Economy and commerce

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has lowered its economic forecast for Thailand in 2023 from 3.5% growth to 2.5%, citing export contraction, reduced government spending, and lower investment from both the public and private sectors.The ADB also revised down its forecast for the Thai economy ...

Thailand has unveiled the focus of its four-year strategy to attract foreign direct investment to boost its faltering economy: clean energy and incentives to offset the new Global Minimum Tax.Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has embarked on an international roadshow since coming to power in August, ...

The Bank of Thailand is projected to start cutting interest rates in the second half of 2024, in line with similar moves by the US Federal Reserve, say analysts, as the domestic economy needs more support to drive growth next year.BMI, a unit of New ...

The national household debt has increased by 3.6%, compared to the first quarter, to about 16.07 trillion baht in the second quarter of this year, representing 90.7% of GDP, according to the National Economic and Social Development Board.The board said that credits of all kinds ...

Thailand needs new government measures to stimulate the economy next year, easing the impact from the delay in budget allocation for fiscal 2024, says the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI).Fiscal 2024 started on Oct 1, 2023, but the Srettha Thavisin administration has yet to finalise ...

Thailand is gearing up for the resumption of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations with the European Union (EU) after the talks were suspended in 2014 due to the coup. The talks should be completed in in 2025, said Commerce Minister Phumtham Wechayachai. Mr Phumtham said on ...

The private sector is being encouraged to adopt circular economy principles for business operations to reduce costs, increase efficiency and generate income from innovative business models.Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, director-general of the Trade Policy and Strategy Office, said the circular economy concept was introduced in response to ...

A Thai government committee plans to hold Songkran Festival celebrations during the entire month of April 2024, instead of the traditional three days, in a bid to entrench Thailand’s standing among the top 10 global destinations for festivals.Songkran, the Thai traditional new year, falls on ...

Thailand’s Manufacturing Production Index (MPI) decreased by 4.29% year-on-year in October to 89.4 points as people become more careful spending amid sluggish Thai and global economies.The Thai economy has not fully recovered and interest rates remain high, said Siripen Kiatfuengfoo, deputy director-general of the Office ...

The Bank of Thailand (BOT)’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Wednesday voted unanimously to retain the policy interest rate at 2.5% per annum.The overall Thai economy continues to see the recovery trend persist, although the export and production sectors are slowing down, according to Piti ...