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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Moving with family? Here’s how to cut health costs in Thailand
Relocating to Thailand with your family brings exciting new opportunities, but it also comes with the challenge of managing healthcare costs in a new system. Thailand has both public and private healthcare options, each offering different prices and quality of...
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Chinese government eyes interest in Phuket light rail
PHUKET: A state enterprise from the People’s Republic of China is the latest party to express interest in investing in Phuket’s light-rail project.An administration and engineering team from Mashucon Co Ltd announced the news in a meeting with Phuket Governor Tri Augaradacha at Provincial Hall yesterday afternoon.Executive Chairman Nopphon Tansakul told the governor that his team came on behalf of…
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Phuket Business: Toyota Sure opens shop
PHUKET: With so many new cars hitting the streets, the island’s used car and trade-in market is rapidly growing – particularly good news for car owners having second thoughts about a recently purchased or leased vehicle. Benchmarking market growth, Phuket’s Toyota Pearl recently held the soft opening of Toyota Sure, the brand’s renowned second-hand car dealership, located off Chalermprakiat (Bypass)…
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Phuket Business: Medical tours vital to economy
PHUKET: Medical tourism in Phuket is flourishing and contributing greatly to the local economy, a representative from one of Phuket’s major international hospitals has said. Speaking exclusively with the Phuket Gazette, Peter Davidson, assistant manager of international services at Phuket International Hospital, said that “the number of people coming to Phuket for dental work and plastic surgery continues to expand…
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Phuket flower shops report blooming sales
PHUKET: Flower shops in Phuket are doing brisk business today, St Valentine’s Day 2012. Many flower shops report record orders for floral arrangements, from both inside Phuket and off-island. Classic red roses remain the most popular items among the adults, while teddy bears and chocolates are increasingly popular among teenagers. Flower shops in Phuket Town are displaying special flower arrangements…
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Phuket Business: Get ready for higher petrol prices
PHUKET: Now that we are fully into the swing of 2012, the Christmas tradition of goodwill to all men seems a lifetime away. When I get out of bed and go on my now regular morning beach run in Phuket – yes, my New Year’s resolution is still being adhered to – global problems seem to be a million miles…
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Phuket Business: Cool solutions to cut costs
PHUKET: Despite rising energy prices and the scorching heat outside, home and business owners in Phuket can reduce their electric and utilities overheads by taking advantage of the latest energy saving innovations. Up until recently, Phuket’s green energy market has been supplied with only a limited offering of environmentally friendly technologies and energy saving solutions. Notably, a handful of key…
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DaVinci charters steps forward for 2012 Bay Regatta
PHUKET: It’s not unusual when marinas and yacht brokers cross over into the restaurant business, but co-sponsor of the Bay Regatta 2012, Phuket’s iconic Italian restaurant DaVinci – scored a first when they crossed in the opposite direction. Sponsoring yachting and yacht racing is one thing – and DaVinci has shown other island businesses how that should be done –…
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PIMEX boosts marine-triangle tourism
PHUKET: At the forefront of Asia’s growing marine leisure industry, Phuket island is one of the top five cruising destinations in the world, and lies in the heart of the emerging ‘Andaman Marine Triangle’. Consisting of Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi provinces, the Andaman Marine Triangle is home to some of the most stunning sailing grounds in the world. Indeed,…
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Phuket Business: New biz center opens
PHUKET: Kasikorn Bank Group opened Southern Thailand’s first Business Services, Securities and Leasing Center, located on Thepkrasatri road in Phuket Town recently. The center will specialize in investment and lending services for Kasikorn clients in Phuket and the entire southern region. Padermpob Songkroh, Managing Director of Private Fund Management, Kasikorn Securities said, “The center is one of only 12 nationwide…
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Phuket Business: White-collared workers to gain from boom
PHUKET: The local work force and overall economy of Phuket stand to benefit from the ensuing boom in real estate, an executive of a major real estate developer has said. Speaking exclusively with the Phuket Gazette, Suriya Wannabuit, Executive Vice President of the Project Management and Marketing Department of Sansiri Pcl, shared his thoughts about the local economy. “Locals don’t…
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Phuket Business: Hydrofoil pilots
PHUKET: An innovative technology which looks to give a boost to the Andaman coastal region’s sea transport industry, is now being piloted off the shores of Phuket. Benchmarked by the unofficial launch of a hydrofoil sea transport and tour service, swift and seamless day trips from Phuket to distant, offshore havens in Krabi and Phang Nga provinces are not only…
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Phuket Business: Dive center targets “no niche’
PHUKET: THE international appeal of Phuket’s dive industry has seen many dive shops and dive centers on the island honing in on specific niche markets, usually centered around a specific country or nationality. Backed with their well-equipped dive boat and brand new training facilities, Andaman Ocean Safaris’ business model takes niche marketing a step further, by targeting agents, rather than…
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Phuket Business: Now is the time to structure your financial investments
PHUKET: Now that 2012 is in full swing and no doubt many of the New Year’s resolutions have been thrown out of the window, it’s time to get a hold of the purse strings and have a set plan for the forthcoming year. I have already given my views on what I believe we can expect from the year ahead.…
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Phuket “fully booked’ for Korean, Chinese New Years
PHUKET: Local tourism representatives are expecting hotel occupancy rates of 90 to 100% across Phuket during the upcoming festive period. Most tourist arrivals to Phuket at the end of January will come by direct flights from China and Korea, said Somboon Jirayus, Presdient of Phuket Tourist Association. “In addition to Seoul, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, there are currently about…
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Phuket Business: Outlook 2012 – bulls to the fore?
