Economy and commerce

Thailand has climbed two notches in the rankings of the closely watched Global Competitiveness Index 4.0 (GIC 4.0) to 38th place.The country improved its score from 66.3 in 2017 to 67.5 out of 100 in the report that is put out by the World Economic ...

In a meeting yesterday (Oct 16), the Cabinet approved drafts that will add legal conditions to support small- and medium-enterprises (SMEs), allow the setting up of trade associations and raise registration fees to help cope with the country’s economic situation. Keep reading ...

Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong has urged commerce attaches to prepare for a global trade war, which he said is likely to intensify next year. “It [trade war] will be more intense next year, and we must assess its impact on the country,” said Mr. Sontirat ...

The Finance Ministry will seek cabinet approval to require financial institutions to contribute 0.001% of their deposit base to a fund tasked with promoting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).A legal amendment is needed for the contribution requirement, and the fund is expected to receive 100 ...

Sustained trade tensions could slash Asia’s economic growth by up to 0.9 percentage points in coming years, the International Monetary Fund said, urging policymakers in the region to liberalise markets to offset the fall in export sales.Keep reading ...

New type of funds will be set up to replace the long term equity fund (LTF) which will end next year, in a move to boost long-term investment in the Thai bourse, said Federation of Thai Capital Market Organisations (Fetco).Keep reading ...

The cabinet yesterday (Oct 10) approved a draft law from the Finance Ministry that governs financial service providers as officials seek to deal with an increasingly diverse landscape for financial services. This is especially so for those services that have yet to be regulated by ...

Political clarity and continued economic expansion have bolstered investor sentiment to its highest level in seven months and prompted analysts to forecast the Thai stock market hitting 1,826 points by year’s end. Keep reading ...

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Thai counterpart Prayuth Chan-ocha on Monday (Oct 8) confirmed their cooperation in promoting free trade, with the Southeast Asian country expressing its readiness to join the 11-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership that Japan has helped spearhead.Keep reading ...

China will be the world’s largest economy in 2030, overtaking the US, while India – currently the seventh biggest – will be third, pushing Germany and Japan down a position.We have looked at 75 economies in developing, emerging and frontier markets to make long-term projections ...