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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    5 ways retirees in Thailand lose money (and how to stop it)

    Retiring in Thailand can be affordable and enjoyable, but many retirees lose money due to common mistakes. High living costs, scams, and unexpected expenses can quickly drain savings. There are five ways that retirees in Thailand can lose money and...

  • A beacon of light: Lighthouse Restaurant on Chalong Bay

    A beacon of light: Lighthouse Restaurant on Chalong Bay

    PHUKET: Located right on Chalong Bay near the Kan Eang pier, the Lighthouse restaurant and bar has earned near historical status among expats, tourists, and yachties alike. After being built in 1988 and managed by American Jimmy Pearson, Jimmy’s Lighthouse Bar and Grill enjoyed years of operation until recently when the doors shut and only a defunct restaurant and memories…

  • The lowdown on common EFT investments

    The lowdown on common EFT investments

    PHUKET: Given that so few managed funds are able to consistently beat important market benchmarks, Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are great investments, because they track and replicate the performance of key market indices at a minimal cost. However, the popularity of ETFs has led to their proliferation with some being better investments than others. So what are the best ETFs…

  • Beguiled by jewels

    Beguiled by jewels

    PHUKET: Art gallery owner Eric Smulders is well known on the island for his passion for Asian art, but recently he has taken the plunge into the world of fine jewelry. At his gallery in Surin, Soul of Asia, Eric will be displaying and selling 60 pieces of exquisite jewelry featuring precious stones such as diamonds, emeralds, tanzanites, sapphires, rubies…

  • Phuket Business – Man of vision: Boon Yongsakul

    Phuket Business – Man of vision: Boon Yongsakul

    PHUKET: Boon Yongsakul is the Deputy Managing Director of Boat Development Company, the dynamic local entity building some of Phuket’s newest commercial projects that will help lift the island’s business infrastructure to new heights.Boon is the latest of the Yongsakul generation to make his contribution to the changing face of the island. “My great-grandfather came to Phuket as a worker…

  • Tesco Lotus opens new Phuket department store in Chalong | Thaiger

    Tesco Lotus opens new Phuket department store in Chalong

    PHUKET: Tesco Lotus today opened its new Chalong Phuket Department Store on Chao Fa West Road.The store offers a wide range of fresh food and groceries, as well as a large variety of housewares, electronics, toys and furniture. The store complex has 72 commercial tenants including banks and leading restaurants. The Tesco Lotus store will create 170 jobs in the…

  • Be a responsible investor – Phuket Finance

    Be a responsible investor – Phuket Finance

    PHUKET: There is much wrong with our world unfortunately. I am guessing this is not news to most of you, and the corporate profit motive is widely accepted as being a major cause of many of the modern world’s largest problems. I am often asked by clients how they can invest in the markets without inadvertently supporting or contributing to…

  • Protect yourself from cyber-crime – Phuket Business

    Protect yourself from cyber-crime – Phuket Business

    PHUKET: As an expatriate living in a foreign country, you are particularly vulnerable to cyber-crime as you probably use the Internet to access your financial accounts and the statements associated with those accounts. With that in mind, here are ten tips to help you foil potential cyber-criminals: Security starts with your financial institution Although it’s inconvenient, your financial institution should…

  • Mont Clair sponsors the King’s Cup regatta

    Mont Clair sponsors the King’s Cup regatta

    PHUKET: The popular wine brand, Mont Clair is to sponsor the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta for the sixth consecutive year following the popularity of its wines during previous race years. Mont Clair South African Wine products will be available for all guests, as sailors, spectators, VIP attendees, media guests and sponsors relax and party to live entertainment amid an expected…

  • WTF – “What The Future Holds” Event Summary

    WTF – “What The Future Holds” Event Summary

    PHUKET: Professor Steve Keen is often quoted as saying that the only people who believe they can see the future are fortune tellers, economists and God, and that, while he’s sceptical about fortune tellers, he knows for a fact that economists are deluding themselves, often with appalling consequences. Managing clients’ hard-earned assets shouldn’t be based on an individual assumption of…

