Business News
Thailand business news, market trends, foreign investment, and economic updates—stay informed on stock market movements, entrepreneurship, and key developments shaping the economy. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted source for business news in Thailand.
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A perfect place for shore leave
PHUKET: Sailing smoothly through its second year of operations, the Krabi River Marina (KRM) recently added a second restaurant to its portfolio – a small yet significant indicator of the continuous growth in Phang Nga Bay’s marine leisure industry. One of the main selling points of the newly opened Terrace pub and restaurant, KRM’s second eatery after the Marina Villa,…
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Phuket firm to co-develop superyacht facility in Bangkok
PHUKET: Island based, Yacht Solutions (YS) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Bangkok’s Italthai Marine (ITM), agreeing to create Thailand’s first dedicated superyacht facility just south of Bangkok. This joint venture brings together Thailand’s largest and most established shipbuilding company, ITM, with one of Thailand’s most reputable and experienced superyacht refit companies, YS. Dubbed ‘Yacht Solutions at Italthai Marine’,…
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Phuket Finance: Dumping your UK domicile
PHUKET: Many British expats are unaware that as long as they remain UK domiciled, their estates will be subject to inheritance tax. Even if you have been living outside of the country for 40 years, it doesn’t mean you automatically have lost your UK domicile. In fact it is a little tricky to shed and this means your estate could…
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Capturing Phuket through Google Glass
PHUKET: By the time the Christmas holidays roll around this year, I’ll have one of the first sets of Google Glass in Thailand. Imagine being able to walk our beautiful beaches here in Phuket and capture the sights, sounds and experiences hands-free. That’s what Google Glass will allow me to do and most people here won’t even realize that my…
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B26mn bid for lucky plates
PHUKET: A little more than 26 million baht (26,013,000) was earned at the 8th annual “Lucky License Plate Action” held recently at the Phuket Merlin Hotel in Phuket Town. This was five million baht short of the initial expectation of 31 million baht, and four million baht less than last year’s auction which raised 30 million baht. This year, a…
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Phuket Italian restaurants make the grade
PHUKET: The Thai-Italian chamber of commerce brought their Ospitalita Italiana project to Phuket recently, awarding five Italian restaurants the ‘Q’ certificate of authenticity. The ‘Q’ for ‘quality’ award judges the restaurants genuinely Italian if they meet 10 criteria concerning the training of their chefs and their use of genuine recipes and Italian products, such as wine and olive oil. Not…
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Phuket to adopt new “4 Ms’ plan to boost tourism
PHUKET: The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) has revived its efforts and moved its attention once again to help promote Phuket as a regional hub for corporate and organizational tourism. A new four-year destination promotion strategy was presented to local, regional and national officials at a seminar on April 26 at the Metropole Hotel in Phuket Town. Entitled “Developing…
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Phuket Business: Small appliances see big growth in SE Asia
PHUKET: The Small Domestic Appliances (SDA) markets in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand grew by nearly 6% in value over a recent 12-month period, when compared to the same period the previous year. SDA sales in the five markets, tracked from February 2012 to March 2013, had a combined value of more than US$804 million. The survey by GfK,…
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Phuket Business: Replicating your life savings
PHUKET: The new hot sector for technology investors is in the rapidly growing 3D printer business. 3D printing is the process of making a three-dimensional solid object of virtually any shape from a digital model. 3D printers use a 3D CAD (Computer Aided Design) file to create objects using a sequential layering process. This technology is used in jewelry; footwear;…
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Phuket Business: Head of airport expects arrivals to exceed 10.5mn
PHUKET: The director of Phuket International Airport (HKT) expects passenger arrivals to exceed 10.5 million by the end of this year, with related profits expected to be no less than two billion baht. HKT director Prathuang Sorn-kham said that the airport is fully prepared to provide increased conveniences for passengers ahead of the its 5 billion baht expansion project, due…
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Phuket Business: US tax regime – Comply or else…
PHUKET: At a US tax seminar held last month at the Holiday Inn, Patong, by the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) Phuket Chapter, American income earners and business operators were given a comprehensive update about the US tax regime’s reporting requirements and regulations. Two previous articles about the seminar – published in the Business section of the Phuket Gazette on…
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Phuket MICE city promotion strategy revived
PHUKET: The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) has revived its efforts and moved its attention to once again help promote Phuket as a regional hub for corporate and organizational tourism. A new four-year strategy was presented to local, regional and national officials at a seminar on April 26 at the Metropole Hotel in Phuket Town. Entitled “Developing Phuket as…
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Singaporean investor sniffs out tuna ops in Phuket
PHUKET: An investor from Singapore has expressed interest in expanding Phuket’s Tuna industry through the establishment of a new commercial longline fishing partnership with local operators. Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut, along with Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosut-tirak, last week welcomed the Singapore-based businessman, Yong Juang, who came to the island to discuss investment guidelines, regulations and laws. Mr Yong Juang is…
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Phuket Business: Ideas bounced around at rubber meeting
PHUKET: A three-day rubber industry convention and study-tour event wrapped up in Thalang recently. The meeting/event, dubbed “ASEAN Rubber Day 2013”, brought together industry experts, operators and researchers from Thailand, Malaysia an Indonesia. Organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, the meeting was part of a private-public collaborative effort to create greater investment opportunities for the rubber industry, as…
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Phuket Business: The not-so-hidden cost of inflation
PHUKET: If you are an expatriate living in Thailand or considering relocating here, high inflation might be a distant memory from as far back as the late 1970s. However, Thailand has much higher rates of inflation than is seen in most developed countries, and you will need to consider that when you invest and prepare a budget for your Thai…
