Belt-tightening is not easy, particularly when the belt is an imported fine leather one with a high-priced Louis Vuitton label. As the IMF urges financial self-control, Thailand’s elite are finding the austerity package hard to swallow.
A “Buy Thai” campaign has been launched to try to persuade people to foresake western designer labels for Thai silk suits in a bid to restore some semblance of balance to the current account.
Former prime minister Banharn Silpa-archa was one of the first to recognize the publicity value of foresaking his expensive imported French ties in favour of domestically produced numbers last year.
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