  • Oh what a feeling… walking on the ceiling

    Oh what a feeling… walking on the ceiling

    PHUKET: Lionel Richie’s feel-good 80s tune is about to apply in a more literal sense, with the opening of Phuket’s newest quirky, off-the-wall attraction which will enable visitors to actually dance, or walk, or crawl, or slide… on the ceiling. The beginning of 2014 is set to welcome a three-story, fully furnished house which will become the newest tourist attraction…

  • Telly just like back home

    Telly just like back home

    PHUKET: As expats, we all have things that we miss about our home countries. For me, I have to say what I miss the most is American television. I miss having hundreds of channels (all in English) that I can watch whenever I want. There’s nothing quite like ESPN, HBO, Showtime, Starz (NASDAQ:STRZA) and AMC Networks (NASDAQ:AMCX) with their hit…

  • How and why to get a Thai credit card

    How and why to get a Thai credit card

    PHUKET: I am so often asked by foreigners living in Phuket about how to obtain credit cards, that I thought it might be helpful to explain the how and why of the situation. While some may be able to qualify for the traditional unsecured revolving card that we normally think of as a credit card, the normal situation is that…

  • Low minimum access to a Wall Street legend

    Low minimum access to a Wall Street legend

    PHUKET: I have followed the performance of the Abraham Trading Company for many years but it has always been off limits for use with the vast majority of my clients. As has happened with a lot of high-class money managers recently, a low minimum feeder has been opened that allows access to your average offshore investor. What I like about…

  • Understanding financial adviser fees – Phuket Investor

    Understanding financial adviser fees – Phuket Investor

    PHUKET: Let’s be upfront and say that while no one likes paying fees, there is no such thing as a free lunch, and I, as a financial adviser providing financial advice, along with those on Wall Street who create investment products all need “to eat”, so to speak. That said, there is no reason for you to pay unnecessary or…

  • Kvik-start your future – Phuket Business

    Kvik-start your future – Phuket Business

    PHUKET: The Danish kitchen brand Kvik, known for its high-quality, low prices and fast delivery times, has rapidly expanded its presence in Thailand over the last year and is on the lookout for business partners in Phuket. Kvik Associate Thomas Sorensen explained that as part of Kvik’s current expansion, the company is offering an unprecedented support package to its new…

  • Zero tolerance for ‘zero dollar’ tours

    Zero tolerance for ‘zero dollar’ tours

    The governments of Thailand and China are working hand-in-hand to limit the number of tourists coming from the latter to the former, especially the “low-quality” ones, the [former] head of Phuket’s official tourism office recently announced. Reinforcing Thailand’s efforts to shift focus from quantity to quality tourist markets, the Chinese government since October 1 has been enforcing new regulations affecting…

  • From planes to trains and back to automobiles

    From planes to trains and back to automobiles

    PHUKET: Over the past few weeks, political debates in Thailand have often been centered on the government’s national high-speed railway project. Punches, counter punches and even the kitchen sink have been thrown into the arena. Who the heck needs to run with the bulls when you can get gored by an out-of-control locomotive? During the same period, I was able…

  • Poll: Phuket prefers Coke

    Poll: Phuket prefers Coke

    PHUKET: Just under half (49.6%) of respondents to a recent Gazette poll said they prefer the taste of Coca-Cola (Coke) over that of three other competing brands on the market – Pepsi, Est and Big Cola. The poll, which ran online from August 2 to September 1, was answered by 514 unique respondents, who were asked which cola brand (sold…

  • Phuket pool factory to make a splash

    Phuket pool factory to make a splash

    PHUKET: Swimming pool designer, manufacturer and retailer, JD Pools, recently held a celebration to mark the completion of their new factory and training center at Thalang. The 5,000 square meter factory is aimed at cementing JD Pools’ position as the largest pool manufacturer in ASEAN and will also function as a training center for their staff from across the region.…

  • Phuket tourism icon inspires AMCHAM meeting

    Phuket tourism icon inspires AMCHAM meeting

    PHUKET: Change – experiencing it, realizing it, understanding it, anticipating it and then trying to figure out how best to implement it for the optimal benefit to Phuket and all of its stakeholders. Such was the underlying theme of an awe-inspiring speech given last night by Wichit Na Ranong, a key driver, if not the father, of Phuket tourism. Co-founder…

  • Last Call – Is there life on Mars?

