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 New in July: Save 10% for life on family health plans in Thailand
Cigna has a special offer this July for families in Thailand. When you sign up three or more people on a family health plan, you will save 10% on your premiums for life. This deal helps you get affordable, high-quality...
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Air Asia resumes flights from Phuket to Jakarta
AirAsia Indonesia says they will resume direct flights between Phuket and Jakarta on the second of July this year. Flights will be available three times a week. For AirAsia, the move marks a return of the route which had been flown for a number of years in the past. “Currently the traveling trend continues to increase especially in the youth market, hence…
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Export growth expected to be the lowest in four years
Export growth for Thailand this year is is now being pegged at less that 1%, the lowest growth in four years. Mr. Ath Pisarnwanich, director of the International Trade Study Centre at the University of Thai Chambers of Commerce is saying the low growth is a result of both the escalating US-China trade war and the Vietnam-EU free trade agreement. The…
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Thailand slashes 2019 exports estimates as trade war escalates
by Phuwit Limviphuwat Thai exporters are expected to pay a heavy price as the ramping up of the US-China trade war continues. The US has now launched a new round of tariffs on Chinese imports. Last Friday US President Donald Trump tweeted: “Talks with China continue in a very congenial manner, there is absolutely no need to rush, as Tariffs…
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Ultimate parties at The Bay and Beach Club, Patong
Newly built and super stylish, The Bay and Beach Club is the hottest addition to the island’s most favorite resort neighborhood of Patong. Elegant and luxurious with a modern design and spacious rooms, the resort sets the benchmark for beachfront accommodation in Phuket. With a convenient location right on the sands of Patong Beach, a holiday spent at The Bay…
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Prayut tentatively embraces China’s Belt and Road strategy for Thailand
Thai PM’s appearance at the second Belt and Road Initiative forum in Beijing last weekend suggests the luke-warm relations between China and Thailand persist. Whilst both nations portray a strong willingness to progress in their financial partnerships there is still a gulf between the two country’s preferred outcomes in the deals they are forging. Last time Beijing snubbed the Thai…
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Chinese continue to soak up Thailand’s condo glut
There are man reasons why Thailand is a favourite location for property buyers from Hong Kong and mainland China – the street food and great weather are just a part of the allure. Chinese nationals spent a record 40 billion baht (US$1.25 billion) on Thai properties in 2018, according to the Bank of Thailand. So who is buying Thailand’s condominiums?…
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Thai property startup FazWaz heads overseas
FazWaz, the Phuket startup that has built a tech-first platform to take on Thailand’s real estate giants, is announcing its overseas expansion today. The move underscores just how far and fast the company has moved since being founded in 2015 in the small beach town of Kamala in Phuket. While real estate markets go up and down, FazWaz has definitely…
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Thai business sector drops 2019 export projections by 1%
The Thai Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade are revising down Thailand’s 2019 export growth projections from 3.1% to 2.1%. They say several unfavorable external factors are contributing to the revised outlook. Thai PBS reports that Mr. Sanan Aung-ubonkul, vice president of TCC and BoT, says that, in order to maintain the 3.1% growth projection, the value of monthly…
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Strong growth from key markets compensate for slight dip in Chinese tourists
by Thanchanok Phobut | Senior Coordinator, Thailand CBRE, international property consultants, believe that the Thai tourism market is still as resilient as ever. Earlier this year, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports announced they are expecting more than 40 million tourists to visit Thailand this year, up from the record-breaking 38.3 million last year. According to the latest figures, the…
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Buyback Option at VIP KATA Condominium by Phuket9
Phuket9 Company announces a buy-back option for VIP KATA Condominium Project with a rental return of 56% over 8 years. The first two buildings of VIP KATA Condominium were launched in July 2018. After one month in August 2018, Phuket9 commenced construction of the second phase – 2 more buildings including 209 apartments, 2 common swimming pools, rooftop gardens, restaurants and a kids club.…
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Ministry pulls travel cash incentive scheme
Easy come, easy go. The Finance Ministry has scrapped the plan to subsidise Thai’s travel expenses to the tune of 1,500 cash per person. The program was aimed at up to 10 million people for travel in any of the 55 second-tier tourist provinces, part of a scheme to promote domestic tourism outside the well-trodden tourist traps. But the ministry…
