Finance Permanent Secretary said MoF must address direction for tax reform to increase Government’s revenue, as this 2025 fiscal rev post a significant challenge, affected by US tariff, which resulted in the ministry cutting its GDP growth forecast to 2.1% from 3%.
Tourism in the doldrums: As the TAT cuts its target for foreign arrivals this year, the industry faces several challenges requiring more than a marketing budget. The tourism industry posted underwhelming results for the first four months this year as the international market contracted by 0.2% year-on-year. Bangkok Post
Foreign net inflows into the Thai bond market topped 40 billion baht in May, according to the Thai Bond Market Association.: Investors speculate on possible rate cuts. Foreign investors have returned to Thailand’s bond and equity markets, with net inflows into the bond market surpassing 40 billion baht in May and nearly 100 billion baht year-to-date, according to the Thai Bond Market Association (ThaiBMA). Bangkok Post
Tourist arrivals fell 21% in the week ended May 11 from the prior 7-d period, Int’l visitors numbered 489,568 in the past week, with Chinese -42%, Russian -22%, Tourism Minister.
Firms told to seek new markets: Amata chief calls for increased urgency. Amata urges entrepreneurs to look for new export markets as the US tariffs set to take effect in July may raise trade risks. Thai entrepreneurs should start seeking new export markets as US President Donald Trump’s tariff policy scheduled to take effect in July could increase trade risks, says Vikrom Kromadit, chairman and acting chief executive of industrial estate developer Amata Corporation Plc. Trump slapped a 36% tariff on Thai exports to the US starting on April 9, then decided to postpone enforcement for 90 days to allow Thailand to negotiate to address the trade imbalance between the two countries. Bangkok Post
Fin Min said 3rd phase cash handouts, the digital wallet, of Bt10K each to Thais aged 16 to 20, initially expected within 2Q, will be deferred and put up for review, while mulling new stimulus to support those affected by US tariffs.
Call for national e-marketplace: Platform would support local SMEs. E-commerce leaders are proposing the government establish a national e-marketplace as an alternative for local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to promote their products and services. The move would reduce their reliance on large foreign e-marketplaces that continue to raise commission fees and dominate the ecommerce space. In Southeast Asia, only Vietnam and Indonesia have successful local e-marketplaces. Bangkok Post
BoT officials eager to preserve policy space: The effectiveness of monetary policy tends to diminish when the policy rate falls to a low level, while transmission has slowed on a relative basis, according to the Bank of Thailand. Speaking during the Monetary Policy Forum held yesterday, central bank deputy governor Piti Disyatat said the regulator has limited policy space amid heightened uncertainty, stemming from the trade polices of the world’s major economies. Bangkok Post
Rice event set to generate over B2bn in export orders: The Commerce Ministry is gearing up to host the Thailand Rice Convention during the last week of this month, aiming to promote Thai rice exports and exceed 2 billion baht in orders. Commerce Minister Pichai Naripthaphan directed the Department of Foreign Trade (DFT) to execute marketing initiatives, increase rice exports, and monitor developments in the global rice market. Bangkok Post
Head of Fund Mngt at BBLAM Chajchai Sarit-apirak said he expects ~40% of Bt150-160b outstanding LTF to be converted to Thai ESGX by end of June, with Bt15-20b expected in new flows.
Tourist arrivals fell 21% from the prior 7-d period:
– songkrahn is over
– labour day and other holidays are over
– rainy season has begun
seems rather normally to me. interesting would be the comparison to the same period last year.
also, independently from that i do have the feeling that thailand has hit its current full capacity to tourists and to accommodate more tourists infrastructure upgrades in many respects would be needed. also do thailand and the thais even want more than app. 40 million tourists per year? sometimes it gets to be to much – see some popular tourist destinations in europe for example.
Correct – the negative newsflow on tourist #’s is odd. No idea why there’s this spin in the media. As effectively the # of tourists is down -/25% (both ~12mn) for the first 4M period, and there was this little thing called an earthquake that probably took 2 weeks of tourists down by -50%.
Thailand is undergoing massive upgrades on the airports. It’s obvious in Bangkok, Phuket and several other airports. But yes the issue of overcrowding will remain and Thailand’s issue is one of rate of change. Volume vs price etc etc. It does feel like a peaking moment for the country. IMO what’s missing is better value domestic tourism options…but these don’t move the GDP needle.
peter satrapa-binder
Tourist arrivals fell 21% from the prior 7-d period:
– songkrahn is over
– labour day and other holidays are over
– rainy season has begun
seems rather normally to me. interesting would be the comparison to the same period last year.
also, independently from that i do have the feeling that thailand has hit its current full capacity to tourists and to accommodate more tourists infrastructure upgrades in many respects would be needed. also do thailand and the thais even want more than app. 40 million tourists per year? sometimes it gets to be to much – see some popular tourist destinations in europe for example.
Pon
Correct – the negative newsflow on tourist #’s is odd. No idea why there’s this spin in the media. As effectively the # of tourists is down -/25% (both ~12mn) for the first 4M period, and there was this little thing called an earthquake that probably took 2 weeks of tourists down by -50%.
Thailand is undergoing massive upgrades on the airports. It’s obvious in Bangkok, Phuket and several other airports. But yes the issue of overcrowding will remain and Thailand’s issue is one of rate of change. Volume vs price etc etc. It does feel like a peaking moment for the country. IMO what’s missing is better value domestic tourism options…but these don’t move the GDP needle.