The Bank of Thailand (BoT) deserves praise for warning about the risk of a speculative bubble in the property sector, in particular from mushrooming condominium projects.
The warning which comes at a time when the country's slow economic pick-up may upset some investors, and while the government is in need of some feel-good news as it heads toward the next election. Yet the warning, together with new anti-bubble measures such as stricter loan regulations, is necessary if we are to avoid a repeat of the 1997 property sector collapse, which triggered an economic crisis throughout Asia.
Wichit Chantanusornsiri is a senior economics reporter, Bangkok Post.
