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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Moody’s upgrades most Thai banks’ credit ratings from ‘stable’ to ‘positive’
Moody’s Investors Service upgraded the Baseline Credit Assessments of eleven Thai banks (1) Bangkok Bank Public Company Limited (BBL) (2) Bank of Ayudhya (BAY) (3) CIMB Thai Bank Public Company Limited (CIMBT) (4) Export-Import Bank of Thailand (EXIMT) (5) Government Housing Bank of Thailand (GHB) (6) KASIKORNBANK Public Company Limited (KBank) (7) Krung Thai Bank Public Company Limited (KTB) (8)…
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Thai Department of Land Transport brings better tech into the classroom
The Department of Land Transport is going to use fingerprint scanners, e-classrooms and CCTV as it aims to improve standards in the country’s driving schools. There are 275 DLT certified driving schools in 66 provinces across Thailand. Privately operated, they are given DLT quality guidelines which they must follow to maintain the level of their training and testing procedures. DLT…
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British and Australian expats and tourists ponder the Thai baht
The British pound continues to sag against the strong Thai Baht. And things are predicted to worsen for British tourists and local expats relying on funds out of the UK, as analysts predict the GBP to drop further as the date approaches for a ‘no deal’ Brexit and the Thai Baht continues to surge. As of 11.30am Thai time, the…
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Thai Navy pushing Cabinet for a second Chinese submarine
The Royal Thai Navy say they want to purchase a second submarine valued at 12 billion baht from China. Under the NCPO military government the cabinet agreed with the navy’s plan in 2016 to buy three submarines from China valued at 36 billion baht. The purchases would be spread over 11 years. The navy says they’re now waiting for the…
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Expat group petitions Thai immigration to abolish TM30 form
A group of expats, representing foreigners living in Thailand for many years, has prepared a petition for affected expats to sign, before they present it to Thai Immigration and government officials. They are requesting changes to the enforcement of the controversial TM30 form. There is a link to their website at the bottom of the page where you can sign the…
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Super Poll report card on the first days of the new Thai Parliament
A Super Poll has published results of Thai’s thoughts on the first few days of the new Parliament. • 72% say they gained nothing from the debate in parliament on the government’s policy statement • 78.6% admit they did not believe political parties would fulfil their election pledges. • 27.2% of the respondents said they have benefitted from the debate…
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Thai Airways needs restructuring to survive
Store your tray table and buckle up. It’s going to be a bumpy ride at Thai Airways. The airline’s president Sumeth Damrongchaitham say Thai Airways needs complete restructuring if it is to survive in the highly competitive aviation business. Sumeth said that under the restructuring, Thai Airways will focus more on the international market and link up with other members…
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Lights, camera, blog. TAT reaches out to online millennials.
