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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Sponsored Best weed shops in Chinatown, Bangkok [2025]
Bangkok's Chinatown isn't just for roast duck, gold shops, and neon-lit chaos anymore. Head over to Yaowarat Road and you'll find another kind of smoke drifting through the air. Yes, the weed scene had landed. Loud, proud, and surprisingly stylish....
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Don’t mention the ‘R’ word – world’s biggest economies at risk of recession
CARTOON: Financial Times Five big economies are at risk of recession – Germany, Italy, Mexico, Brazil and the UK. A recession is usually defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction in an economy. Locally Singapore and Hong Kong are teetering on technical recessions, both vital regional business hubs. The UK economy shrunk in the second quarter, and growth has flat…
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Industry minister says exporters will still need help to work-around strong Thai currency
The strong Thai baht is still a big problem for Thailand’s industries, exports and tourism, key drivers of the Thai economy. The baht’s strength has been partly driven by Thailand’s high current account surplus of US$17 billion this year, attracting investment in the currency as a ‘safe haven’. Industry Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit says the ministry will continue to support exporters…
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Thai land prices appreciate average of 8.3%
Land prices around Thailand have risen by an average of 8.3%, whilst land in the Eastern Economic Corridor have appreciated by more than 10% – the new land appraisals will be implemented for tax collection purposes next year, according to Wilawan Veerakun, deputy director general of the Treasury Department. The price of parcels of land in Khampaeng Phet province has gone…
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Thai advertisers deserting Print, but love Cinema and Transit ads
Thai businesses are shunning newspapers and magazines for advertising, but still support cinema advertising and ‘transit’ media. Newspaper advertising spend dropped nearly 28%. Magazine spending wasn’t far behind dropping nearly 25%, year on year. Thailand’s advertising spend dropped 0.42% year on year in July to about 9.143 billion baht, according to Nielsen media report. The report says that only cinema,…
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Treasury department plans new lease of life for disused buildings
The Treasury Department is considering leasing out older and disused buildings for commercial development if the lessee pledges to preserve their historical, architectural or cultural value. The department’s director general, Amnuay Preemonwong, says it would be a better option than seeing them abandoned and becoming increasingly dilapidated causing health and safety risks to neighbours. But the proposal will not apply to…
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Radisson brand add another Phuket hotel to its portfolio
The Radisson Hotel Group has signed a deal for a 222 key mixed-use hotel on Phuket’s north west coast at Mai Khao. Set to open in early 2023, the hotel has sales and leaseback units under a hotel residences program. Radisson Phuket Mai Khao Beach is being developed by Thai-Chinese Property Holdings. Phuket’s ongoing development surge continues to attract Chinese…
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Air Asia welcomes new-age long-haul A330 neo to its fleet
AirAsia has taken delivery of its first Airbus A330neo aircraft, to be operated by its long-haul affiliate, AirAsia X Thailand. The new aircraft, leased from Avolon, will be joined by a second of the type later this year, Airbus says. Air Asia says the A330neo brings a step-change in fuel efficiency for AirAsia’s long haul operations. The new generation A330neo (New…
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Thai Airways faces more bad news with bigger losses in Q2
Thai Airways’ problems appear to be compounding with a perfect storm of an ageing fleet, a plateauing of tourist intake and increased competition from newer, more nimble budget airlines. The country’s national pride and joy had a poor Q2 this year, compounding years of declining profit results. The second quarter loss more than doubled losses for the same quarter last…
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Chewathai launches seven new property projects in Bangkok despite slowdown
Listed property firm Chewathai says they are revising down their revenue target for this year from 2.8 billion to 1.6 billion baht after demand for residential projects has shown a slowing down in the first half of 2019. The company’s managing director Boon Choon Kiet made the announcement yesterday. Boon says Chewathai’s total revenue of 618.65 million baht in the…
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Thai baht may need another ‘haircut’ by the Bank of Thailand before the end of 2019
