Thailand’s strategic investment in cloud and data centres could be disrupted by US President Donald Trump’s plan to restrict shipments of artificial intelligence (AI) chips from Nvidia Corp to Malaysia and Thailand, part of an effort to crack down on suspected semiconductor smuggling to China, say tech and cloud data centre executives. Bangkok Post
Opec production increase expected to keep oil prices low: Global oil prices are likely to be stable this week, following Opec’s plan to increase supply. Global oil prices are expected to remain low this week following the decision of Opec and its allies to increase production, says Thai Oil Plc (TOP), the country’s largest refiner by capacity. With the conflict between Israel and Iran easing, oil demand in China becomes a more important factor affecting global crude prices, as the mainland’s manufacturing sector started to recover last month following slow economic growth, according to TOP analysts. Bangkok Post
20-baht flat fare gets the nod: The cabinet yesterday approved a flat-rate fare of 20 baht for all eight electric train lines in Bangkok, with full implementation set for Oct 1, government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub said yesterday. Bangkok Post
Ministry upbeat on new US proposal: Soybeans are among the thousands of imports from the US for which Thailand proposed reducing tariffs. Thailand’s revised proposal to reduce import tariffs on thousands of US products is likely to be viewed favourably by the US, says finance permanent secretary Lavaron Sangsnit. Mr Lavaron said yesterday Thailand submitted a revised proposal to the US Trade Representative (USTR), though the White House may not have seen it yet. Bangkok Post
BoT pegs growth at sub-2% for 18 months: US tariffs pressure Thai economy. The Bank of Thailand has assessed the Thai economy is likely to grow at a rate of less than 2% over the next 18 months, primarily due to pressures from US tariff policies. Bangkok Post
Cuts coming: Several economists predict 2-3 more interest rate reductions this year by the Bank of Thailand. The Bank of Thailand is expected to cut the policy interest rate at least twice more this year as the economy could contract by 0.1-1.1% if a US tariff of 29-36% is slapped on Thai exports, say economists. Bangkok Post
Government said to push ahead with plans to stimulate the economy and pass the budget for next year as planned, will inject an additional Bt48b into the economy over the remaining 3 months of the current fiscal year, and the $115b is on track to be passed by passed by end of Aug. Finance Minister’s also working to secure a trade deal with the US, offering broader mkt access for US goods, to avoid a 36% tariff.
Government submitted a revised proposal offering tariff cuts on most U.S. goods, 70% trade surplus cut in 5 yrs via energy/Boeing deals.
Thai industries, which have key exposure to the US market, include processed foods, agriculture products, auto&parts, electrical appliances, textiles, gems and jewelry as well as steel and aluminum, will hold urgent meeting to assess impact of 36% tariff.
Forward bookings for short-haul markets for 2H25 remain weak, after attracting 11.1m in 1H, for below a 28.2m target for 2025, while long-haul gained momentum at 5.5m in 1H25, and on track to meet 10.7m this year target.
