business

  • World News

    Thai AirAsia X becomes third airline in Thailand to file for bankruptcy

    Thai AirAsia X, the international low-cost carrier under the AirAsia umbrella, has had its bankruptcy claim accepted by a Thai court. This makes it the third airline in Thailand, along with Nok Air and Thai Airways, to file for bankruptcy since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. TAAX director, Tassapon Bijleveld, says all existing bookings will be honoured, including flights…

  • Business News

    Thai airlines say recovery being held up by high fuel prices

    The head of commercial operations at Thai Lion Air says high oil prices continue to hinder recovery in the aviation sector. Nuntaporn Komonsittivate says that, while tourism is slowly improving since the easing of entry restrictions, airlines are still struggling. “The airline business has grappled with the pandemic for more than 2 years. Oil prices account for 30% of operational…

  • China News

    Strict Covid-19 rules make companies in China think about moving investments

    Now that 43 cities in China are under either full or partial lockdown, more and more European companies in the country are seeking to move their investments. The European Chamber of Commerce in China announced today that nearly a quarter of respondents on a survey were considering moving current or planned investments out of China. 92% of the respondents say…

  • News

    Thai government to control inflation prices for consumer products

    As the Thai government attempts to control inflation, the PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says that there must be no shortages of consumer products or outages, and the prices must not be too expensive. The world wide inflation problems have been created by government’s artificially over-heating economies with quantitative easing rising energy and commodity prices and exacerbated by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.…

  • Thailand News

    Thai Airways makes 1 million baht in 1 minute from selling airplane seats

    Thai Airways International made over a million baht in just a minute yesterday by selling their colourful economy class seats from a decommissioned Airbus A330-300. The strapped-for-cash airline climbing out of an around 400 billion baht debt has been working on ways to stay afloat financially during the pandemic, like selling off its warehouse items and opening up a pop-up…

  • Thailand News

    IKEA to open another store in Bangkok’s Phrom Phong area

    Last week, IKEA, the famous Swedish furniture company, announced is set to open another store in Bangkok’s Phrom Phong in the Emsphere, Emporium and Emquatier shopping district. The IKEA complex is still under construction and there is no announcement on the planned opening date. This will be their fourth location in Thailand alongside Mega Bangna, Central Westgate, IKEA Phuket. Mega…

  • Thailand News

    Workers on online platforms are reportedly underpaid – Thailand Labour Ministry

    Since the outbreak of Covid-19, a lot of people have been working from home, and many have become freelancers. The idea might sound good on paper, but they faced many challenges from having limited access to government welfare and being underpaid and undervalued. Thai Health Promotion Foundation and the Labour Ministry had organised a forum for people to voice their…

  • Property News

    Frasers to invest 10 billion baht in industrial space, ‘new economy’ by 2025

    Frasers Property Industrial aims to invest 10 billion baht to expand its industrial buildings from 3 to 4 million square metres by 2025, with 50% of new projects directed at the “new economy” category, according to the Bangkok Post. FPIT expects to continue its dominance by expanding its market share to 60% — up from the pre-pandemic 40%. This year,…

  • Property

    Central Patana to open largest mixed-use project in Chanthaburi

    Central Pattana is set to unveil Central Chanthaburi — the largest and most comprehensive mixed-use development in eastern Thailand. The complex, which is scheduled to officially open on May 26, will exemplify the company’s mixed-use project model in urban cities to strengthen the local economy. Central Chanthaburi is anticipated to be a new city landmark, consisting of a hotel, shopping…

  • Thailand News

    Carl’s Jr. says goodbye to Thailand, stores in Bangkok and Pattaya close next week

    The American fast-food chain, Carl’s Jr., is saying goodbye to Thailand. All six of its stores in Bangkok and Pattaya will close by the end of the month. The R&R Restaurant Group, which owns the franchise rights to run Carl’s Jr. chains in Thailand, says that it can no longer afford to operate it. The group says it was forced to…

  • Property

    Sansiri to launch 28 low-rise properties in 2022, bolstering ‘affordable’ housing in Thailand

    Thailand real estate developer Sansiri says it aims to launch 28 new projects worth 39 billion baht in 2022, more than double last year’s figure, citing its growing confidence in low-rise housing projects for the domestic market. Last year, Sansiri’s presales for low-rise properties totalled 22.4 billion baht, comfortably exceeding its goal of 20 billion baht by 12%, according to…

  • World News

    Singapore wants to attract highly skilled expats

    Singapore has devised a new system to identify unusually high talent, or ‘super skills’ in expats. The system is points-based, and scores factors including education, skills, and how expats’ nationalities contribute to diversity in their company. It is set to start in September. Singapore’s Manpower Minister said business chambers and companies have welcomed the scheduled points system. He told Bloomberg Television the…

  • Thailand Travel

    Majority of Thailand hotels not profitable under Test & Go

    A majority of hotels in Thailand are in the red, following the relaunch of the Test & Go program earlier this year. The bleak outlook for Thailand’s hotel industry follows nearly 2 years of little, or no, patronage with only a select few able to take advantage of the limited travellers coming through the turnstiles. According to a survey of…

  • Thailand News

    Paypal will still work in Thailand until the end of the year

    After Paypal warned of suspending its services in Thailand starting March 7, the company announced yesterday that it will in fact keep providing services in the country until the end of the year. Paypal had warned it would close services in Thailand after Thai authorities wanted it to verify all users’ identities, in order to prevent money laundering. But now,…