PHOTO: Where in the World is Nina? With pressure on tourism authorities to come up with new ways to lure tourists to the Land Of Smiles and rebrand the tired ‘Amazing Thailand’ promotion, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) have come up with the ‘Thailand Village Academy’. Stepping firmly into the world of online bloggers and social media, the TAT…
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WWF Thailand pushes for sustainable tourism and preservation
An animal lover, nature lover and a Thai national, CEO of World Wide Fund-Thailand, Natalie Phaholyothin is particularly proud of Thailand’s national environment and wildlife heritage. “We have 127 national parks, which is quite a high number, and that in itself should be an indication of the potential for Thailand to become more of a sustainable tourism destination. “All Thais…
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Thailand’s headline inflation surged over 1% in March
“The SCB Economics Intelligent Centre has revised down its forecast for average headline inflation in 2019 to 0.9% year on year, a slight decline from the previous forecast of 1.0%year on year.” Thailand’s headline inflation surged to 1.24%, year on year, during March. This is up from 0.73%, year on year, in the previous month. Food and energy prices are the…
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Facebook removes accounts and pages because of “inauthentic behaviour”
“Facebook says the reason for the removal of the posts and accounts was because of their “behaviour” not the content they posted.” Facebook has erased over 1,800 accounts and pages from Thailand, Russia, Ukraine and Honduras in a move to counter abuses of its service and “deceptive political propaganda”. Facebook has shared examples of Thailand-based Facebook accounts, posts and pages it…
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Fights on offer as Pheu Thai MP and senator bicker in Parliament
PHOTO: @tanawatofficial It only took two days before the fingers started pointing and the first offer of a fist fight was made. Senator Kittisak Rattanawaraha, who challenged Pheu Thai MP Yutthapong Charassathien in parliament to a fist-fight yesterday, admitted he lost his patience because of Yutthapong’s continual bad-mouthing of other MPs. The Senators have all been hand-picked by the NCPO…
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Thailand’s Future Forward denies bizarre ‘Illuminati’ accusations
A lawyer and former advisor to Thailand’s chief ombudsman, Natthaporn Toprayoon has gone ‘full woo woo’ in cobbling together arguments to disband the Future Forward Party. In a petition submitted to the Constitutional Court, the lawyer has invoked fears of the ‘Illuminati’ secret society. He has accused Future Forward as being a threat to the country’s constitutional monarchy. He says…
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400 baht minimum daily wage worries Thai business chamber
The Thai Chamber of Commerce is raising concerns over the government’s proposal to raise the minimum daily wage to 400 baht. They say it will severely hit the country’s small to medium businesses. Chamber chairman Kalin Sarasin says they have been discussing the proposal with Chamber members and business operators discussions with many business operators. They found that most of…
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Accusations, working off-script and walk-outs. Day one in the new Thai parliament
PHOTO: The Nation One day down, another today. Thailand’s PM had his first day in a parliamentary setting and, despite taunts and barbs being thrown at him in true Parliamentary style, he stood firm. Sometimes working off-script and at other times visibly annoyed, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha barrelled through the formalities with a few “settle downs” coming from his right-hand man,…
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80 opposition MPs ready to go to battle with ‘newbie’ Thai PM
He’s never spoken in a Thai parliament. He’s never been leader of an elected government. He’s never had to do much debating or political negotiations. But he’s the Prime Minster of Thailand and he faces up to the new parliament tomorrow and Friday for the first two days of debate. All eyes will be in the PM to see how…
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Thailand’s taxi and tuk tuk scams and annoyances
“Where are you going?”, they shout from across the road. A Tuk Tuk driver wants to help you get to your next destination but the willing smile and lure of a ride in a local jalopy may have switched off your trusty scam-detector. Tuk Tuks and taxis, and the motorbike taxis too, are a convenient, safe and reasonably cheap way…
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Thai workers killed in van crash in South Korea
PHOTO: Thaikuknews Two Thai citizens have been killed in South Korea after their passenger van carrying 16 people skidded off a mountain road heading to a farm. The Korean Times reports that the two Thais, the van driver and another passenger were seriously injured after the van crashed through a guard rail. Nine other people, of mixed nationalities, were in the…
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Thai Government to focus on EEC projects to propel economy
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha will unveil his new government’s policy statement in Parliament when it sits formally on Thursday. Leaks to the media indicate his 12 ‘urgent’ and 12 ‘long-term’ policies will help Thailand step up to “developed-nation status” with many of the policies focussing on the Eastern Economic Corridor project. Among the urgent policies, the sixth calls for a “future-proof”…