Wednesday’s rate cut by the Bank of Thailand has not succeeded in reining in the surging baht, raising the prospect of another interest rate cut by 0.25 of a percentage point before the year-end. While the central bank’s statement on the policy rate reduction didn’t mention the strength of the baht, economists suspect the baht’s strength and its impact on…
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170 billion baht stimulus to focus on tourism as economy plateaus
Inbound tourism to Thailand is about to get a boost with a proposed 170 billion baht government stimulus package . The Finance Ministry will submit the full plan to Cabinet on August 19. Lavaron Sangsnit, the director general for the fiscal policy office, says the package aims to boost inbound tourism, and promote travel within the country by Thai and…
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Currencies and stock exchanges flutter as the dust settles on the latest threats in the US-China trade spat
Central banks in India, Thailand and New Zealand cut interest rates this week in an attempt to fend off any harm from the spiralling US-China trade war. The escalation of the trade war, sparked by fresh US tariff threats by US President Trump over the weekend, is seen as the reason for the policy shift. On Monday, the People’s Bank…
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Board of Trade want Bank of Thailand to urgently address the baht
PHOTOS & GRAPHIC: The Nation The Board of Trade are meeting with the Bank of Thailand tomorrow (August 8) to discuss the value of the Thai baht, its appreciation against the US dollar and Chinese yuan, and the impact on the country’s exports. Sanan Angubolkul, the Board of Trade’s vice chairman, speaking to The Nation, says the baht has appreciated around…
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Softening Chinese yuan no threat to Thai baht
The Chinese yuan dropped sharply to its weakest level against the US dollar in more than a decade, raising fears of further dangerous escalation in the US-China trade war. Yesterday, the Chinese yuan dropped below the 7 yuan to the US dollar threshold, marking the first time the renminbi has depreciated against the dollar since May 2008. The depreciation of…
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800 media professionals laid off or contracts unfairly terminated
The National Union of Journalists Thailand says the media situation in Thailand is looking increasingly grim with around 800 media industry staff either being laid off or having had their contracts unlawfully terminated. A portion of the media professionals also say they were not sufficiently compensated, in violation of Thailand’s labour laws. Also, many said they had not been paid…
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Thailand and EU prepare for signing of a strategic trade partnership
Thailand and the European Union are ready to sign a draft Strategic Partnership and Cooperation Agreement to promote bilateral trade and investment in the future. Federica Mogherini, an EU Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and vice chairwoman of the European Commission, met today with PM Prayut Chan-o-cha during her visit to Thailand to attend the ASEAN Plus Foreign…
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Thailand’s baht is getting stronger, and that’s a problem
Since the beginning of 2018, Thailand’s currency has jumped more than 5% against the US dollar. Year-on-year it’s bounced up nearly 8%. The Thai Central Bank may be forced to cut rates to curb the popular currency. The Thai baht continues to soar against the USD this year, significantly more than many other emerging market currencies. But the flexing Baht muscle…
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British Pound was close to the worst performing currency in the world
Nigel Green, the founder and CEO of the deVere Group, a leading independent international financial consultancy, says the GBP (Pound) is going to continue to be battered and bruised in the short-to-medium term, no matter who is leading the political fray. He spoke out after the Sterling dropped more than 4% yesterday in its worst performance since October 2016, based on…
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Moody’s upgrades most Thai banks’ credit ratings from ‘stable’ to ‘positive’
Moody’s Investors Service upgraded the Baseline Credit Assessments of eleven Thai banks (1) Bangkok Bank Public Company Limited (BBL) (2) Bank of Ayudhya (BAY) (3) CIMB Thai Bank Public Company Limited (CIMBT) (4) Export-Import Bank of Thailand (EXIMT) (5) Government Housing Bank of Thailand (GHB) (6) KASIKORNBANK Public Company Limited (KBank) (7) Krung Thai Bank Public Company Limited (KTB) (8)…
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Thai Airways needs restructuring to survive
Store your tray table and buckle up. It’s going to be a bumpy ride at Thai Airways. The airline’s president Sumeth Damrongchaitham say Thai Airways needs complete restructuring if it is to survive in the highly competitive aviation business. Sumeth said that under the restructuring, Thai Airways will focus more on the international market and link up with other members…
