Pacemaker Replacement

Sold the Volvo EX 30 and Covid Again

New Stents December 26, 2019,

 

My friend Rolf's comments on Thailand

https://www.lotusartsdevivre.com/blogs/rolfs-blog/defining-thainess

Peck and Poy

Living and Dying #27

Artist Angkrit Ajchariyasophon brings Living and Dying( #27th) of his latest series for my own collection. Another beautiful work!

Drinking first time after COVID-19 at Royal Sports Club with Assawin and Sumate.

Phairat Visits the Pyramids circa 1938 on his seavoyage by steamship through the Suez Canal from Siam to the USA University of Pennsylvania.

Volvo XC 90 T8 Inscription Polestar 2016 model

Got a 3 years used car to test the plugin hybrid car technology.

Pah kao mah or Pah Gama

The Portuguese Ambassador to Thailand Francisco Vaz Patto asked me to write this down for the record.

Pah Kao Mah is actually Pah "Gama" or the cotton cloth that Vasco da Gama brought to Siam!

In my search for the origins of the "pah kao mah", which I believed to have been brought to Siam in the 15th century by the Portuguese, I visited Portugal to find some evidence; of which I found none but even a negative: at that time Portugal and Europe did not have cotton. So I theorized that the Portuguese sailors must have picked it up along their long sailing voyage around Africa, India to Siam. When the Portuguese brought this cotton cloth to Siam, the Thai asked what it was called;  since there was no original word/name in Portuguese, I theorize again that the Portuguese sailors said that it was the cloth that Vasco da Gama bought or "Pah Gama". Later the pronunciation shifted to "Pah Kao Mah" which has no meaning.

https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10202453142362748&id=1619886875&set=a.2461460348765

Securities Exchange Formation Committee SEFC

In 1971 few months after starting work at TISCO  Chumpol Na Lamlieng assigned me to attend the meetings of the newly formed Securities Exchange Formation Committee. It was charged by the Thai Government to study the establishment of a viable stock exchange to promote the capital market in Thailand. It was chaired by Dr. Amnuey Virawan. We worked to draft the Securities Exchange Act of Thailand, the trading method on the exchange, the capital gains exemption for individuals and the tax reductions for companies willing to List on the exchange.

Why the Bangkok Stock Exchange had to close

Sixto K. (Ting) Roxas , CEO of BANCOM of the Philippines had a seat on the Bangkok Stock Exchange and transferred it to TISCO to use. BANCOM was one of the three original shareholders of TISCO with a 20% holding. At that time Bankers Trust Company of NY owned 80% of BANCOM which it had set up in 1964.
Pisanu Chongsathitwattana was the TISCO officer responsible for stock brokerage and dealership. He would go over to the Southeast Asia Insurance Building on Silom Road across from Patpong in the afternoon to do some talking and trading. It was like an afternoon tea gentlemen's club. Bids and offers were done on a chalkboard.
Some 20 stocks were listed such as SCC Siam Cement, CMMC Construction Materials Marketing Co., SISCO Siam Iron & Steel Co., SKP Siam Kraft Paper, BJC Berli Jucker, etc. and some Thai government bonds. Trading was slow and few.

SGV-NaThalang Auditing Firm

Yukta NaThang was Thailand's first certified public accountant with CPA # 1 after his name.
The firm was a partnership between him and Sycip Gorres and Velayo, the famous Filipino auditing firm.
His daughter Emvly worked as Head of the Administration Department at TISCO. She married Marianito Sanmaniego who later became head of the firm after Khun Yukta passed away. Maris later became a Director of Siam Commercial Bank for a great number of years. Maris Samaram is his Thai name after he became a Thai citizen.
Jun Tabeta was head of the audit team for TISCO. His wife Amy was Dole Thailand's chief accountant until she retired.
Jun suffered a stroke one day while he was auditing TISCO. Together with a couple of TISCO staff I got him on an office chair and wheeled him to the Bangkok Christian Hospital from our office at the Boonmitr Building on Silom Road and got medical help in time.

Khun Yukta always kidded that he wanted to ride in my Lamborghini Countach.

Setting Up the First Independent Real Estate Appraiser in Thailand -Asian Appraisal Thailand -

In 1974-- Arthur Chanin Asian Appraisal Company Chairman came to see me at TISCO about his wanting to expand the appraisal business internationally.
Thailand lacked professional independent appraisers. Real estate appraisal was undertaken by the commercial banks themselves without proper checks and verifications. At times the security for a loan could be grossly undervalued, leading eventually to loan losses. The shareholders I got for the first professional appraisal company were
Crown Property, Siam Commercial Bank, Thai Farmers Bank at 10% shareholding each,  Tun Thamrong 21% and Asian Appraisal Company the remaining 49%. George Aquino was MD from 1974_75. Followed by Rodolfo Vergara who has worked with the company until today.

Grandfather's Bugatti .

Grandfather races around Sanam Luang, Bangkok with his chauffeur/mechanic on his left side in a Bugatti. Model not known. Must be one of the first of few Bugatti cars imported into Siam.

Banchob Dardarananda passes away May 12, 2018.

After over a year's stay at the Samitivej Hospital ICU , Mother's heart failed for a final time the afternoon of April 12 before Songkran. We were on a river cruise in Holland, Peter was on Rome and Puvanai and family were in San Diego on vacation.
Patrapa handled all the arrangements and Mother's funeral prayers started April 16 and the Requiem Mass and Burial at Santikham Cemetery was on April 21, 2018.