money
- Thailand News
Former monk denies embezzling 180 million baht from Nakhon Ratchasima temple
A former monk and two other individuals have been arrested on suspicion of embezzling 180 million baht from Wat Pha Dhammakiri in Nakhon Ratchasima. The accused ex-monk, Khom Khongkeaw, previously known as Phra Ajarn Khom Abhivaro, denies the allegations. During police questioning, Khom and his sister claimed that the money was used for “other purposes,” and that they had no…
- Thailand News
2 Chinese and 17 Thais arrested for illegal money lending apps
On Thursday, Thai police reported the arrests of two Chinese citizens and 17 Thais for operating several illegal money lending applications charging interest rates of 2,080 percent per year. The Center for Countering Abuse by Loan Sharks of the Royal Thai Police investigated more than 40 illegal money lending applications after numerous victims filed complaints in the last 12 months.…
- Economy News
Thai baht soars to six-month high against US dollar
The Thai baht opened at 34.78 against the US dollar today, strengthening from yesterday’s close of 35 to a six-month high. The baht’s sudden rise is down to the Bank of Thailand’s (BOT) hiking the policy rate by a quarter point earlier this week. The BOT remains committed to a gradual monetary tightening policy, raising the policy rate from 1%…
- Thailand News
20 baht notes printed with errors, says Bank of Thailand
A batch of 20 baht banknotes have been printed with errors, the Bank of Thailand (BOT) said yesterday. The BoT said the Thai numerals were printed mismatching the Arabic numerals. People can still use the misfit banknotes until they are fully removed from the system, Thai media said. The company De La Rue (DLR) International Limited said that there was…
- Business News
Kasikornbank bank buys 67% of Indonesian bank, Bank Maspion
One of Thailand’s premier banks, Kasikornbank, has purchased majority shareholding in Indonesian bank, Bank Maspion, for US$220 million. The agreement should be completed by the end of the year, with Kbank owning 67.5% of Maspion shares. Two years ago, rival competitor Bangkok Bank splashed almost US$2.3 billion baht in an Indonesian bank, Bank Permata. Following a plan to spend US$20…
- Thailand News
Prison guard under investigation for blackmail
After a guard at the Thonburi Women’s Correctional Institute in Bangkok was suspected of corruption and bribery, an investigation is now underway. In return for alleged special treatment, the guard wanted money from the family of a prisoner. The guard, who has not been named, is now suspended during the investigation and will be fired if proven guilty. Somsak Thepsuthin,…
- Travel
City Guide: How to open a bank account in Thailand 2022
Opening a bank account in Thailand is important if you’re going to stay here for the long run. Expats frequently have trouble opening a bank account or are uninformed about the process. This’s where we come in… Having a Thai bank account can help you manage your finances more effectively, including sending and receiving money from overseas. Obviously, it’s necessary…
- 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…
- Sponsored
How cross-border payments fintechs like DeeMoney are empowering the gig economy
Press Release Even before COVID-19 changed the world of work forever, there was a trend towards a greater reliance on freelancers. In fact, they now make up 35 per cent of the global workforce – that’s about 1.1 billion people. Unsurprisingly, that number has been skyrocketing during the pandemic, with a growth of 24% recorded in just a single quarter…
- Thailand News
Say goodbye to your PayPal account from March 7, services to relaunch in Thailand
Got a PayPal account? Withdraw your remaining balance into your bank account. PayPal is relaunching its services in Thailand. Starting next month, customers in the country will not be able to use their PayPal wallets to shop online. They will also not be able to make a new account until further notice. Casual sellers and entrepreneurs of non-registered businesses will…
- Asia
Citi to sell consumer banking business in Southeast Asia to Singapore’s United Overseas Bank
Citigroup announced on Thursday its agreement to sell its consumer banking operations in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam to United Overseas Bank (UOB) for approximately US$2.97 billion. UOB stated that as part of the agreement, it will acquire Citi’s retail deposit divisions, loan portfolios and wealth management, in the four countries’ consumer banking sectors. “We are excited to announce this…
- Economy News
Thai baht performs worst of all Southeast Asian currencies
Among common currencies in Southeast Asia, the Thai baht was the worst performing in the first quarter of 2021, mostly due to Covid-19’s effect on tourism in Thailand. This week the baht hit its lowest point in half a year, falling 4% against the US dollar to 31.24. The decline was the sharpest in all of the Southeast Asian nations.…
- Thailand News
Backhoe driver digs up 100,000 baht in cash buried in Nakhon Si Thammarat
A construction worker came across around 100,000 baht in cash that had been buried underground while he was using a backhoe to level out land in the southern province Nakhon Si Thammarat. Nataya Wakwatee said her father, who used to live on the property, had told her sometime before he died that something was hidden under his bed. She assumed…
- Thailand News
Thailand News Today | Pattaya bank scam & Burmese coup update | February 2
