Track Thailand's economy in English — business, trade, finance and market news, covered by Thai PBS World, Thailand's public broadcasting service.
The Cabinet endorsed the wage committee’s proposal today for an increase in minimum wage, to 400 baht/day, for employees of 4-star hotels in specific areas of 10 tourist provinces, effective April 13. The 4-star hotels which employ at least 50 employees must be located in Pathumwan and Wattana districts in Bangkok, Ao Nang sub-district in
As Thailand desperately seeks solutions for PM 2.5 pollution and the rising amount of garbage, Finland has offered its expertise in the circular economy to support Thailand with its know-how in utilising agricultural waste and waste-to-energy innovations. In an exclusive interview with Thai PBS World, Finland’s Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, Ville Tavio, said
Since Srettha Thavisin formed the new coalition government in August last year, the prime minister’s additional role as the finance minister has faded into the background. In the past six months, his busy travel itinerary has taken him to 14 countries for meetings with world leaders and business executives. Time magazine recently put Srettha on
This Monday marks one month since the visa exemption agreement between Thailand and China took effect. According to Vichai Mongkolchaichawan, the vice president of the Thai-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, the outlook is positive. During the period leading up to the start of the scheme “the number of searches for Thailand tourism on Baidu for January
The first Cabinet reshuffle of the Srettha Thavisin government is expected to take place after the close of the current Parliamentary session on April 9. Among the frontrunners for the finance minister’s post is Pichai Chunhavajira, 76, a longtime Shinawatra family loyalist. With PM Srettha reportedly wanting to give up the additional portfolio of finance
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said today that there will be good news about the digital wallet scheme announced on April 10. Chairing a meeting today to discuss the scheme, he said that the board of the digital wallet scheme has scheduled a meeting on April 10 to consider reports related to the scheme, to be presented
While Thailand aims to improve its economic performance, to be that of a high-income country by 2037, the government needs to overcome several major issues. A policy ensuring climate-resilient development is indispensable in sustaining economic growth, as increased flooding in Thailand has had a huge impact on the economy. In an exclusive interview with Thai
The Supreme Administrative Court has overturned the lower Administrative Court’s ruling by ordering it to accept for consideration the petition by five consumers, seeking the revocation of the telecom regulator’s consent for the merger of CP Group’s True and Telenor’s DTAC. The Supreme Administration Court ruled that, despite the submission of the petition being outside
Chairman of the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI), Dr. Somkiat Tangkitvanich, has advised the government not to interfere with the Bank of Thailand over the policy interest rate, warning that it may seriously impact the economy, to the extent that the government may not survive. Speaking at the Prachachat business forum earlier this week, Somkiat
Dubbed the “New Chinatown” of Bangkok, Pracharat Bamphen Road, dotted with Chinese hot pot restaurants and shops, is seeing sluggish trade and the closure of several mala or shabu restaurants. Thai PBS reporters recently visited this strip and learned that several Chinese restaurants folded because of the fierce competition, while the number of Chinese tourists
The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) is to propose that the government changes the recalculation of the fuel tariff (FT) on electricity from every four months to once a year, to ease fluctuations in electricity prices for industries and households. Thepparat Theppitak, the new EGAT governor, admitted the frequent recalculation of the FT has
The Bank of Thailand started accepting applications for the opening of virtual banks in Thailand today, from companies or other business entities which have registered in advance. More than 200 representatives from about 100 companies have shown interest in investing in virtual banks, the first of their kind in the country. According to the Yuanta
