Thailand News
Thailand news, politics, business, crime, and lifestyle—get breaking updates from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond. Stay informed on Thai society, economy, tourism, and expat life with The Thaiger.
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Thai coalition government may not last more than two years, experts caution
PHOTO: The Nation Economic concerns and doubts over the government’s legitimacy may mean it only maintains a grip on power for two years, according to academics. The situation is not helped by Deputy PM General Prawit Wongsuwan being made chief strategist of the Phalang Pracharat party. According to Titipol Phakdeewanich, Dean of Ubon Ratchathani University’s Political Science faculty, this only…
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Some Mac Book Pros banned on Thai Airways flights to the EU
Thai Airways is telling passengers travelling on their fleet that some Apple MacBook Pro notebooks, distributed between 2015 to 2017, won’t be allowed on flights to and from EU countries. According to the Bangkok Post, the vice president of Thai Airways’ aviation safety department, Flt Lt Prathana Pattanasiri, claims the flag carrier is banning MacBook Pro 15-inch notebooks purchased between September…
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Saving Thai Airways
PHOTO: The pleasant smile and wai won’t fill aircraft seats anymore Whilst it’s always a generally pleasant experience flying Thai Airways, the airline, in a business sense, is a basket case racking up nearly a decade of losses, first under the Yingluck Shinawatra Government and then the military government of the NCPO. Most people in aviation circles agree on the…
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Proposal to offer 15 day visa-free travel to Chinese and Indian visitors steam-rolled
The new Thai Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn’s proposal to provide 15 day visa-free travel to Chinese and Indian tourists, was steam-rolled yesterday by Cabinet. The cabinet resolved instead to extend the fee waiver on visas for visitors from China, India and other countries in the program. The program will now be extended beyond October 31 this year to…
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Former finance minister says government shouldn’t bail out Thai Airways
Former Thai Finance Minister and current Democrat list MP Korn Chatikavanich is voicing his concerns over the financial crisis gripping Thai Airways and objects to any plan to use taxpayer money to rescue the ailing legacy airline. Korn says Thai Airways’ financial current troubles are similar to the situation in 2008, when the company struggled to find money to repay…
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TAT proposes 4am closing time at nightspots to promote tourism…ummmmm
The Thai government are coming up with new ideas to actually lure people to visit Thailand. Go figure!?! Now the Tourism Authority of Thailand is suggesting to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports to extend the closing hours of night entertainment establishments in Thailand’s party zones by another 2 hours, from 2am until 4am. Of course, in most of the…
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Thai Government seeks public opinion on civil same-sex union bill
PHOTO: Chiang Rai Times The Thai justice minister is insisting that draft legislation for civil partnerships of same-sex couples won’t be rushed and that the department is waiting for public feedback on the proposal. Justice Minister Somsak Thepsutin says the process will take time as it requires “careful deliberation to prevent any misunderstanding”. Somsak made the comments yesterday whilst chairing…
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Executives at Thai Airways asked to take pay cut
PHOTO: Thai Airways and Thai PBS World “An unnamed source in the Transport Ministry says the airline’s financial predicament is very serious and puts it at risk of bankruptcy.” The country’s national flag carrier, Thai Airways, could be in deep financial trouble and may need to delay repaying its debt or seek new loans. Thai PBS World reports tat the…
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Thai Tourism Minister pushes ahead with visa-free entry for Indian, Chinese visitors
PHOTO: ThaiVisa Despite criticism from both the Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai and Deputy Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, the Tourism and Sports Minister says he will push on with plans for visa-free entry for Chinese and Indian tourists. Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn plans to put the proposal to Cabinet on August 20, despite the national security concerns of both ministers. “I…
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Thailand’s Koh Chang by numbers, another island on the rise