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400 baht minimum daily wage worries Thai business chamber
The Thai Chamber of Commerce is raising concerns over the government’s proposal to raise the minimum daily wage to 400 baht. They say it will severely hit the country’s small to medium businesses. Chamber chairman Kalin Sarasin says they have been discussing the proposal with Chamber members and business operators discussions with many business operators. They found that most of…
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Thai PC and notebook sales set to increase 5% in second half of year
The market for personal computers and notebook computer will grow around 4.7% in the second half of this year, as students, gaming and e-sports continue to drive growth The prediction from marketing director at Acer Computer, Nitipat Praweenwongwuthi. Acer recently conducted a survey into the needs of computer users and found that about 50% of customers who purchase gaming computers will…
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Thai Government to focus on EEC projects to propel economy
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha will unveil his new government’s policy statement in Parliament when it sits formally on Thursday. Leaks to the media indicate his 12 ‘urgent’ and 12 ‘long-term’ policies will help Thailand step up to “developed-nation status” with many of the policies focussing on the Eastern Economic Corridor project. Among the urgent policies, the sixth calls for a “future-proof”…
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International credit rating agency gives Thailand a BBB+ economic report card
Fitch Ratings has revised its outlook on Thailand’s Long-Term Foreign Currency Issuer Default Rating to “positive” from “stable” and upgraded the rating to BBB+. The revision reflects increasing international economic confidence that lingering political risks are unlikely to derail “sound macroeconomic management”, according to the international credit rating agency, Fitch. “This is demonstrated by the sustained strength of external and…
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TMB – strong baht hits foreign investment funds
TMB Bank are reporting that the strong baht has cut the value of the foreign investment fund under fund management, falling by 27 billion baht from 1.2 trillion baht at the start of the year. TMB said the drop reduced the fund’s return by 0.47%. The least impacted funds are those covering oil investment, gold, and property funds, at 0.53%,…
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Co-working spaces in Bangkok are re-shaping small to medium business office options
PHOTO: The Great Room Co-working spaces are opening up around Bangkok and providing a more flexible framework for businesses to grow. Advances in technology, a more mobile workforce, and unpredictable economic growth are reshaping the business environment. In the Bangkok office market, a traditional three-year lease with options to renew and the tenant fitting out the space remains the typical way…
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Residential projects launched in June up, but sale 15% lower than May
As many as 47 new residential projects were launched in Bangkok and its suburbs last month (June), 16 more than in May. This from the Agency for Real-Estate Affairs. The projects combine 13,943 units worth a total of 57.25 billion baht, with per-unit prices averaging at 4.1 million baht, the survey added. The sale of new projects launched in June…
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Phuket’s Banyan Tree celebrates 25 year anniversary with new Serenity Villas
2019 is a year of celebration for Banyan Tree Phuket, with the resort offering two brand new villa categories, as part of its year-long 25th anniversary celebration. In September this year, the iconic Banyan Tree Phuket, the flagship property for Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts, will celebrate 25 years as Phuket’s premier holiday resort. The festivities will include the release…
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Bank of Thailand sends a ‘warning shot’, but little impact
PHOTO: Chiang Rai Times “The Bank of Thailand’s move to curb the rising baht is simply a “warning shot” and will have little impact on the currency’s value or on the bond and stock markets.” This is the response from Thai economists following Friday’s BOT tweaking of the economic dials. On Friday the BOT adjusted down the amount of baht…
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Amari Pattaya has a dramatic makeover
“Dramatic changes have taken place to the entire property, which has transformed the legendary hotel into a new paradise along the northern end of Pattaya Bay.” Today’s Amari Hotel in Pattaya has its roots back in the early 1070s when it was constructed as the Orchid Lodge. But now there’s been a major make-over under the Amari brand. Amari Pattaya’s…
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