.

Damian Green said: 'It is only fair that those who use and benefit from the immigration system contribute a higher share of the cost of running it - reducing the burden on the UK taxpayer.'

Fees will increase by only 2 per cent in the majority of cases, but there will be higher increases on certain routes.

A full table of the proposed fees is included in the written ministerial statement, which can be downloaded from the right side of this page (see link below).

Source: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/newsarticles/2012/february/21-new-immigration-fees-proposed