PHUKET: Personally, I am very glad 2011 is over; it was a horrible year across the board for almost all investment strategies. I do think 2012 will be a better year, although I am not predicting that things are going to get better overnight. Unfortunately there are two opposing forces at play which allows for a lot of uncertainty in…
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Phuket Business: Customs: trade thrives in 2011
PHUKET: Trade flourished during 2011 in Phuket, with the island’s surplus of exports over imports more than 10.4 billion baht, according to statistics recently released by the Phuket Customs House. The total value of imports to the island during the 2011 Thai Government fiscal year (October 2010 to September 2011) was 2.12bn baht compared to 12.5bn baht in exports during…
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Phuket Business: Solar system pilots
PHUKET: An innovative new solar power system will be making its world premier in the coming months, with Phuket to serve as a pilot market, and possibly a manufacturing base. The Powerrrup – that’s right, 3 rs – is an ingenious yet simple ground-breaking, renewable energy system developed specifically with the island’s “green conscious” market in mind. Its inventor, Ivan…
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Phuket Business: Trade, investment and green innovation on the up
PHUKET: Trade in Phuket flourished in 2011, while prospects for new investment and ground-breaking, eco-friendly innovation on the island are looking quite good in the year ahead. The latest 2011-2012 import-export figures released by the Phuket Customs House indicate that the island’s economy continued to grow over the past several years – mostly thanks to one viable yet heated commodity.…
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Phuket Business: Dot Com rise and fall on the way
PHUKET: Dot com and dot net website owners in Phuket and across the globe will incur an increase in annual registration fees of no less than 7% after Sunday.Webmasters wanting to take advantage of current rates have until 11:59pm on Saturday in the time zone that the registrar is located to make sure their web domains’ registrations have been accepted,…
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Phuket Business Briefs: new AirAsia route; Sri Lankan E-visa; Dollar rise; Wallace leaves
Trang welcomes new AirAsia routeThai AirAsia has announced regular flights between Bangkok and Trang commencing in the middle of January. Currently Nok Air and Orient Thai service the destination. Tourism in the southern area of Trang continues to struggle with low demand. Sri Lanka starts E-visa requirementDespite a drive to increase tourism numbers into post-war Sri Lanka, the country is…
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Phuket Business: Year-end events inject B370mn into economy
PHUKET: A number of large events held in Phuket during the final month of 2011 are expected to have generated as much as 370 million baht in revenue, government officials were told recently. The news was announced at a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall. Chaired by Phuket Governor Tri Aukaradacha, the meeting was attended by representatives from various government departments.…
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Phuket Island Investor: Always look on the brighter side of life
PHUKET: Now that the Christmas trees have been taken down and the New Year has been well and truly rung in, we can start looking forward to all that 2012 has to offer. It is fair to say that 2011 was a turbulent year in the world of the financial markets, but will 2012 be any better? We certainly have…
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Phuket Business: Ingredients of good showbiz
PHUKET: Siam Niramit Phuket recently launched the second edition of “Thailand’s Must-See Show”, opening a massive new theater on the bypass road near Phuket Town to house it. Good news for the local entertainment and tourism sectors, Siam Niramit Phuket’s “Journey to the Enchanted Kingdom of Siam” show provides one more compelling itinerary for tourists and residents alike. Pannin Kitiparaporn,…
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Phuket Business: Time is money
PHUKET: One of the first concepts we needed to learn when studying finance was that of the time value of money. In theoretical terms it is quite easy to understand, but when practically applying it to life decisions it can be a little more complicated. Basically the idea is that 100 dollars today is preferable to 100 dollars in a…
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Phuket Business: a modern gold rush
PHUKET: As my latest trip to the UK continues, I was thinking “What can I get my dearest for Christmas this year?” I’m not the biggest fan of shopping trips and love nothing more than having a fixed plan in place to minimize the whole experience. Being Christmas, though, I thought I should give this a little more time and…
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Weeding out hype in Phuket’s health-conscious market
PHUKET: Health and environment are two buzzwords that are being heard a lot nowadays across the globe and Phuket is no exception. Health-conscious segments of local markets continue to grow and an increasing number of producers are looking to exploit this consumer base. What was once a niche market has turned into an ‘eco green everything’ fad. Indeed, many consumers,…
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Phuket’s superyacht industry flourishing
PHUKET: Migratory birds aren’t the only ones moving south to escape plummeting temperatures in the northern hemisphere. South Asia is rapidly becoming the preferred winter destination for owners of superyachts – motor yachts in excess of 30 meters or 100 feet. Indeed, an increasing number of these luxurious leisure ships can be sighted off the shores and islands across the…
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Business briefs – new airbus for Phuket; 3G; rubber trading
New Bangkok Airways Airbus to fly Phuket, Koh Samui, Chiang Mai, Bangledesh and IndiaPhuket GazetteBangkok Airways recently acquired a new Airbus 319, the airline’s 18th aircraft. With a total of 130 economy seats, the new craft will fly domestic and international routes serving at least five destinations including Phuket, Koh Samui, Chiang Mai, Bengarulu (Bangalore, India) and Dhaka (Bangladesh). The…
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Phuket’s labor shortage critical
PHUKET: Industry analysts describe the labor shortage in the Phuket tourism industry as “critical”, with as many as 4,000 vacant hotel positions as the island enters its annual high season for tourism. Bhuritt Maswongsa, a vice president of the Phuket Tourist Association, said, “The lack of hotel employees has now reached a crisis point with 3,000 to 4,000 unfilled positions.…
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Phuket Business: Bad investments – a fiscal toy story
PHUKET: I often write about things which I think may or may not be worth considering as an investment. Today I would like to try and get my readers to understand some things which generally are considered as bad investments. Professionals in my industry usually will vary greatly on their opinions of what is a good investment at any one…
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