Business News
Stay abreast of the ever-changing Business News in Thailand through our comprehensive coverage of local and international business events, market trends, and economic updates. We provide reliable analysis, in-depth features, and expert insights on the most relevant business stories, including issues affecting Thailand’s stock market, foreign investment, and entrepreneurship. Track the business world’s pulse as we inform you of crucial developments shaping Thailand’s economic landscape.
To keep up with the most recent business news in Thailand, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media.
-
Sponsored Promoting sustainable tourism at Blue Tree Phuket: Initiatives and impact
Blue Tree Phuket has been offering experiences that are both fun and environmentally conscious for many years. The comprehensive entertainment hub and waterpark has implemented numerous programs to enhance the sustainability of its practices, with its most recent endeavour being...
-
Major hotels prepare for blackouts next month
PHUKET: Major retailers, hotels and other businesses are planning strategies to cope with a possible electricity crisis in April, preparing to reduce power consumption to prevent blackouts and losses in revenue. A large supply of natural gas from Myanmar will be disrupted from April 4-12 as two drilling rigs in the Andaman Sea are shut down for repairs. Other fuel…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
AMCHAM taxation seminar for Americans
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 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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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,…
-
Rose vendors absorb inflation for ‘day of love’
PHUKET: Flower vendors across Phuket are relishing increased orders and sales for the ‘day for lovers’, even despite rising prices. Pran Supasri, a flower shop owner near Vachira Hospital says, “Rose prices have not increased significantly when compared to last year’s price.” He added that even though the price of roses has increased slightly ahead of Valentine’s Day, flower vendors…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Local officials step up talks, spending for ASEAN economy
PHUKET: Local officials continue to intensify dialogue, and thus anticipation for the 2015 ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), with the economic positioning for Phuket and the Southern region gradually beginning to take form. The latest ‘AEC – Phuket get ready’ talks, held last week at the Phuket Provincial Hall, covered the latest regional economic integration challenges and opportunities. Phuket Governor Maitri…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Phuket absorbs Southern langsat surplus
PHUKET: The island’s supply of langsat (Lansium domesticum) has increased by 10 tonnes over the past few weeks due to a late-season harvest surplus in and near Thailand’s Deep South. Since about mid-January, several agriculture groups from Yala, Songkhla and Phatthalung have travelled to Phuket to sell the fruit wholesale, with the Phuket Office of Commercial Affairs (POCA) serving as…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Phuket Business: New car owners due B1.2bn
PHUKET: More than 14,300 new car owners in Phuket took advantage of the government’s first-car rebate scheme, with the combined value of due rebates amounting to more than 1.2 billion baht. According to figures from the Phuket Excise Department (PED), a total of 14,327 eligible applications were filed in the province from September 16, 2011 to December 31, 2012. These…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Phuket Finance: UK bill reassures QROPS retirees
PHUKET: With the recent release of the draft finance bill for 2013, the UK government has eased worries of the QROPS (Qualified Recognized Overseas Pension Schemes) industry that new legislation might close down the market. Last year, offshore pension providers were quite shocked when HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs) removed overnight the ability of expat retirees to transfer their…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Phuket Business: The sweet taste of success at Vanich Sweetcorn Farm
PHUKET: Mr Apirag Vanich is the owner of the Vanich Sweetcorn Farm, which produces corn-based foodstuffs and drinks including; corn milk; boiled corn, fresh sweet corn and baby corn.They also produce three healthy drinks which are; butterfly pea flower tea, corn silk tea and mulberry juice. Vanich Sweetcorn Farm, spread out over an area of about 67 rai, uses modern…
-
Phuket Business: Reusable future
“We live in a world where every 12 seconds, a child dies because of dirty water and insanitation. CO2 continues to build up and forests are depleting. We live in a resource-constrained world. There are limits.” – Peter Bakker.PHUKET: These chilling words from Peter Bakker at a recent Bangkok symposium held by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)…
-
Phuket Business: Say it in Chinese
An exclusive interview with the Kopi Chinese Language Training Center reveals some of Phuket’s past and looks towards the future of foreign language learning. PHUKET: The business of education in Phuket continues on an upward trend, with one local Chinese language center preparing for the integration of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) in 2015. The Phuket Gazette’s student intern Wisuwat…
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.