Check out this graph showing Thailand's ballooning minimum wages

Wages have almost doubled since 2008.

According to DBS, the pro-growth stance has been maintained by the authorities and consumption will be supported through 2013. For consumption to increase, real income has to go up and this depends on nominal wages and inflation.

Nominal wages have been pushed up significantly with hikes in minimum wages. On a population-weighted basis, minimum wages rose by close to 40% in April 2012 and by another 19% in January 2013.

This pace of increase has not been seen over the past decade. To put things into perspective, minimum wages have about doubled since 2008, with the bulk of gains taking place over the last nine months.

Here's more from DBS:

Unsurprisingly, average wages have also trended up accordingly. In the six months ending October, wages rose by an average of 11.2% YoY, much higher than the five-year average of 6%. With inflation staying contained (due in part to administrative measures) over the last few quarters, real wage grwth accelerated to a peak in mid-2012 and is still hovering at close to 8% as of October.

The increase in spending power brought a 5.6% YoY increase in PCE in 2Q12 and 3Q12. Full-year 2012 PCE growth figure should reach 5.7%.

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