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Laguna Phuket to host record-breaking Nu Skin incentives meeting
PHUKET: Laguna Phuket is playing a major role in a record-breaking annual incentive program being staged over six days, from Sunday April 21, for 4,000 delegates and staff of anti-aging products company NU SKIN Greater China. The delegation is expected to generate a business boom for Phuket and Thailand.NU SKIN delegates from seven cities in mainland China, as well as…
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The rise of technical goods
PHUKET: The Technical Consumer Goods (TCG) market in Thailand last year saw positive annual growth in six out of seven sectors tracked by a recent regional market survey. The strong growth of TCG, which includes everything from smart phones, cameras, washing machines and cooking appliances, to TVs, tablets, air coolers and office equipment, was highlighted in a recent survey and…
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Tesco shopping online
PHUKET: Leading domestic hypermarket chain Tesco Lotus last week launched online grocery shopping and home delivery services for its customers in Bangkok. Asked if the retail giant had plans to launch such services in Phuket, Ms Salinla Seehaphan, Corporate Affairs Director, revealed that: “Our plan is to offer a convenient online grocery shopping service to all of our customers in…
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Phuket gets first Evolution Cinema Planetarium in Thailand
PHUKET: Island residents and tourists alike earlier this week welcomed the opening of the Evolution Cinema Planetarium, a new ‘edutainment’ attraction in Phuket Town. Located in front of Central Festival Phuket’s main entrance, the new mobile cinema planetarium is the first of its kind in Thailand. “The Evolution Planetarium is the newest generation of visualization systems for entertainment and studying,…
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Phuket Business: Budgeting tips and concerns for expats
PHUKET: Becoming and remaining an expat in Phuket, Thailand will require careful budgeting to avoid potential minefields or serious financial problems down the road. With that in mind, here are concerns or tips to keep in mind to help you avoid blowing a hole in your expat budget: Track your living expenses Most personal finance software like newer versions of…
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Phuket Business: Job fair expected to fill 30% of vacancies
PHUKET: Of the 6,000 job vacancies offered through the “e-jobs@Phuket 2013” job fair held recently at Phuket Rajbhat University, only 118 positions were immediately filled, the Phuket Gazette has learned. Phuket Provincial Employment Office chief Yawapa Pibulpol said that a total of 1,578 job applications were submitted. Of these, she said 548 were submitted at the fair itself, while the…
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Phuket Business: B28bn worth of 20-baht notes to get exchanged
PHUKET: As part of the Bank of Thailand’s (BoT) policy to make its banknotes more modern and user friendly, 4 billion baht worth of new series-16 20-baht banknotes are being put into circulation. Until now, the Kingdom’s lowest-value, yet most widely used banknotes have not been fraud-proof in synchronizing with electronic finance machines. “The new design incorporates a range of…
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India travel delegation arrives on inaugural Mumbai flight
PHUKET: Laguna Phuket hosted a welcome lunch for Indian travel agents, media, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) executives and airline representatives who traveled on the inaugural Thai Smiles flight from Mumbai on Thursday (April 4). The lunch at Banyan Tree was hosted by Ziya Birkan, deputy managing director of Laguna Phuket. The travel agents later attended a business-to-business conference organized…
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April festivities to generate millions for Phuket
PHUKET: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Phuket office expects upcoming festivities this month to generate between 600 and 700 million baht for the local economy. TAT Southern Region 4 Office director Chanchai Doungjit talked about the current tourist situation ahead of the upcoming two-week festive period. He announced that the holiday period officially starts tomorrow, with Chakri Memorial Day,…
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How Phuket expats can cut their investment costs
PHUKET: If you are like many expatriates in Phuket, or indeed across Thailand, you have probably failed to realize the impact trading or investment fees can have on your portfolio’s return, as such costs are often hidden and can quickly add up over time. In a rising market, these costs may not be so noticeable; but in a stagnant or…
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Phuket Gazette Business: US tax regime to scrutinize taxpayer bank accounts
PHUKET: In light of the ‘federal fiscal fiasco’ in Washington DC – to the tune of nearly 17 trillion dollars – the American government is looking to expand its worldwide tax base. As such, US citizens and green card holders conducting, contracting or controlling business operations in or from countries outside the US, including Thailand, need to ensure consistency and…
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Phuket Business: Thai football market value to triple by 2017
PHUKET: Thailand-based sports media corporation, Siam Sports Syndicate Pcl, has set a five-year target for the value of the Kingdom’s professional football market to grow by 300%.VIPs from Thailand’s professional football leagues met last month in Bangkok to sign a five year licensing management and administration agreement for the broadcasting and promotion rights, and work out benefits of the lucrative…
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Phuket Business: Formaldehyde free for the AEC
PHUKET: The Deputy Minister of Public Health declared the Baan Saan fresh market in Phuket Town as formaldehyde free, following an inspection tour of the market earlier this week. The Baan Saan market, also known as the Phuket City municipality public fresh market number 1, is located on Ranong Road, near the local bus (sawng taeo) boarding area in Phuket…
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CB500x gets new Phuket wings
PHUKET: Bike lovers are anticipating the new Honda BigWing motorbike dealership and showroom, set to open its doors in Phuket on Thursday (March 28). A Honda sales representative told the Phuket Gazette that the dealership has already received many inquiries and reservations. “Since the beginning of the year CB500X has been the talk of the town not only amongst the…
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Phuket Business: You can run, but you can’t hide
PHUKET: In light of the ongoing ‘federal fiscal fiasco’ in Washington DC, the US tax regime is looking to grow its global revenue pool, with American expats residing in places like Phuket high on the list to be scrutinized. Recently a group of American taxpayers gathered in Phuket for an informative yet dreaded update seminar about the latest income reporting…
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