Economy and commerce

With no end in sight to the economic downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the government aims to put much of its aid effort towards fiscal stimulus to prop up the economy, though there are unfavourable consequences to this move.The newly formed Center for Economic ...

The biggest causes of worry for the general population are ongoing political conflicts and the planned purchase of two submarines, according to an opinion survey by Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, or Suan Dusit Poll.The poll was conducted online on Aug 25-28 on 1,727 people throughout ...

The Bank of Thailand on Thursday issued a new debt relief measure aimed at reducing Thais’ interest rate burden from 16-25 per cent to 5.5-8.8 per cent.The debt consolidation measure will allow borrowers to bundle their credit card, personal and mortgage loans into one sum, ...

Thailand’s economic fundamentals and fiscal position remain strong in the face of the pandemic-induced recession and the “worst is behind us”, new Finance Minister Predee Daochai said on Wednesday.Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy shrank 12.2% in the second quarter from a year earlier, the sharpest drop ...

The Commerce Ministry has set a goal to raise Thailand’s international trade value to Asia’s top five by 2027, up from eighth in 2019, by focusing on value-added industries such as digital, food and healthcare.To achieve the goal, Thailand would need to fetch at least ...

Exports were again in negative territory last month but the figures still bolstered confidence at the Commerce Ministry that the worst of the slump might be over.The ministry reported on Monday that exports in July contracted 11.37% year-on-year to US$18.8 billion as the coronavirus pandemic ...

The Social Security Office (SSO) is cooperating with financial institutions to earmark Bt30 billion to provide low-interest loans to small businesses so they can continue employing their workforce, Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin said on Tuesday (August 18).He explained that the government prioritised economic recovery under ...

The government’s planning unit on Monday downgraded the economic outlook for the whole year to a 7.3%-7.8% contraction from an earlier forecast of 5%-6%, after it reported the economy contracted the most in 22 years in the second quarter.The National Economic and Social Development Council ...

Thailand’s cross-border trade fell by 9.18% year-on-year in the first half, attributed to lockdown measures and the slowing economies of neighbouring countries.The Foreign Trade Department reported overall cross-border trade, including transit trade, totalled 627 billion baht for January to June, with Malaysia the biggest partner ...

The Department of Trade Negotiations will urge the Cabinet in October to consider signing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) pact, the department’s director general Auramon Supthaweethum said.She added that the vetting of all 20 chapters of the accord had been completed and that it ...