Track Thailand's economy in English — business, trade, finance and market news, covered by Thai PBS World, Thailand's public broadcasting service.
The government claims an advantageous outcome of job creation and economic growth for the 1-trillion-baht land bridge project, which connects the Gulf of Thailand and Andaman Sea, but foreign investors are concerned over the pragmatic plans for investment and profitability. By Franc Han Shih, Thai PBS World
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is interested in the huge land bridge project in southern Thailand, from an investment perspective, and in educational development, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said today. He said that he had a conversation yesterday with Jin Liqun, AIIB’s chairman, during which they talked about the government’s plan to build the
Pheu Thai leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra has stated that, at this hour, Srettha Thavisin is the right man to lead Thailand. In an exclusive interview with Nikkei Asia last Friday, Paetongtarn said that her party’s coalition will remain intact with Srettha as the premier. There had been speculation that Srettha might have to step down, if
The government must think laterally and ahead, otherwise Thailand will become bogged down and will not move forward. This has been the case over the past ten years and the people will continue to struggle to make ends meet, Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said today when defending the government’s “digital wallet”
The story about a large Chinese family in Henan paying US$140 (about 5,000 baht) a day to stay in a hotel suite for over 200 days rather than buy a house has gone viral on social media. The family of eight gave up their apartment and took a hotel room as their home because it
The Soft Power Strategy Committee is to request about 270 million baht from the government for the promotion of this year’s Songkran Festival, in an attempt to make it part of the country’s soft power. It is expected that the event will attract more foreign visitors to Thailand and generate about 35 billion baht revenue,
34.66% of respondents to NIDA Poll suggest that the government should scrap the digital wallet scheme, to distribute 10,000 baht to most Thai nationals 16 or older, and 68.85% say that they would not hold it against the government if it is. The National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) sampled the opinions of 1,310 people
Industry leaders are expressing optimism for 2024 even though Thailand’s tourism industry has not fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels either in terms of foreign tourist arrivals or revenues. Indications that support the positive forecast were recently revealed at the Thailand Tourism Forum 2024 (TTF 2024), the respected annual forum focusing on the tourism/hospitality industry. Jesper
Thailand’s household debt is expected to soar to 16.9 trillion baht, or 91.4% of GDP, by the end of this year, with the value of non-performing loans (NPLs) in the banking system estimated at about 152 billion baht, according to TMB Thanachart Analytics. Household debt, by the end of the third quarter last year, stood
Thailand’s economic growth this year is expected to be about 2.8%, largely due to increasing exports and tourism. This compares favourably against 1.8% GDP growth last year, according to Pornchai Theeravet, director-general of the Fiscal Policy Office and spokesman for the Finance Ministry. He said that 33.5 million foreign arrivals are expected this year, an
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has predicted that almost a million foreign tourists will visit the kingdom during the Chinese New Year festival, which runs from February 8th to 16th, generating an estimated 28 billion baht in revenues. TAT Governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool said that the number of foreign arrivals, especially from China, Taiwan and
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin offered his assurance to multiple groups opposing the land bridge mega project, saying that the feasibility study covers all aspects of the project, related industries and potential impacts on fisheries, the environment and the rights of the local people, among other areas. The prime minister met with the project’s opponents after
