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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Phuket Business: AMCHAM to host US taxation seminar in Patong
PHUKET: If you are an American and are baffled by the US tax regime on overseas residents, then you do not want to miss an AMCHAM (the American Chamber of Commerce) seminar on Friday (March 8), at the Holiday Inn Patong. John Andes, tax partner at KPMG Thailand, will provide an overview of US taxpayers’ 2012 US income tax and…
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Phuket Business: A land of opportunity
PHUKET: The island emerged last year as Thailand’s strongest hotel market, according to a recent report by Jones Lang LaSalle. The report, entitled Spotlight on Thailand – Hotel Investment Market said that as of December 2012, year-to-date (YTD), Phuket had an occupancy rate of 72.4%. Meanwhile, it said that the Average Daily Rate (ADR) was 3,902 baht, which resulted in…
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Phuket Business: French ambassador to boost SMEs
PHUKET: The new French Ambassador to Thailand, Thierry Viteau, made his first visit outside of his station in Bangkok recently to discuss in Phuket the need to strengthen relations in the tourism market. “Phuket and Nice in France have been ‘sister cities’ since 1989; I want to take this opportunity to re-strengthen and renew our relations,” Amb Viteau, who assumed…
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Phuket Business: Local firm takes the LEED in sustainability
PHUKET: The island-based construction and development firm, Development Management Group Co Ltd (DMG), recently announced that its Sustainability Manager, John Covello has earned his LEED Accredited Professional (LEED AP) certification. The designation, with a specialization in Building Design and Construction, makes John one of a small number of sustainable building specialists in Thailand. LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy…
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Phuket Finance: The many laws of averaging
PHUKET: Averaging is a word that has many meanings when it comes to investing. The investment world is full of conflicting opinions and advice, and a very common mistake people make is following advice that may be intended for short term speculative money and applying it to long term investment money, or money that is meant to be generating a…
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Phuket Business: Expats rank Thailand highly in global survey
PHUKET: One of the largest ‘expat living’ surveys conducted last year ranked Thailand second in terms of experience and quality of life, while ranking the Kingdom third in economics. The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) recently published the results of its 2012 Expat Explorer Survey, which encompassed responses from more than 5,000 expats residing in thirty countries.The same…
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Phuket Business: OTOP fair to showcase local products
PHUKET: No less than 15 million baht is expected to be circulated during the “OTOP City – Four Regions” fair, an event that will showcase up to 200 booths selling quality local products from Phuket and across the country. The fair being held at the Saphan Hin fair-grounds, in Phuket Town (click here for map), commenced on Friday and will…
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Phuket Business: Fill “er up with gasohol please
PHUKET: Due to the discontinuation of the supply of pure Benzine (91-octane) petrol nationwide, the consumption of gasohol in Phuket this year is expected to increase by at least 50%.Rattakorn Klinchan, head of research at the Phuket Energy Office, affirmed that supplies of pure Benzine 91 were discontinued nationwide on January 1, with most Phuket stocks already drying out this…
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Phuket Business: How expats can simplify their finances
PHUKET: Moving to another country to work or retire, like Thailand, can be a daunting undertaking that will inevitably make managing your finances more complicated and time consuming. With that in mind, here are a few tips to help you simplify your finances so you can quickly start enjoying your new life as an expat:Consolidate your financial accounts:If you have…
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Phuket Business: Recalling the cycle of market emotions
PHUKET: My first investment was in a stock fund in 1990 when I was an engineering student at university. I was told to just buy and hold and put money in blindly and it will grow. They were somewhat right but I wanted to know more and began a quest to find a way to pinpoint what is known as…
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Phuket Business: Makro opens new branch in Patong
PHUKET: Membership-base, wholesale food retailer, Siam Makro PCL has expanded its Phuket operations with the opening of its Makro Food Service branch in Patong. Located in the area of the Mae Ubon Derm fresh market on Nanai Road in Patong, the new branch is the second Makro store on the island. Its retail area spans a total 1,000 square meters,…
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Phuket Business: Alien labor window extended
PHUKET: Employers of ‘low-skill migrant workers’ in Phuket and across Thailand have until March 16 to have their respective employees registered under the National Verification (NV) process, the Phuket Labor Office has confirmed. Applying specifically to temporary laborers from Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, the latest NV deadline is an extension of another extension. The Phuket Gazette reported last week online…
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Phuket Finance: Beat inflation with a low-risk return
PHUKET: One fund that I have recently been putting into portfolios is the Freehold Income Trust (FIT), which invests in ground rents. Ground rents are a relic of feudal Britain, which can now be bought and sold like any other asset. They are extremely safe income-yielding alternative investments, since the holder of ground rent could theoretically repossess a property worth…
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Phuket Business: Not in front of the children
PHUKET: While working from home might seem like a practical option for workers in Thailand wanting to cut commutes and spend more time on their personal lives, the reality is somewhat different. According to a survey conducted by Regus, the world’s largest provider of flexible workplaces, six in ten respondents who work from home in Thailand revealed that they’re regularly…
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Phuket Business: Inflation up for Chinese NY
PHUKET: The head of the Department of Internal Trade (DIT) Phuket Office said that the 300 baht daily minimum wage has contributed to market inflation ahead of the Chinese New Year festivities. DIT-Phuket Chief Supacha Bunthalit told the Phuket Gazette that increased wages directly increase base costs for farmers, suppliers and vendors. “Of course it [the minimum wage rise] is…
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Myanmar urges expedited processing of its migrant workers in Thailand
