Track Thailand's economy in English — business, trade, finance and market news, covered by Thai PBS World, Thailand's public broadcasting service.
Digital Economy and Society Minister Prasert Chantararuangthong said this morning that all the applications, through which disabled and vulnerable people can check for confirmation of their rights to receive the 10,000 baht benefits under the digital wallet scheme, are functioning properly and have not experienced any faults.
The Thai baht hit a 19-month high of 32.93 baht against the US dollar (USD) and is expected to fluctuate between 32.80 baht and 33.00 baht/USD today, according to Poon Panichpibool, a capital market strategist at Krungthai Global Markets.
The Thai Chamber of Commerce has urged agencies concerned to try to prevent the baht currency from fluctuating so extremely and to keep its value at an appropriate level, in line with the domestic and external economic situations.
The government’s policy for an increase in the national minimum wage, to 400 baht a day, has hit another snag yesterday, as the tripartite wage committee meeting today was short of the two-thirds of its members to make a quorum and had to be postponed.
Thailand’s household non-performing loans (NPLs) increased 2.8%, from 1.16 trillion baht in June to 1.19 trillion baht in July, and will rise to 1.2 trillion baht in the foreseeable future, said Surapol Opasatien, CEO of the National Credit Bureau.
Chinese nationals, top the list of non-Thai buyers of condominium units in Thailand, having purchased 2,872 units, worth an estimated 13.2 billion baht, during the first six months of this year and account for 39.5% of all foreign buyers, said Wichai Wiratkaphan, an inspector of the Government Housing Bank.
The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) has proposed to the government that it makes an exemption from paying corporate income tax, extends the period for the submission of tax returns and exempts import tariffs on machinery for businesses hardest hit by the flooding.
A network of parents and youth submitted a letter of protest today, addressed to Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, against the government’s policies to legitimise the informal economy and legalise gambling, including the construction of a proposed multi-billion baht entertainment complex.
The meeting of the tri-partite wage committee, scheduled for today to discuss the increase of the minimum wage to 400 baht/day, has been postponed to this Friday after the five employer’s representatives did not show up, claiming that they had other business to deal with.
Commerce Minister Pichai Naripthaphan has urged the Bank of Thailand to come up with measures to arrest the baht’s appreciation, which has reached a 19-month high, fluctuating between 33.00 and 33.70 baht against the US dollar and is hurting Thai exports.
The employment situation in Thailand remains unclear. While official figures show low unemployment at 1.07 per cent in the second quarter this year, the jobless number rose to 430,000, according to state-owned think-tank National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC).
Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira has revealed that 14.2 million vulnerable and disabled Thais will receive their 10,000 baht cash benefit from the digital wallet scheme on September 25, funded by the 140 billion baht supplementary budget for the 2024 fiscal year.