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World Bank downgrades Thailand’s 2019 GDP growth to 3.8%
The World Bank is downgrading Thailand’s growth projections to 3.8% from 3.9% for 2019. This compares to last year’s 4.1% GDP. The Bank says that export growth has shrunk to 5.7% from last year’s 5.9%. The World Bank’s senior economist for Thailand, Mr. Kiatpong Ariyapratya, says that the Word Bank also projects that Thailand’s growth rate for next year would…
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Phuket hotel watch – trends in 2019
by Bill Barnett of C9Hotelworks.com At the beginning of the year Phuket’s tourism and hotel sector was cautiously optimistic after a strong first half of 2018 and humbling second half. Key terms that kept popping up were Mainland Chinese, Thai Baht Appreciation, Elections and Supply Concerns. So today, with five months of performance under the belt in 2019 what are…
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‘Seastead’ set up off coast of Phuket
PHOTOS: Nation TV A Thai couple has successfully set up a ‘Seastead’ near Phuket. Seasteading is aiming to build floating societies with “significant political autonomy”. Nearly half the world’s surface is unclaimed by any nation-state, and many coastal nations can legislate “seasteads” in their territorial waters (like a “homestead” but wetter). The nation TV reports that website ‘Bitcoin.com’ and ‘Ocean.builders’…
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Massive 11 hotel project, surf club and waterpark for Kata, Phuket
by Bill Barnett, C9Hotelworks.com Thai developer K.W. Plaza group has unveiled plans for a large-scale mixed-use project called The Beach Plaza on 15 rai, that will have 11 three and four star hotels with a total of 1.490 rooms. The developer is already pitching the unconstructed project to global hotel interests for an imminent sale. The properties will have varying room…
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Thai Air Asia introduces Chiang Rai-Shenzhen route
Thai AirAsia is adding new flights to its Chiang Rai hub with a new direct route to China that starts on April 30. The new daily direct flight from Chiang Rai to Shenzhen (adjacent to Hong Kong) is being promoted this week with fares as low as 735 baht one-way. Bookings opened this week and the promotional fare remains the…
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Losing face: ‘Face Off’ Dr Xeping charged with fraud
PHOTO: Bangkok Post Beauty expert Xeping Chaiyasan has been charged with fraud but continues to deny any wrongdoing claiming the allegation has been brought against her by people with malicious intent. Xeping is known as “Dr Xeping”, although she is not a medical doctor, became famous for the so-called Face Off cosmetic surgery services she promoted. Her arrest, along with…
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Forecasts for Thai export growth revised upwards
The meeting of the Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking has revised upwards its forecast of export growth in 2019 to between 6.5 – 7.5% from the previous forecast of between 3.5 – 4.5%. The revision is in line with export growth in the past eight months, the committee said. Growth momentum is expected to continue during the…
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Thai businesses feeling pinch from china-US trade wars
Since the US China trade war kicked off in the middle of 2018, Thai businesses have begun to feel the pinch as indicated by a small downward trend in Thai export numbers. In the short run, some Thai export items may benefit from trade diversion as US and Chinese importers shifted to certain Thai products to avoid punitive tariffs. However, indirect…
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Hospitals train staff to recoup money from non-paying foreigners
“…many foreigners sought treatment for ailments or injuries at public hospitals and many failed to fully pay the bills, resulting in multi-million baht in debt.” The Public Health Ministry’s Department of Health Service Support has provided training to public hospitals in tourist provinces to help them collect fees from foreigners, director-general Dr Nattawuth Prasertsiripong said yesterday. The move is aimed at…
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Thailand ‘slightly impacted’ from a no deal Brexit
The EU has agreed to postpone Brexit from next Friday and give UK PM Theresa May time to get her deal approved in Parliament. The PM had hoped to persuade the EU to delay the March 29 Brexit date, set in law, to June 30. But the EU country leaders have offered her two dates… A delay until May 22…
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Doubt over ‘majority support’ in survey about drilling near Si Thep historical park
Locals are up in arms about results from a public hearing into oil drilling project near the Si Thep historical park in Phetchabun province (just north of Bangkok). They are expressing doubt and concern over results of a public hearing that appear to show support for the project. Thai PBS reports that Mr. Prachuab Narkthien, chairman of the club of…
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People have short memories. Why the Boeing 737 MAX will survive the current crisis.
