Track Thailand's economy in English — business, trade, finance and market news, covered by Thai PBS World, Thailand's public broadcasting service.
The Bank of Thailand’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted six to one to retain the policy rate at 2.50% for the fourth consecutive time, despite repeated calls from the government to lower it by 0.25% to help borrowers. One MPC member did vote to cut the one-day repurchase rate by 0.25%. According to the MPC’s
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin wants to upgrade Hua Hin airport, to accommodate more and international flights, and to change its name to “Petch Hua Hin”. During his inspection trip to the airport today, in the company of Transport Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit, the prime minister proposed that the airport, which is currently accommodating flights from Chiang
Pheu Thai party leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra has blamed the statutory independence of the Bank of Thailand (BOT) from government control for being an obstacle to the government’s efforts to address economic problems. Fiscal policy has been ‘lopsidedly’ managed, resulting in a steady rise in public debt,” she said. “Unless the central bank understands and cooperates
Clambering hand-over-hand, sweat dripping into his eyes, a durian labourer expertly slices a cumbersome fruit from a tree before tossing it down to land with a soft thump in his colleague’s waiting arms some 15 metres (50 feet) below. Among Thailand’s most famous and lucrative exports, the pungent “king of fruits” is as distinctive in
Thailand’s inflation rate for April increased by 0.9%, which is the first rise in seven months, with the expectation that the rate of inflation in the second quarter will increase by 0.8%-1.0%, according to Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, director of the Trade Policy and Strategy Office. The consumer price index for April is equivalent to 108.16, compared
Japanese Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko said Thailand’s OECD membership will attract private investment and encourage domestic reforms that can overcome the middle-income trap. In her special article, “Is the OECD relevant for Thailand?”, published in The Bangkok Post yesterday, she pointed out that Thailand’s engagement with the OECD will benefit from the organization’s dataset and
The Finance Ministry is mulling the option of increasing the capital of the state-run Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) by 10 billion baht, before the government borrows from the bank to fund the digital wallet scheme. Deputy Finance Minister Julapun Amornvivat said today that borrowing from the BAAC can be done legally and
Labour Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn offered his assurance today that workers in all occupations across the country will receive a 400-baht minimum wage from October 1. Today, May 1, is International Labour Day, also called Labour Day or May Day in some countries, and the labour minister said that the tri-partite Wage Committee now has five
Thai workers have little to celebrate on Labor Day this year, with the government’s promised wage hike nowhere in sight. They will have to wait until at least October for the ruling Pheu Thai Party to honor its election pledge to raise the minimum daily wage to 400 baht. In contrast, white-collar government workers including new civil
Thai central bank governor has insisted that political pressure won’t force his hand to make its interest rate independently, according to CNBC. The proof is in the pudding,” Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput told CNBC’s Street Signs Asia. Despite the “clamoring” for rate cuts, the BOT didn’t act on it “if we weren’t operating independently,” added. “I think that
The auditor-general has been asked by Democrat party-list MP Phisit Li-atham to examine and advise the government on its plan to implement the digital wallet scheme. In a letter to the auditor-general, the former deputy finance minister warned that the scheme, under which about 50 million Thai nationals aged 16 and over will each receive
Responding to the Thai Bankers Association’s announcement yesterday, of a cut in the minimum retail rate (MRR) for creditworthy customers of 0.25% for six months, six state banks announced today that they will also cut their lending rate for their small borrowers by 0.25%, starting May 1. The six banks are the Government Savings Bank,
