“What are the facts? Again and again and again - what are the facts? Shun wishful thinking, ignore divine revelation, forget what "the stars fortell", avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors think, never mind the unguessable "verdict of history" - what are the facts, and to how many decimal places? You pilot always into an unknown future; facts are your single clue. Get the facts!”
Time Enough for Love, Robert Heinlein
• Thailand produces around 29 million tonnes of paddy annually which is the equivalent to 18 million tonnes of milled rice.
• An estimated 40,000 new small and medium-sized enterprises will emerge in Thailand this year
(Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion )
• The Mekong river originates from the Tangula Mountains of the Tibetan-Chinghai plateau, approximately 4,975 metres above the sea level.
• The oldest on-going publication in Thailand is the Royal Gazette first published 149 years ago during the reign of King Rama IV.
• Thailand (then Siam) annexed what is now the North-East region of the country in 1827.
• An estimated 8 million Thais pay tax with 1% of taxpayers falling in the 37% bracket.
(Bangkok Post, January 7 2008)
• Bangkok has the fifth cheapest office cost per workstation in the world. Surabaya in Indonesia is the cheapest and London is the most expensive.
(Global Office Occupancy Costs Survey 2008, DTZ Debenham Tie Leung)
• Thailand’s VAT (Value Added Tax) rate is 7%.
• Organic plantations in Thailand currently cover 140,953 rai.
(Bangkok Post, January 9 2008)
• Thailand’s geographic coordinates are 15 00 N, 100 00 E.