CORRECTION: In the first story Jett referred to a Chinese man losing 130 billion baht. The correct amount was 130 million baht. We apologise for the error. Hundreds, perhaps more than 400, investors have been defrauded by a bank manager at a Kasikorn bank branch in Pattaya. The manager, named in a police report as “Mr. Gob”, was promising investors…
- Visa Information
Thailand Retirement and Digital Nomads – Missed visa opportunities | VIDEO
Two visas Thailand should be promoting right now! If there were two more groups, more perfect suited for the Thai lifestyle, I don’t know what they are. Thailand’s immigration laws for long-stays have always been a challenge, retirement is just one of those categories. It would seem like a perfect win win situation to invite people to come and live…
- Thailand News
Thailand News Today | 800+ cases in Samut Sakhon, Countries block UK travel | Dec 21
Back in Bangkok for this week’s Thailand News Today, wondering if we’re going to be locked down again? All the latest news at thethaiger.com More than 800 Covid-19 cases now linked to seafood market More than 800 Covid-19 cases are now linked to the Samut Sakhon province seafood market outbreak. Up to the weekend the largest number of cases reported…
- Thailand News
Thailand News Today | New Year Covid style, Currency manipulation?, SCB scam | Dec 17
Thailand News Today, coming from Phuket for the next few days. Mosquito-borne virus spreads in Pattaya If you’re in Pattaya, light the coils and get out the bug repellant. There’s been a report of an increase in chikungunya fever infections, that’s a mosquito-borne virus, similar to Dengue but can be quite painful and serious in some patients. The city’s mayor…
- Thailand News
Surin merchants report fake 100 baht bills
Fake 100 baht bank notes are reportedly being exchanged in the Isaan province Surin. 2 local merchants say they were each handed what appears to be a counterfeit bill from a customer. A noodle vendor at the Surin Municipal Market says she noticed a 100 baht bill she got from a customer felt strange, more like photocopy paper, she said.…
- Events
Phuket’s ‘Boat Splash’ welcomes everyone for some fun in the sun
Disabled Sailing Thailand are organising Phuket’s first Boat Splash on October 21 off Phuket’s east coast. An on-water meet-up that’s open to everyone, Boat Splash will take place in the waters between Rang Yai Island off Phuket Boat Lagoon and Royal Phuket Marina, and Cape Yamu. What originally grew from an idea to offer people with disabilities a safe opportunity…
- Bangkok News
Find an abandoned car in Bangkok, get half the fine
Want to make a couple thousand baht? Find a car that’s been abandoned on Bangkok’s streets. Hundreds of cars parked and forgotten about are being removed in an effort to clean up the city. Those who help out by reporting an forgotten car will get half the fine. The owners of the abandoned cars face a 5,000 baht fine, so…
- Economy News
Price of gold rises but investment not without risks
A leading investment research firm says the price of gold is on the rise, with predictions bullion could reach US$2,000 an ounce. Chayanee Juengmanon from Morningstar Research Thailand says one exchange-traded fund favoured by most domestic gold mutual funds, recorded net inflows of over $20 billion within the last year, a 30% increase in the value of its assets. gold…
- Crime News
Dozens arrested in money laundering and drugs case
61 people have been arrested in one of Thailand’s biggest money laundering cases of the year, said to be worth more than 10 billion baht. The suspects are believed to be part of a drug syndicate and money laundering network, allegedly run by a 45 year old Chinese man identified as “Chien Ma,” who was caught earlier in Bangkok. Provincial…
- Crime News
Justice minister targets drug money laundering
With the government struggling to find revenue streams for its economic stimulus plans to rebuild an economy battered by Covid-19, Thailand’s justice minister thinks he has an idea to help. He wants authorities to target businesses that launder drug money from the Golden Triangle and has set a target of 1.5 billion baht by August. The minister says anti-drug forces,…
- Coronavirus (Covid-19)
Thai money changers now asking for government help
In a shocking reversal of fortune, money changers in Thailand, crushed by the the twin impacts of Covid-19 and the nationwide inbound flight ban, are asking for government assistance. The catastrophic drop in tourist numbers, (76.4% in March, and expected to be near 100% for April) has forced the The Thai Association of Foreign Exchange to ask the government for…
- Coronavirus (Covid-19)
Central bank gives advice on disinfecting cash
The Bank of Thailand has announced today that all Thai citizens should clean all banknotes and coins to help contain the spread of the virus and ensure that the bank notes are not contaminated with the Covid-19 virus. The BoT says notes can be disinfected by briefly soaking them in a soapy solution or a dishwashing liquid. Then the notes…
- Bangkok News
Bangkok “auntie” arrested for robbing cabbies
An “auntie” in Bangkok has finally been arrested after stealing money from numerous taxi drivers. Police arrested 55 year old Nongnuch Pimsuan of Kanchanaburi province at around 5pm yesterday. The suspect had an arrest warrant in her name from the Taling Chan Court. Police were notified as early as February 4 that a passenger had stolen 1,400 baht from a…
- Phuket News
Bibi does Bangla – What is the Thai girl experience with foreign boyfriends?
