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.
-
Phuket Business: Making gym cool again
PHUKET: There sure are some exiting sports out there – diving, rock climbing, free running, gym fitness training… wait, the gym? It might be challenging and fulfilling but few would call it exciting. At least this is how things were up until now. A new place here in Phuket is on a mission to change that image. “Unit-27 has been…
-
Phuket Business: Music on the move
PHUKET: Entertainment on the move is becoming increasingly widespread these days thanks to the proliferation of smartphones and tablets. With the escalating ownership of such mobile technology, many are also buying headphones and headsets to receive better quality audio. According to the latest findings by GfK, a German-based consumer research firm, the headphone and headset market generated a total of…
-
Etihad Airways to launch daily Abu Dhabi to Phuket flight
PHUKET: Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, will expand its network in Southeast Asia with the launch of a non-stop daily service between Abu Dhabi and Phuket. The new route will launch on October 26, 2014, using a two-class configutation Airbus A330-200 aircraft, with 22 Pearl Business seats and 240 Coral Economy seats. The flight will…
-
Phuket Business: Hooters restaurant to open in Patong
PHUKET: Hooters of America, LLC, the well-known hospitality franchise that employs attractive young waitresses to help lure customers, recently announced a development agreement with an international franchisee to open three Hooters locations in Thailand over the next three years. Destination Resorts Co Ltd will introduce the iconic brand and dining destination to the country, with the first Hooters location scheduled…
-
Local tourism industry unfazed by Bangkok turmoil
PHUKET: Wanprapha Suksomboon, acting director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s Phuket office, recently said that the political turmoil in Bangkok has had minimal negative effects on local tourism.There have been only “a few” booking cancellations, she said, citing the fact that Phuket can be accessed by direct international flights that don’t need to connect in the Thai capital. Since…
-
Phuket Gazette appoints new Managing Editor
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette is pleased to announce the recent promotion of Isaac Stone Simonelli to the position of managing editor. Having spent his years at the Gazette in various roles, including PGTV news presenter, news editor and then head of both the news and reporter teams, Mr Simonelli is well versed in the major local, national and international issues…
-
Australian superyacht industry seeks closer ties with Phuket
PHUKET: Representatives of peak industry body Superyacht Australia, along with several Australian-based marine companies recently toured Phuket as part of a program aimed at fostering business relations in the marine industry. The tour was hosted by the Australian Trade Commission and funded through the Australian Government’s Asian Century Business Engagement Plan grant program. During the visit, the group toured all…
-
Southern blockades didn’t affect Phuket goods: DIT Chief
PHUKET: The island’s market for consumer goods and fresh produce has not been affected by the political turmoil in and around Bangkok, the head of the Department of Internal Trade (DIT) Phuket office has assured. “I’m not aware of any shortages on the island, so there should be no reason why goods in Phuket would be any more expensive than…
-
Phuket Finance: Sri Lanka could be the next frontier for investors
PHUKET: When most Westerners think of Sri Lanka, the island nation off the coast of South India that was once known as Ceylon, they probably think of tea (as the country has long been a major tea exporter), science fiction author Arthur C Clarke (who spent most of his adult life living there) or the now defeated Tamil Tiger guerillas…
-
Phuket Finance: A time tested formula
PHUKET: A question I am often asked by clients, who do a bit of stock trading on their own portfolios, is how to determine the appropriate position size. Indeed, there have been studies that show that this aspect can be just as important as the actual security selection in the long run. The reason this is so important is that…
-
Phuket tourism market eyed for semi-submarine pilot
PHUKET: Looking to build on its recent successful launch in Malaysia, one Korean marketeer is now eying the Phuket and Phang Nga marine leisure markets for its simple yet innovative semi-submarine vessel.“The Penguin” was one of several interesting marine products that stood out at this year’s Phuket International Boat Show (see page 44 for more details about the event); To…
-
Phuket Chinese New Year: fruit up 30%, no change in meat, vegetables
PHUKET: Produce shoppers did not seem deterred by the 30% annual increase on fruit prices ahead of the Chinese New Year celebrations, a visit today to one of the Phuket’s main fresh markets revealed. Meanwhile, no significant annual change was observed in the price of most vegetables and two staple meats – chicken and pork. Earlier today, the Gazette visited…
-
Don Battles – Merchant of the Orient: no regrets
PHUKET: “This Thailand, you farang!” Perhaps it’s that simple for many fainthearted foreigners struggling to justify distorting dreams for self-made financial freedom in the “Land of No Surprises”; but for one Phuket expat, entrepreneurial legend, the plot turned out to be a tad thicker. Anyone doing business in Phuket – or even just entertaining the prospect – should definitely read…
-
Qatar Airways launches three day sale for Phuket international flights
PHUKET: From today until Wednesday, January 22, Qatar Airways is offering some irresistible deals on international flights this year, with round trip fares on offer for as low as 1,700 baht!For these three days only, as part of its “New Year, New Journey three day sale”, Qatar airlines is offering deals of up to 50% off economy class and 25%…
-
Khao Lak – our neighbor to the north
PHUKET: These are exciting times for long-term Khao Lak resident Sascha Meissmer, Sales Manager of the all-new Khaolak Magazine. As the first issue of the quality magazine rolled off the presses recently to considerable acclaim, we managed to grab a moment with Sascha, 44, to find out more. So Sascha, tell us, what is the purpose of the new magazine?…
-
Phuket Business: Boat Avenue, Villa Market opens in Cherng Talay
PHUKET: It’s been too long – residents of Laguna Phuket, Cherng Talay and Bang Tao, who had been travelling all the way to Tesco Thalang to do most of their shopping, were forced to undertake expeditions to the well-stocked markets in the south of the island to buy hard-to-find imported goods. But with the grand opening of the Boat Avenue…
-
Phuket Aviation: Jetstar Asia CEO talks regional markets
PHUKET: Well-positioned to meet swelling demand for one of Phuket’s top three tourism source markets in the post-GFC era, leading low-cost carrier Jetstar celebrated its first direct flight from Melbourne to Phuket on December 14; As reported earlier this month by the Phuket Gazette, story here. The airline also recently announced that it will deploy one of its flagship Dreamliner…
-
Phuket Business: Go green, go electric
PHUKET: A new transportation option recently made its debut in Phuket. You don’t have to fill it up out of old whiskey bottles on the side of the road or break a sweat pedaling up the island’s steep hills. All you have to do is plug it in before you go to sleep at night.Electric bikes have undoubtedly been around…
-
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
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…
-
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…
-
One more challenge for McCormack
PHUKET: From a race track to a company board room – seems like change of pace for a world class athlete. But Chris McCormack proves otherwise. The same passion that let him win over 200 triathlons is about to help him achieve his goals as the new Executive Chairman of Thanyapura.He is certainly not a newcomer to the world of…
-
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
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…
-
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…
-
Phuket Business: FoodPanda to change eating habits
PHUKET: You didn’t buy this luxury villa to be forced to leave it every time you feel hungry. So if you’re tired of fast food and pizza – the most common delivery foods – there is a new solution for you. Online food delivery company, Foodpanda has just entered Phuket and plans to change islanders’ dining habits. The Phuket Gazette…
-
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
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…
-
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…
-
Report: Global wealth has doubled since 2000
PHUKET: A decade of negative real returns on equities, as well as more recent bear markets and housing bubbles bursting, has understandably made commentators cautious, even when there is good economic news. Nevertheless, the 2013 Crédit Suisse Global Wealth Report published recently has concluded that in spite of all this, global wealth has more than doubled since 2000, reaching a…
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.