Kammekor wrote: ↑Mon May 18, 2020 4:34 pm

Doc67 wrote: ↑Mon May 18, 2020 4:25 pm

Thailand is just one transit hub, Malaysia may well open for transit and so too Singapore. That fixes PP's problem with Air Asia ready and willing. Anyway, people can still get in via Seoul with both Asiana and KA operating now and also to many European cities, so they seem a reasonable bet for a booking a few weeks in advance. Your move Cambodia...

Anyway, as I said, Europe is looking like a very good option right now, Sun, Sea, Sangria and Slappers - old school.

at 1.600 USD one way going through Seoul is not really an option.

If I were you I'd forget about coming to Cambodia for a while. We're entering the raining season now and while the dry season seemed in favor of Cambodia when it comes to COVID-19 nobody knows what the rainy season will bring. I can understand the authorities seeing what's going on first.

Don't forget all the friends and acquaintances of the Iron Man don't have the option to run for Bangkok or Singapore this time when shit hits the fan, they will be fighting over the last oxygen bottle with Sophal in the provincial hospital so I understand the Cambodian government is a bit cautious and wants to see first.

If I were you I'd forget about coming to Cambodia for a while.

I'm beginning to resign myself to that fact. And point taken about the rainy season, it's another factor, but I think that if Cambodia was going to have a bad crisis, of would of hit hard by now.

hunter8 wrote: ↑Mon May 18, 2020 2:38 pm

Clemen wrote: ↑Mon May 18, 2020 1:56 pm

hunter8 wrote: ↑Mon May 18, 2020 1:18 pm Which country in the region will be the first to open its doors to tourists will get a bigger relative share of them compared to before. The only problem is how to get there when most aircraft is grounded. But i guess countries will not be banning flights if the receiving country is ready to welcome them. Some European countries open their borders already or starting from June, not afraid any more. It was an irrational fear from the beginning and it must end.

Do you think you could actually post something on topic for once?

My post is strictly on topic, which is a crashing economy and how to save bits of it that can be saved. A good part of debt repayment comes from income from tourism.

Now, your post is completely useless. Try to stay away from commenting on my posts if you have nothing of value to add.

No, that's not actually the topic. The topic is debt relief for the poor, you just needed to post for the hundredth time this week about how Covid-19 was an "irrational fear". That may be the case, it is not on topic though.

But to start with, these are not exactly in the sense Cambodia's Poorest. They are really self-debtors who borrowed on the assumption that nothing could go wrong, that is the family in the post I am referring. But what could possibly happen, more likely a little more then normal with the covid-19 pandemic, and that of its effect on the world having a situation everywhere. I know that I will come across hard line to some but taking an $18,000 loan to improve their home, wild guess is the house price also went up over these few years too, what are unbelievable prices they are asking in today’s market. Should the government step in and help with people’s debt problems? No one made individuals take out any lone, some people we could say will have difficulty, like let’s say a now out of work factory girl with a possible $1000 lone, the $18,000 lone of the article, or the guy driving along side me last night in his Ferrari. When it goes wrong who is to blame.

But even so many people in question are in the tourist industry, or should I be more specific, the tourism mainly of the Chinese visitor. You could say the “writing was on the wall” back some time ago in Sihanoukville with fellow countryman getting themselves in the same situation with debt, here the government banned online gambling operations with the regards to Chinas leader. I think all saw how many where involved with so many leaving, and other Chinese business following, due to now a lack of trade. Khmer were to be left in their own debt; many would say because of their greed. The once Mecca gambling venue with talk of it being equivalent to a second Macau is mainly still a staled building site. Now to be a change of plan to a huge industrial zone. But what of the beach front apartment buildings now completed, hopes were on Chinese or International customers would be buyers, that of gamblers and retirees, are they selling, and if so, to whom and what is the area to be, beach and casino area, or industry and commercial development area, in a few months’ time it may get back on track has a different wording.

Cambodia considers how to cope with its first tourism catastrophe, we could say being more continuous then being its first.
I would safely say when the country opens the Chinese tourist will be the first to be visiting once more, but I have the feeling not in the numbers like before. Western visitors we will have to see, many countries have been hit very hard with this virus, isolation and many deaths may, or will take its toll, and so will financers, also those financers have a knock-on effect.
Cambodia, I was reading an article in the Phnom Penh Post of the ministry of health talking about the alarming rate and transmission risk level of covid-19 and it not being low, and that of a second wave could come at any instance, and people should not get more relaxed. All together there had been five clusters here, and they have demonstrated a good public health system with its rapid response, but now are waiting to see what the colder weather brings. I hope it does not bring the virus like all other countries, because they may find their health system being somewhat stretched.

As an aside, for locals in Sihanoukville, this is the second catastrophe.

As for the loans, they are not all for new motorbikes, some families have got into debt because of bad harvest, floods and drought, some because they were relying on money sent by migrant workers who are now out of work, factories have closed, people fall sick, get pregnant. Anyone in Cambodia working in the tourist industry will be having financial problems, but those with small businesses relying on foreign tourists are in a bad way. I know people in the provinces who have had to close up businesses catering to foreign tourists because they have had zero customers since the corona outbreak and cannot pay the rent anymore.

However, even before coronavirus, the level of debt in Cambodia was supposedly the highest in the world per inhabitant, and borrowing habits here are totally crazy by our standards. A lot of people really don't understand the conditions of their loans, or the consequences of putting up their land or house as loan colateral. I know this is not exclusive to Cambodia, but there are few safe guards in place against profiteers and I don't think that you can put all the blame on the borrowers.

AndyKK wrote: ↑Tue May 19, 2020 10:35 am But to start with, these are not exactly in the sense Cambodia's Poorest. They are really self-debtors who borrowed on the assumption that nothing could go wrong

like billions of people world-wide

if they need credit to live well, they are poor by definition, and banks and lenders take unethical advantage of them

every single one of us wake sup every day with the assumption that nothing can go wrong

only the mentally ill fear financial meltdown, the plague and death every day when we wake up

airlines, hotel and restaurant chains, corporations who made billions of profit for ten years, made the same assumption

only the cambodian poor in debt are wrong?

education world wide ignores budgets and how the opposite sex think

they analyse chemicals, math and history in detail, but pretend men and women understand each other?

laughable

Freightdog wrote: ↑Tue May 19, 2020 1:43 pm

Bitte_Kein_Lexus wrote: ↑Mon May 18, 2020 3:39 pm ... They leveraged themselves out to the max and took out crazy loans against all common sense. Sure, you could argue that it was predatory lending (which it is), but they put themselves in that boat and have to take responsibility for their actions...

In fairness, that’s a common issue in many parts of the ‘developed west’ where reducing education standards result in folk having barely any comprehension of what interest, compound interest, interest rates, etc actually mean. Payday loans at one point seemed an epidemic. The fine print showing a simple loan carry several hundred percent interest doing nothing to deter some borrowers. In my mind, legalized loan sharks.
Now, put the same mentality into a society where education Is often non-existent or wholly inadequate in the first place, and it’s a recipe for disaster.

Mrs Cargo took out a microfinance loan and had no idea how much interest she was paying...all she knew was that she could pay the monthly amount.

Mrs Cargo took out a microfinance loan and had no idea how much interest she was paying...all she knew was that she could pay the monthly amount.
[/quote]

I’m curious how these short term/instant loans effect ones overall credit situation? Does anyone know? Having fulfilled the obligations do they have a positive impact. Or does the fact quick cash was needed to pay other expenses have a negative impact on future borrowing power?
I’ve used them in the past, whopping interest on them, should definitely read the fine print but who’s got time for that, give me cash haha