Bibi heads to Soi Bangla in Phuket’s seaside party town of Patong. She’s inquiring about Thai girls’ opinions, even the working girls in the clubs. Have they had experience with a foreign boyfriend? What about their foreign boyfriend experiences, good and bad? What are their expectations? Is it all about money or are the Thai women more romantic than the…
- Economy News
Nium partners with Visa for new instant money transfers in SE Asia
‘Nium’, a new digital cross-border payments platform, will now enable users to make real-time money transfers to Visa debit cardholders across Southeast Asia including Viet Nam. It is based on Visa’s real-time push payments solution called Visa Direct. Nium is the first fintech-based money transfer service provider in Southeast Asia to offer instant money transfer through recipients’ 16-digit Visa debit…
- Business News
SE Asian banks slowly giving way to e-payments and payment apps
PHOTO: starbucks.com That cold, hard cash in your pocket, and the traditional shop-front banks that give it to you, are slowly being phased out and replaced with e-payments. It’s now expected that traditional banks in South east Asia will miss out on as much as US$5 billion, or 14.3% of their payments revenue by 2025. A report says they are…
- Economy News
Thai baht dips after rate cut
The baht continued losses yesterday after the Thai central bank cut interest rates. Other Asian currencies dipped as markets assess the latest details of the US-China tariff talks. The Bank of Thailand cut rates for the second time this year, with the benchmark one day repurchase rate now at a record low, as the bank tries to manage inflation and…
- Asia
Indonesia’s burning issue – controlling the palm oil giants
PHOTOS: Donny Sophandi and AFP A brutal Indonesian forest fire season blanketed some of south east Asia in choking smog is renewing scrutiny of the country’s major palm oil and paper companies. Activists are accusing them of breaking promises to halt logging. The monster plantation blazes sent a pall of acrid smoke over the region for weeks, closing schools and…
- Crime News
Phuket police tracking down snatch & grab thief
PHOTOS: Phuket Hotnews A couple from Malaysia, 44 year old N Shiyamala Navaratnam and 45 year old Sivakumar Patchymuthu, reported to Saku police that they had been robbed near Nai Yang Beach, near the Phuket Airport. The incident happened on August 8. They told police they were riding a motorcycle heading back to their hotel between the beach road and…
- Crime News
Cambodian petrol station attendant shot in Nakhon Ratchasima
A Cambodian working at a Thai petrol station has been shot in Nakhon Ratchasima. He was resting, sitting at a table at the time of the incident. The shooting took place on July 27 around midnight in the Pak Thong Chai district. The 30 year old Cambodian worker was shot in the head from behind by a young Thai man,…
- Tourism News
13 Bangkok passengers refused entry into Thailand by immigration police
PHOTO: Naew Na Region 2 immigration police at Suvarnabhumi airport report that they denied entry to 13 foreigners who weren’t able to provide proof of funds to support their travelling whilst visiting Thailand. Immigration officials claim the ‘tourists’ were not visiting Thailand for tourism. Apart from not being able to provide evidence of sufficient funds, the arriving passengers didn’t have…
- Thailand News
Toon takes to Thailand’s roads again for more charity runs
Artiwara “Toon” Kongmalai is one of Thailand’s most popular rock stars and celebrities. He fronts the band ‘Bodyslam’. He’s also become somewhat of an inspirational fund-raiser, principally running to raise awareness of Thailand’s health system and raise funds for the poorer hospitals and provinces. In 2017 he famously ran from from the southernmost to the northernmost tips, raising money for some…