by Bill Barnett of c9hotelworks.com Despite being one of the country’s biggest islands in the Gulf of Thailand, Koh Chang has remained somewhat off the mass tourism development footprint. C9 Hotelworks has taken a look into what makes the island tick in their newly released Koh Chang Tourism Market Review. Koh Chang is off the coast of Trat in far…
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Thai Immigration bristles about TM30 revolt as it copes with PR disaster
The TM30 form, as well as the associated TM28 form, have now become a huge public relations liability for the Thai Immigration Department. The more questions asked, and the more explanations by well-intentioned Immigration officials, the more confusing the whole matter becomes. If the policy is intended to make Thailand safer and make foreigners feel more secure, the opposite is…
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Thai foreign minister criticises visa waiver proposal
The Foreign Ministry opposes the Tourism and Sports Ministry’s proposal to waive visas for Indian and Chinese tourists, calling it a “risk to national security”. The proposal was put forward at a meeting last Friday, as part of a series of measures to boost the economy through an injection of over 300 billion baht in tourism. It would permit Chinese and…
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UPDATE: 9 Chinese arrested over 5 billion baht fraud case
On Saturday The Thaiger reported that nine Chinese nationals had been taken into custody after travelling to Thailand in order to avoid prosecution for crimes in China. They were wanted by Chinese authorities for alleged crimes in China. Read that report HERE. We now have some further details… Out of the 9, 5 were male and 4 were female. They…
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PM calls for Thai Army’s support on drought, security and tourist safety
The Thai PM has chaired the first Defence Assembly session in his role of Minister of Defence, urging the armed forces to support the government’s work in realising policies such as cybersecurity enhancement, drought mitigation, and tourist safety. In the first Defence Assembly session, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha urged leaders of the armed forces and related departments to work in unison…
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Chinese and Indians to be offered visa free arrival for 15 days in Thailand
The Tourism and Sports Minister says he’ll seek cabinet approval to offer visa exemptions to visitors from China and India for one year. Already Chinese tourists have a visa-on-arrival fees exemption. The current promotion is set to end on October 31 this year. If the new visa exemption is approved by cabinet it will start on November 1 and run…
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Thai GM’s diesel plant in Rayong builds 500,000th engine
GM Powertrain Thailand has produced its 500,000th four-cylinder Duramax turbo-diesel engine, a production milestone since production officially started in 2011. GM announced that the Rayong plant is the first GM facility in the world to produce the engine. Hector Villarreal, president of GM Southeast Asia says the Duramax engines serve as the heart of the company’s ‘Colorado’ and ‘Trailblazer’ models. “They…
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Electronic monitoring bracelet probe told to report back by August 23
The Thai Justice Ministry permanent secretary Wisit Wisitsora-at has set a deadline of August 23 for a probe into allegations that the Chinese electronic monitoring ankle or wrist bracelets, rented by the Department of Probation, can be removed by the parolled offenders without the department being alerted. Wisit, who was assigned to set up a committee to check the EM…
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7 year old elephant dies after being hit by truck
PHOTO: Twitter/@fm91trafficpro A 7 year old wild elephant has died whilst it was being taken to an animal hospital in Nakhon Pathom after being hit by a truck in Chon Buri early this morning. The female elephant weighed about 3 tonne and was following her mother at the time, according to a message on social media. The elephant was hit…
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Asian stock markets follow Wall Street’s lead downward this morning
Asian stock markets have followed Wall Street’s lead this morning falling sharply as investors made their concerns apparent about economic recessions in some of the larger economies. They also reacted to more threats of instability from the trade war between the US and China. The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index dropped 1.6% during this morning’s trading. US markets led…
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Nation Multimedia Group aims to counter tech ‘disruption’
PHOTO: NMG group chief, Shine Bunnag Thailand’s media giant Nation Multimedia Group say they are poised to ride the new “digital wave” to tide over the industry disruption brought about by technology, group chief Shine Bunnag said while outlining his vision. Shine, who is chairman of NMG’s executive committee, said in an interview with Krungthep Turakij newspaper that with the…