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International credit rating agency gives Thailand a BBB+ economic report card
Fitch Ratings has revised its outlook on Thailand’s Long-Term Foreign Currency Issuer Default Rating to “positive” from “stable” and upgraded the rating to BBB+. The revision reflects increasing international economic confidence that lingering political risks are unlikely to derail “sound macroeconomic management”, according to the international credit rating agency, Fitch. “This is demonstrated by the sustained strength of external and…
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Economists predict Thai exports could fall 3.1% this year
Economists are forecasting that Thailand’s exports will drop by up to 3.1% for 2019 after June figures fell when compared to the same period last year. After the Commerce Ministry reported a 2.1% fall in June, the SCB Economic Intelligence Centre projected the country’s exports will drop this year by between 1.6-3.1%. “Although the US-China trade meeting after the G20…
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Airbnb welcomes new Thai Tourism Minister support of ‘short term’ accommodation
Airbnb welcomes the new Tourism and Sports Minister Pipat Ratchakitprakan’s and his commitment to grow tourism and support short-term accommodation in Thailand. Speaking to local media on his first day in office, Minister Ratchakitprakan identified short-term accommodation reform and growing tourism in secondary cities as a priority area for the Tourism and Sports Ministry. Airbnb’s Head of Public Policy for…
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TMB – strong baht hits foreign investment funds
TMB Bank are reporting that the strong baht has cut the value of the foreign investment fund under fund management, falling by 27 billion baht from 1.2 trillion baht at the start of the year. TMB said the drop reduced the fund’s return by 0.47%. The least impacted funds are those covering oil investment, gold, and property funds, at 0.53%,…
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Government unveils 12 policies – BKK street food return and a higher minimum wage
One of the new parliament’s first debates, when it sits on July 25 and 26, is over a formal policy listing 12 living standard priorities. The list laid out in a briefing paper lists surprisingly progressive policies for the new coalition. The government says it wants to reduce obstacles blocking people from earning a decent living and would utilise digital…
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Constitutional Court accepts petition over Prayut’s fitness to be PM
The Constitutional Court yesterday accepted a petition from opposition MPs questioning PM Prayut’s “qualifications” to hold the post of Thai prime minister. The Court announced its decision on its website, commenting that the petition had been signed by a total of 110 MPs from various opposition parties but declaring that Prayut was free to continue carrying out his duties as…
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Thailand’s tourism copes with surging baht headache
PHOTO: Thailand’s new tourism & sports minister, Piphat Ratchakitprakarn, hoping the finance ministry will listen to his pleas about the high baht Thailand’s new tourism & sports minister, Piphat Ratchakitprakarn, is blaming the surge of the baht for sucking the life out of tourist arrivals into Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy. Piphat yesterday said he’ll discuss with the Bank of Thailand…
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New Thai Tourism & Sports Minister has a wish-list to improve tourism
PHOTO: Tourism and Sports Minister, Pipat Ratchakitprakan – mots.go.th The new Thai Tourism and Sports Minister, Pipat Ratchakitprakan, has set out a shortlist of priorities in his new role. He says setting and maintaining better safety standards are vital to regain the confidence of foreign tourists. The minister says he would also discuss the high baht with the Finance Ministry and…
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TMD issues a new weather warning for tropical storm Danas
The Thai Meteorological Department has issued another warning about tropical storm Danas since saying it’s on the move, from the Philippines’ Luzon, north and north-eastward into the East China Sea. The storm appears headed for Taiwan and likely to dump plenty of heavy rain on the way. The storm is ‘sucking’ in moisture from the Indian Ocean across southern Thailand,…
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Number of passengers and flights drop slightly at 28 secondary Thai airports
28 airports under the Thai Airports Department have dropped traffic by 1% compared to the same time last year. The airports under the Airports Department don’t cover the largest airports at Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Hat Yai and Chiang Rai. Some 14.4 million passengers were recorded at the 28 airports under the department from October 2018 to June…
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Weerasak paints a rosy tourism picture as he steps down from Ministry
Weerasak Kowsurat, outgoing Tourism and Sports Minister In a final spin at the microphone as Sports and Tourism Minister, Weerasak Kowsurat made statements about Thailand’s tourism numbers and the Thai baht that differed from other published numbers and local anecdotal reports. Weerasak claimed, despite the appreciation of the baht, that Thailand has attracted as many as 21.08 million tourists in the…
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