BANGKOK: Myanmar has urged Thailand to speed up registration of its citizens working in the Kingdom, with nearly one million workers and hundreds of thousands of their children still undocumented as the deadline draws near. Myint Thein, Myanmar’s deputy labor minister, was in Thailand last week to monitor progress of the government’s scheme to register millions of migrant workers. Thailand,…
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Phuket Finance: UK pension transfers – Gibraltar
PHUKET: Since the QROPS (Qualifying Recognized Overseas Pensions Scheme) legislation was introduced on April 6 2006, an individual transferring their pension overseas does not have to transfer their funds to the same country or jurisdiction as they are retiring to. This opened the doors for many pension providers in several jurisdictions, predominantly the channel island of Guernsey, to offer QROPS…
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Phuket inflation tops South
PHUKET: Not only is Phuket still considered the most expensive consumer province in Thailand, but its annual inflation rate remains the highest in the South – the Kingdom’s most inflated region. Thailand’s cost of living in 2012, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose by 3.02% from the previous year, while overall inflation in Phuket was measured at…
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PATA meeting questions whether Thai culture is good for tourism
PHUKET: Despite the various shortcomings in Thailand’s service industry, tourists keep coming back, two Thai journalists recently told a tourism meeting in Bangkok. Attending the meeting, Ken Scott, Managing Director of his own communications firm, ScottAsia Communications, reports: Thailand is a like a cunning cheer leader, a good looker, an easy date who cheats at her exams and gossips about…
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Phuket Moevenpick to increase Thai occupancy
PHUKET: Moevenpick Resort Bangtao Beach, a luxury boutique hotel in Phuket, aims to raise its profile in the local arena by increasing the proportion of Thai guests to about 5% this year, up from a tiny slice at present.The hotel opened officially in mid-2011. The new strategy is part of the operator’s plan not to rely too heavily on foreign…
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Phuket Property: Thai hotels benefit from local software
PHUKET: About 1,000 member hotels of the Thai Hotel Association (THA) are benefiting from a locally developed room reservation technology that is changing the way hotels in Thailand do business online, keeping them ahead of the game in the global hospitality industry. The new ‘Software as a Service’ for independent hotels is the result of a recently formed exclusive partnership…
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Phuket Finance: Exploring the theory of Peak Oil
PHUKET: I read a fascinating report recently from a Harvard researcher that shatters the common view of how quickly oil is becoming a scarce resource. It essentially states that – given new technology – the idea of “Peak Oil” is fundamentally flawed. Peak Oil is a theory that at a certain point in history (approaching very quickly), humans will reach…
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Phuket Business: Luxury auto dealer aligns brand with international football lovers
PHUKET: Football players from Phuket FC recently visited the TSL Auto Corporation (TSL) premium imported car showroom to thank the company for officially sponsoring the team in the upcoming Thai Yamaha One (Division 1) 2013 season. Phuket FC’s head coach Panipol Kerdyam made a personal appearance, alongside players Nontaphan Jiensathawong, Nenebi Tre Sylyee Tre, Luiz Eduardo Purcio, Girogi Tsimakuridze, Kritsada…
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Phuket Business: Virtually exposed
PHUKET: Although the concept of 360-degree virtual tours has been around for almost as long as the world-wide-web itself, such technology has only recently begun to yield its true potential. Thanks to the advent of developments in global positioning systems (GPS), camera technology and improved user interfaces, businesses the world over are poised to reap a plethora of benefits. Speaking…
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Banking for Phuket Expats carries special charges, risks
PHUKET: For expats in Phuket and across Thailand who intend to stay permanently or for most of the year in the country, opening a Thai bank account makes financial sense. After all, except for a few ATMs owned by AEON (a large Japanese conglomerate) and Citibank, Thai ATMs will charge a 150 baht fee per foreign transaction and there are…
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Phuket Business: Laguna Dusit Thani ready for influx of MICE
PHUKET: THE Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket has re-launched its renovated and revitalized meeting space in response to an increase in demand for 2013. The renovation cost 10 million baht and took two months to complete. The 2,408 square-foot Dusit Laguna Hall can now accommodate up to 300 people in a theater-style setting and is able to host 150 people for…
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Phuket Business: FDI shifting from China to ASEAN
PHUKET: Rising costs from higher wages and currency appreciation in China over the last two decades are prompting multinationals to look at expanding elsewhere, with ASEAN countries – particularly Vietnam – poised to benefit most. A recent report published by HSBC Global Research, titled “The great migration – how FDI [Foreign Direct Investment] is moving to ASEAN and India”, outlined…
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Phuket Business: MICE to bring in “the cheese’
PHUKET: THE Kingdom’s central planning authority for inbound corporate and organizational tourism expects to generate 180 billion baht from Asian and Oceanic MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) events over the next three years. The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) recently drafted a three year MICE marketing strategy. The new strategy effectively replaces last year’s “Seven Wonders of the…
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Phuket Business: Coping with labor costs
PHUKET: As labor-intensive industries adjust their operations in order to cope with the nationwide 300 baht minimum daily wage, efforts include trimming logistics costs, improving production efficiency and hiring only skilled workers.Tawee Piyapattana, president of Pacific Fish Processing Co, which specializes in the production of frozen seafood, says the company, which employs 3,000 people, will not lay off personnel but…
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Phuket Finance: Investing in “frontier markets’
PHUKET: I have recently come across an investment concept that’s caught my interest, and for those of you with a speculative bit of capital to allocate – you might find it interesting also. Fund Management Group has recently launched an equity-based fund, spread across what they call new frontier countries. According to them, frontier markets represent 40% of the world’s…
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