Covid-19, poverty, social protection and the Thai economy More than half of workers in Thailand are informal, meaning they are not covered by a social security scheme and are particularly vulnerable. The coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has touched people from all walks of life. Across Thailand, children have been home from school, employees have been working…
Thailand loses US free trade benefits worth billions of baht Thailand loses duty free access for 42.2 billion baht in exports to the US market from today, 6 months after Washington warned it would pull back on trade privileges unless the kingdom committed to labour rights reforms. Once trade preferences for Thai products are removed they are…
“Thai Airways will survive”. Emergency meeting next Wednesday. “Thai Airways will not collapse. The fact that Deputy PM Somkid stepped in to handle the issue means the government will rescue it.” It’s no secret that Thailand’s national carrier has been a financial basket case for over a decade, bleeding money and marketshare as the years…
Jobless Thais queue for food as pandemic hits economy Thais are becoming increasingly desperate as the pandemic destroys the economy and the government struggles to respond. Long lines of unemployed relying on free food across Bangkok, scrambles for cash handouts and fishing in fetid canals — Thais are getting increasingly desperate as the pandemic destroys…
The China Bounce – are the Chinese packing their bags ready to come back to Thailand? The results of a comprehensive new survey of consumers in Mainland China’s first tier cities concludes that 53% of respondents would like to travel internationally sometime this year. Citing the opportunity, the most popular months for trips abroad for…
Back to business – time for Thailand’s tourist industry to get ready OPINION by Bill Barnett from c9hotelworks.com Tourism is a vital part of Thailand’s economy. And as the country emerges into the post-Covid world, getting tourists back to the country will be an essential springboard to the rest of the Thai economy. None of that…
PM asks public to cool down on selling their gold Massive unemployment due to the national state of emergency and the Covid-19 outbreak has pushed gold prices to near a 7 year high, and gold shops throughout the country are running out of cash because so many people are cashing in. In a briefing this week in Bangkok, PM…
Loophole closed – more unemployed to receive payments from Thai government The loophole for employees whose businesses were not ordered to close, but are still affected by Covid 19 pandemic, has finally been addressed. The Thai Ministry of Labor secretary Sutthi Sukosol says that compensation will be similar to what employees whose businesses were ordered…
NBTC seeks to reduce mobile bills by 30% Hopefully for both prepaid and postpaid subscribers. The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission has been meeting with Thailand’s telecom operators in an effort to lower mobile phone service fees for users. The NBTC say the fee reduction proposal is for both prepaid and postpaid subscribers and seeks to…
IMF sees Thailand’s growth down 6.7 percent in 2020 The impact of the coronavirus on the Asia Pacific region will be severe and unprecedented says IMF, and Thailand could stand as the worst performer with a 6.7% GDP drop. Covid-19 crisis could be worse than the Global Financial Crisis, and Asia is not immune, says…