If history is anything to go on people’s current fears about the Boeing 737 MAX jets will be short-lived. The make0ver of the venerable 737 plane, the most popular passenger jet in history, was supposed to set Boeing on a path to success. Airlines said it was the plane they wanted – perfect for short-haul, cheap to run, new efficient…
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Rock Thailand, Japanese start-ups eye Thai businesses
Noting Thailand as the new south east Asian regional innovation hub, the Japanese Embassy in Bangkok, in collaboration with Thailand’s Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, CP Group and True Corporation, launched Rock Thailand, a start-up incubation project. Rock Thailand is being used to open a stage for 10 top technology start-ups from Japan to present their business models to…
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Bangkok now in the Top 10 list for most expensive Asian locations for expats
Bangkok has, for the first time, made it into the list of Asia’s top 10 most expensive locations for expats. A rise in average rental prices this year caused by an influx of expats from China and an increase in tourism traffic have hit expats and put the city in 10th place on the annual list, with an average US$3,880…
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Almaty Governor from Kazakhstan visits Phuket
PHOTO: Almaty Governor Mr Batalov Amandyk Gabbasovich presents Phuket’s Governor with an ideal gift The Governor of Almaty city in Kazakhstan dropped in on Phuket’s Governor today for discussions on tourism, investment and culture exchange as a new Sister City. This morning Phuket’s Governor Phakkaphong Tavipatana welcomed Almaty Governor Mr Batalov Amandyk Gabbasovich from Kazakhstan at the Phuket Provincial City…
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Honda projects lower motorcycle sales for 2019
Honda Motor Company, the manufacturer of nearly 80% of Thailand’s motorcycles, is projecting another annual loss this year. New motorcycle sales this year are forecast to drop nearly 4% year on year to 1.72 million units. The forecast is unchanged from its January projection. The baht’s appreciation against the US dollar is leading to fluctuations in exports and lower prices…
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Thai Smile opens new Bangkok-Kolkata route
Jumping on the tourism bandwagon between India and Thailand, Thai Smile Airways has announced a new route from Bangkok to Kolkata, starting from March 31. The airline will operate five flights a week (Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday) from Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok to Kolkata, East India. The airline says the new route is “in line with its business…
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Phuket hotels under pressure to perform
by Bill Barnett C9 Hotelworks Despite registering a record high 9 million passenger arrivals at the island’s gateway international airport in 2018, performance data is indicating that a slowdown in its double-digit growth rates over the past few years is on the horizon for Thailand’s resort destination of Phuket. While airport arrivals grew 8% year-on-year, the gains posted were at…
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Bangkok Airways spending 3 billion on new planes, airports
PHOTO: A Bangkok Airways ATR 72-600 dwarfed by a Thai Airways ‘jumbo’ Bangkok Airways is putting aside 3 billion baht to finance two new aircraft to support their growing passenger numbers. The local airline is forecasting a 3% growth in bums-on-seats this year to over 6 million passengers. The airline’s CEO says they hope to purchase two new ATR 72-600…
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