  • Property

    Sena to expand housing, warehouse portfolio in 2022

    Sena Development intends to expand into warehouses, serviced apartments and asset management in 2022, while also developing 49 new residential properties valued at 27.5 billion baht. This year, the company intends to venture into new sectors in order to increase stable earnings from regular income, with the majority of new operations connected firms that can help with property development, the…

  • Thailand News

    Thais can now work in Saudi Arabia

    As of yesterday, Thai workers can now work in Saudi Arabia, and will be protected by Saudi laws. Thailand’s cabinet approved two draft agreements about this yesterday, which will last for five years. They will be extended for another five years unless one or both parties decide against it. Both countries will cooperate to make sure recruitment and employment is…

  • Travel

    Top 10 hard truths of living as an expat in Thailand

  • Travel

    Common jobs for foreigners in Thailand 2022

    Thailand is a great place for everyone, from families to backpackers to retirees and those who want to work here. There are a lot of people who have fallen in love with the country and never left. After two years of pandemic, Thailand is slowly opening up and we believe that once the dust has settled, there will be plenty…

  • Property

    Pruksa plans to invest 3.5 billion baht in property, healthcare and tech startups

    Pruksa Holding plans to spend 3.5 billion baht in property and healthcare technology businesses to improve its primary operations and increase cash flow, following a 2 year restructure and stock clearance. The CEO stated that the company’s two major operations, property development and hospitals, will be synergised with technology and innovations. Their plan is to invest in startups via joint ventures…

  • Thai Life

    Top 10 hard truths of living as an expat in Thailand

  • Property

    Bangkok office owners face flood of new competition – CBRE

    As the office sector experiences its lowest net take-up rate, Bangkok landlords should upgrade their existing properties and provide better and more flexible leases to lure renters, before a massive amount of new places start to open, stated consultancy firm CBRE Thailand. The pandemic has had the most significant impact on Bangkok office spaces since the 1997 financial crisis. “There…

  • Property

    SC Asset to develop 27 domestic projects in 4 years, targets 100 billion baht in revenue

    SC Asset Corporation aims to invest 40 billion baht to build new residential developments in Thailand totaling 130 billion baht between 2022 and 2025, with a revenue target of 100 billion baht over the next four years. Of the 130 billion baht the SET-listed developer intends to invest in new releases from 2022 to 2025, 20 billion baht would go…

  • Bangkok News

    Thailand’s retail giant Central plans 100 billion baht investment by 2026

    Over the next 5 years, Southeast Asia’s largest retailer plans to invest 100 billion baht to grow its business even more. The Thailand-based Central Retail Corporation Pcl, which has more than 20 department stores and shopping centres across Thailand as well as two outlets in Indonesia, says the investment, which is around US$3.03 billion, is aimed at increasing revenue and…

  • Property

    Dusit continues asset light hotel development plan for 2022

    SET listed Dusit International is sticking to its hotel opening schedule for 2022, developing a long term strategy while implementing an asset light model. Dusit International CEO Suphajee Suthumpun said the company is on schedule to open new hotels in Thailand and abroad, including in Greece, India, the Middle East, the Philippines and China. Dusit Thani’s international hotel, resort and luxury…

  • Thailand News

    Streaming services rake in more than 815 million baht, emerge as new cash cow for Thai entertainment industry

    The Department of International Trade Promotion announced on Tuesday that international streaming services like VIU, iQiyi, WeTV, and Netflix, alongside the Thai film industry, have earned Thailand more than 815 million baht. The news comes after the DITP held a meeting with members from international streaming providers and 15 Thai content creators to improve their relationship on January 27. This…

  • World News

    Regional low-cost carriers expand routes in Southeast Asia as travel slowly resumes

    International flights in the Southeast Asia region continue to resume, with low-cost carriers expanding their routes as countries re-open. According to a TTR Weekly report, the Singapore Airlines subsidiary, Scoot, is resuming the Singapore – Ho Chi Minh route, with 4 round-trip flights a week. A twice-weekly service connecting Singapore and Hanoi is planned from February 22. Last week, Vietnam…

  • World News

    Laos government allows Chinese firm to dig rare earth minerals, locals concerned

    Villagers in northeastern Laos have voiced concerns over losing their land to a Chinese firm that was recently approved by the Southeast Asian government to dig for rare earth minerals. A government source says some displaced villagers will receive compensation. Although the Lao Ministry of Plans and Development signed an agreement on January 21 allowing the Tong Lee Seung Industrial…

  • Tourism News

    Thai airlines pin their hopes on government resuming Test & Go

    The president of the Airlines Association of Thailand says the government must allow the Test & Go entry scheme to resume as soon as possible. The scheme was recently suspended as the Omicron Covid-19 variant spread rapidly across the globe. Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth, who is also the boss of Bangkok Airways, says the scheme was working well, attracting more foreign visitors…

  • World News

    Luxury Selfridges chain bought by Central Group and Austrian property firm

    Thailand’s Central Group has bought the luxury British retail chain Selfridges in partnership with Signa, an Austrian property firm. According to a Reuters report, the deal is worth around UK£4 billion (180 billion baht). Central Group is owned by Thailand’s billionaire Chirathivat family, while the Signa group is owned by Rene Benko, an Austrian investor. Between them, they already own…

  • Bangkok News

    Booze sales are likely to be extended until midnight during Christmas and New Year’s

    The hours on alcohol sales at restaurants might be extended on Christmas and New Year’s. Thai authorities are now considering pushing the hours for sales of beer and liquor from 9pm to 11pm or midnight. The proposal will be reviewed today during a meeting with government agencies and tourism associations, according to the Minister of Tourism and Sports, Phiphat Rachakitprakarn,…