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Thailand, the land of festivals
Fireworks, colour, smoke, noise, costumes, absence of occupational health and safety. That could describe any of the many, many festivals held around Thailand each year. Different regions, different festivals. Some reflect an ancient culture and a rich history, other make absolutely no sense but we enjoy them anyway. We’ll go through some of the main ones and a few you’ll…
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Thai developers revising strategies after a drop in Q2
Some of Thailand’s largest property developers have reported drops in revenue and profit in Q2 2019. The slump follows commercial banks in Thailand reining in loan approvals in response to a new loan-to-value regulation that took effect on April 1. • AP (Thailand) reported total Q2 revenue of 4.8 billion baht, down 25.9% compared to last year’s 6.48 billion baht,…
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Industry minister says exporters will still need help to work-around strong Thai currency
The strong Thai baht is still a big problem for Thailand’s industries, exports and tourism, key drivers of the Thai economy. The baht’s strength has been partly driven by Thailand’s high current account surplus of US$17 billion this year, attracting investment in the currency as a ‘safe haven’. Industry Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit says the ministry will continue to support exporters…
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Thai couple spend 1.5 million baht on tomb for their pug dog
PHOTOS: khaosod.co.th A couple in Kanchanaburi Province has spent 1.5 million baht to build an elaborate ‘romanesque’ mausoleum for their pug dog who died of old age. In a rather macabre attempt at preservation, they have arranged two refrigerated coffins to ‘preserve’ their beloved woofer. Defying Buddhist convention for the deceased, the owners are keeping their dog on ice instead…
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Nine minor parties convinced to stick with government
PHOTO: Deputy Agriculture Minister Thammanat Prompao, somehow negotiated the dissident MPs back into the coalition Nine disaffected smaller parties in the governing coalition, who earlier threatened to break away to form an independent opposition bloc, have been convinced to stay in the Palang Pracharat coalition and have vowed to support the government. Ten single-MP parties showed signs of a rift…
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Thai land prices appreciate average of 8.3%
Land prices around Thailand have risen by an average of 8.3%, whilst land in the Eastern Economic Corridor have appreciated by more than 10% – the new land appraisals will be implemented for tax collection purposes next year, according to Wilawan Veerakun, deputy director general of the Treasury Department. The price of parcels of land in Khampaeng Phet province has gone…
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Thai advertisers deserting Print, but love Cinema and Transit ads
Thai businesses are shunning newspapers and magazines for advertising, but still support cinema advertising and ‘transit’ media. Newspaper advertising spend dropped nearly 28%. Magazine spending wasn’t far behind dropping nearly 25%, year on year. Thailand’s advertising spend dropped 0.42% year on year in July to about 9.143 billion baht, according to Nielsen media report. The report says that only cinema,…
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Thailand tightens the screws on TM30 reporting, petition ongoing
Nearly 5,000 Thai expats have now signed a petition pleading for modification or abolition of the TM30 immigration form. The well-organised petition calling for changes to the form is an unusual step for expats who, most of the time, keep their head down and out of the daily operations of the Land of Smiles. For its part, Thai Immigration says…
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Treasury department plans new lease of life for disused buildings
The Treasury Department is considering leasing out older and disused buildings for commercial development if the lessee pledges to preserve their historical, architectural or cultural value. The department’s director general, Amnuay Preemonwong, says it would be a better option than seeing them abandoned and becoming increasingly dilapidated causing health and safety risks to neighbours. But the proposal will not apply to…
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Thai coalition will meet with disgruntled MPs today
PHOTO: Thai PM praying he can glue back all the pieces of the Palang Pracharat coalition after weekend defection threats With defections threatened from disgruntled minor coalition partners, Palang Pracharat has been shocked into coming up with packages of party positions to try and ‘keep them happy’ amidst threats to the coalition’s majority. The Palang Pracharath Party is looking to…
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