I dont know your legal staus here, but getting cash out of Thailand can be quite challanging, personally if your not staying long term, your most likely better getting your cash out.

As to where you would put it, my first reaction would  to say Singapore, but this is not an option for you these days, as for a non resident "offshore" account one needs in the order of USD 200k on account ( blame the US IRS) 

Not sure what the state of play is these days in HK, but that might be an option

I personally would try and keep it away from those thieving barstewards in Europe at all costs 

Sophie if you want to know about THB 99 breakfasts or going Dutch at MK...Smokie is your man 

Is this an invite for Sophie or me ? Inviting me for breakfast ?...i am flattered, didnt know you cared




Uncle Souties preferred  breakfast

Sophie

They key point here is, when do you expect to spend your savings? Do you want to make long term investments, perhaps to buy a house in 10 years time, or for your retirement? Or are you likely to need to spend the money within, say, 5 years.

Let's start with the latter case, needing the cash within 5 years or less. In this case you shouldn't invest in stocks and shares (since markets might crash and you won't have long enough to wait for them to bounce back). You need to keep your money in cash (basically bank savings or deposit accounts). Since you're planning on living in Europe, it's probably best that you keep your savings in Euros. This avoids THB/EUR foreign exchange rate volatility. Open a foreign currency account with your Thai bank and transfer your current savings and excess monthly income into it. Then, when you're ready to leave Thailand, transfer your money to a Euro account in Europe. Note that you will almost certainly need proof that all the money you're transferring is from your salary in Thailand. If you already have an account in Europe in Euros, it would probably be worth trying to transfer the 1 million Baht (or part thereof) now just to learn how problematic (or otherwise) it can be to transfer money out of Thailand.

If the money is for longer term investment, then I'd suggest opening a brokerage account in Europe and start transferring the money now. (Probably not monthly, but perhaps every six months, to keep down transaction costs.) I would suggest opening an account with Internaxx, which is based in Luxembourg. You'll need to get your money exchanged from Baht into one of the currencies Internaxx supports before transferring it. I would suggest exchanging it for British pounds (GBP) which you could then use to invest in the London Stock Exchange without having to make further foreign exchange transactions to make purchases.

As for what you then invest in, that is very much dependent upon your attitude to risk. Are you looking for better long term returns, but a lot of ups and downs along the way? Or would you be more comfortable with lower returns, but a steadier increase in your investments? Or maybe somewhere in the middle?

Anyway, this is a pretty large subject area, and I've only sketchily outlined some of the options. Post any questions you have and I'm sure I or somebody else will be able to offer some wisdom.

Oh oh...listen to Mr Maturity now there a girl on the forum  

thanks AyG

I'd like to spend my savings partly (50%) between 5-10 years from now and the rest is for retirement ...

You recommend Luxemburg, is that the best choice in Europe? Why would you recommend that particular country?

What Id probably be looking for is something low maintenance, where i can invest my money in some funds for a long term without having to play around with it too much...

I read somewhere that passive index funds usually perform as well as actively managed funds is that so? Is that a good option for me?

Thanks for the advice!

One more - of course i can prove that the money comes from salary in thailand - with that no problem to transfer abroad? I heard from a friend here that the bank wanted to see some kind of invoice, proof that youre buying something abroad, otherwise they wouldnt let him transfer. (That was SCB i think)