    Last Call – Is there life on Mars?

    PHUKET: I found myself singing the David Bowie classic from Ziggy Stardust just this morning in the shower, with that classic line “Is there life on Mars?” I’m not quite sure of the answer, though sipping cocktails while viewing a lunar Martian sunset certainly sounds like a good idea. That just may be the penultimate sundowner. Yes, the danger signs…

  • Phuket tourism pioneer to speak at next AMCHAM meeting

    Phuket tourism pioneer to speak at next AMCHAM meeting

    PHUKET: One of the island’s leading hotel figures, Wichit Na-Ranong will speak about Phuket’s changing tourism landscape this Friday, September 6, at the Indigo Pearl hotel. Mr Wichit will share his extensive experience on Phuket’s journey to become a leading global resort destination, and provide background on how he has strategically repositioned his flagship hotel in Nai Yang to cater…

  • Absolute return funds – Phuket Finance

    Absolute return funds – Phuket Finance

    PHUKET: This short article will take a look at whether absolute return funds will begin delivering again. An absolute return fund or strategy is one which attempts – attempts being a very key word here – to deliver positive year-on-year returns regardless of market conditions. There are very many strategies that are employed in the attempt to generate these returns.…

  • Asia-Pacific consumers careful

    Asia-Pacific consumers careful

    PHUKET: Economy-related matters appear to be on top of the list of concerns for today’s Asia Pacific consumers. According to the latest global survey by GfK, two in every five surveyed were worried about recession and unemployment as well as inflation and high prices, and at the same time, one in three said they are concerned about having enough money…

  • Staying in touch with Facebook – Phuket Investor

    Staying in touch with Facebook – Phuket Investor

    PHUKET: One of the main things I like about Facebook is that I can stay in touch with my family and friends all via one platform. Before I had to keep emailing, making phone calls and writing the occasional letter to and from the US. Now with Facebook, I don’t have to do that anymore. I’m able to share my…

  • My house for your car: B2B

    My house for your car: B2B

    PHUKET: Looking to expand locally what is touted as the “world’s largest international barter network”, BBX Thailand is offering to slash its sign-on fee for new members in Phuket. The barter-credit network facilitator, founded in Australia in 1993 and currently operating in nine countries globally, held a Phuket network meeting last week at Ban See Nam restaurant. A BBX representative…

  • Chinese, Russian influx a boon for Phuket

    Chinese, Russian influx a boon for Phuket

    PHUKET: Despite a dramatic decline of visitors from Western Europe, Phuket’s tourism industry thrives, thanks to the throngs of Chinese and Russian travellers who fill up hotel rooms but also strain the infrastructure. “For the first time, travellers from legacy markets such as Western Europe are no longer present in the top five arrivals. What has replaced them are Asian…

  • Last Call – Table for three, please

    Last Call – Table for three, please

    PHUKET: The intersection, or better yet juxtaposition between the mythical Cyclops of desire and loathing is hardly visible to the naked eye. I might be going a little too “fru fru” here so let’s back away from the table a bit. Slowly, making sure not to stumble over a nearby sleeping soi dog. Back we go to the beginning of…

  • Cebu pacific, Tiger Air tap into Manila-Phuket direct flight market

    Cebu pacific, Tiger Air tap into Manila-Phuket direct flight market

    PHUKET: At about the same time that Tourism Malaysia announced the closing of its Phuket office (click here for story), another major Southeast Asian source-market is poised to link up with the “Pearl of the Andaman” – the Philippines. As of this month and next, two regional airlines will service direct flights between Manilia and Phuket International Airport. The Philippine’s…

  • Hospitality recruitment: New six-star property and restaurant north of Phuket now hiring

    Hospitality recruitment: New six-star property and restaurant north of Phuket now hiring

    PHUKET: Anticipating the opening later this year of a new “six-star” hotel and adjoining Michelin-cheffed restaurant just north of Phuket, the Iniala Group will hold a recruitment event at Royal Phuket Marina on Saturday, August 24 (click here for map). To be held from 9am to 7pm, “Recruitment Day” will look to hire a number of Thai nationals to fill…