Thailand is among several countries in the East Asia and Pacific region to record an increase in financial inclusion thanks to greater financial services offered by state-owned banks, says a World Bank senior economist. Thailand registered a higher rate of financial inclusion among adults aged 15 ...

UnionPay International and Thai Bankers Association signed Chip Card Standard License Agreement in Bangkok on 18 August. According to the agreement, the chip card standard of UnionPay will be introduced to local banks as the standard of Thailand’s banking industry. Thailand has become the first overseas ...

The local authorities and environmental organisations in the Mekong Delta region are stepping up efforts to preserve and develop ecosystems vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Located in southern Vietnam, the Mekong Delta has a diverse and unique ecosystem that includes marine life, islands, estuaries, ...

A seminar was held in Hanoi on November 22 to look into marine spatial planning and a project on improving the human habitat and coastal ecosystems in the Mekong Delta. Keep reading ...

Thailand Post is launching a major expansion of its cross-border trading and e-commerce services for Indochina to become a leading regional player by year-end. The state postal enterprise hopes parcel delivery service crossing the Cambodian and Laotian borders to reach Chinese consumers has a bright future, ...

Around this time of year when the rainy season begins, people living on the banks of the Mekong River along the Thai-Lao border always feel a little less stressed because rising water levels mean more fish and food to support their survival. Until the mid-1990s, these ...

The Revenue Department says the draft bill on revocation of the value-added tax (VAT) exemption for online purchases of goods worth less than 1,500 baht from vendors outside of Thailand that are shipped by mail will be ready soon. Keep reading ...

Trees with aerial roots exposed over the water, white sand islets dotted across limpid water, Irrawaddy dolphin pools and critically endangered fish breeding pools among braided channels and flooded forests; these are just some of the attractions drawing tourists from around the world to the ...

Thanks to the growing popularity of online shopping in Thailand, e-commerce is expected to have the brightest growth prospects this year, while book rental, handicraft and conventional furniture are forecast to face the bleakest outlook. Thanavath Phonvichai, vice-president for research at the University of the ...

The Zoological Park Organisation of Thailand (ZPO) board on Tuesday set up a panel to investigate the illegal wildlife trade across zoos nationwide in the wake of the disappearance of rare albino barking deer at Songkhla Zoo. Chavalit Chookajorn, the former permanent secretary of the Ministry ...

The Digital Economy and Society minister has called on the private sector to work more closely with the ministry to help Thailand become a digital infrastructure gateway in ASEAN by 2020. The evolution of the country’s digital ecosystem, especially in many crucial development areas, needs ...

Malaysia, and to a lesser degree Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, remain more exposed to exchange rate risk than other developing economies in East Asia and the Pacific as global financial conditions tighten, the World Bank said. Keep reading   ...

The Finance Ministry plans to acquire the entire 55% stake in Krungthai Bank held by the Financial Institutions Development Fund (FIDF) in a deal worth 100 billion baht. The acquisition would pave the way for transferring the 12 corporatised state enterprises as planned to a holding company ...

Potential mortgage borrowers lined up for the government’s 10 billion baht in cheap loans at all branches of state-owned GH Bank on 19 October, the first day of the scheme. Keep reading ...

Sahaviriya Steel’s UK steel business has failed with defaults on 50 billion baht of loans from Thai banks, biggest default for Thai banks since 1997 Asian crisis. Keep reading ...

Academics have slammed the military’s iron grip on cyberspace following the 2014 coup. Surveillance and crackdown measures are creating a climate of fear and self-censorship, they argued. Since last year’s coup, the army has taken many steps to tackle content deemed sensitive or critical of the ...

The Bank of Thailand trimmed its 2016 economic growth forecast on Friday, reflecting expectations of zero export growth and suggesting the military government will continue to struggle with a sluggish economy. At the same time, the central bank nudged its growth estimate for this year up ...

The Ministry of Mines and Energy on May 2 said it was investigating potential irregularities in the export of sand after a video from the NGO Mother Nature claiming that banned exports continued unabated went viral yesterday, racking up hundreds of thousands of “likes”. While the ...

To help conserve the critically endangered Siamese crocodile, WWF-Cambodia has announced it will conduct a survey this year to accurately record the number of the reptiles left in the wild in the Kingdom’s Eastern Plains Landscape. The Siamese crocodile was once widespread throughout much of ...

Starting on Sept 1, overseas businesses providing online services in Thailand will be required to register for the 7% value-added tax (VAT) liability if their annual income exceeds 1.8 million baht, according to a Revenue Department official.The e-service tax has been approved by parliament and ...