Economy and commerce

Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak has urged the public not to discuss Thailand’s economic problems too frequently, saying this could have a psychological impact on investor confidence.Mr Somkid said that he was ready to explain the economic slowdown if the opposition raised the issue at ...

The announcement by the Transport Ministry to legalise ride-hailing services by March 2020 comes in good time. The Internet economy has, for the first time, crossed the $100-billion (Bt3.03 trillion) mark, according to a report by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company.The government is taking ...

Thailand is trying to coax the baht down from six-year high territory as the currency’s strength threatens local manufacturing and tourism.The central bank has cut interest rates and eased capital controls to rein in emerging Asia’s best-performing currency this year.Keep reading ...

There were 1,339 factories with 34,569 employees and a total investment of approximately Bt56.9 billion registered for sale or out of business in the first 10 months of 2019, according to the Industry Ministry.The factories were classified into 21 industrial groups including crop products, food, ...

As Thailand prepares to wind down its year-long chairmanship of Asean, it’s time to reflect on the state of the 10-country alliance and relations with its dialogue partners. Based on what happened at the 35th Asean Summit from Nov 2-4 in Bangkok, the outlook is ...

Notoriously labelled a ceremonial “talk shop” without any tangible outcomes, the latest Asean Summit in Bangkok finally proved critics wrong as regional leaders made progress in settling a mammoth trade pact despite India’s departure.The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a proposed free-trade agreement between ...

US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross on Monday wrapped up his two-day visit to Bangkok by assuring his hosts that Washington was open to negotiations over its decision to suspend the duty-free status of Thai imports.After a meeting with Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, Ross told a ...

The baht on Thursday closed at Bt30.32 to the dollar in onshore trade, maintaining Wednesday’s level when the central bank cut its policy rate and issued key measures to rein in the rapid appreciation of the Thai currency.Finance Minister Uttama Savanayana said the central bank ...

The Fiscal Policy Office of the Bank of Thailand voted 5:2 on Tuesday to slash the benchmark policy rate by 25 points to 1.25% with immediate effect in a bid to boost the slowing Thai economy.Fiscal Policy Office secretary, Mr. Tittanan Mallikamat, said today (Wednesday) ...

The United States has agreed to consider Thailand’s request for a review of the suspension of trade preferences for Thai exports, under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program, in order to mitigate the impacts on the Thai private sector.The US move was conveyed to ...