Thailand 20241122: Buoyant, Acerbic, Outstanding
Mekong Memo Thailand Weekly: Business, politics, finance, trade & legal news.
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Here is your Mekong Memo Thailand for this week.
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Headlines:
Digital Assets Get Government Backing
New Estates to Lure Foreign Investments
Mass Transit Lifts Land Prices, Myanmar Buyers Resilient
Crackdown on Nominee Structures
THAI Reconnects to Brussels, BKK as Transit Hub
Affordable Solar Power to Ease Price Burden
PM Targets Food, Healthcare, Soft Power
Digital Competitiveness Slips
Microreactor Shipped from China to Thailand
Venue Revamp for Global Events
Top 3 for IPOs, Startup Funding
Transforming the Shadow Economy
Thailand Taps Turkish Expertise for HSR
Xi Urges Faster China-Thailand Railway Progress
PM Signals Tech Commitment
Thailand Hopes for Speedy IP Watch List Removal
Lopburi Monkeys Escape, Strut About Town
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Digital Assets Get Government Backing
The Thai government has said that it will create opportunities and make investments in digital assets more accessible in an effort to position Thailand as a regional leader. The government says it is prioritizing digital literacy, recognizing the rapid pace of technological change and its role in people's daily lives. It's taking an open-minded yet cautious approach, allowing controlled experimentation through sandbox environments while considering the risks of volatility, cybercrime and money laundering. The government wants to partner with the private sector to support the robust growth of the digital asset market.
Read more: Bangkok Post (Government Support), The Phuket News (Regulatory Stance)
New Estates to Lure Foreign Investments
Industrial estate developer Pinthong Industrial Park is planning to develop two new estates spanning 3,000 rai in Rayong to serve foreign business expansion. The company sees an upward trend in foreign investment and decided to develop new facilities to soak up investor demand.
Read more: Bangkok Post
Mass Transit Lifts Land Prices, Myanmar Buyers Resilient
Mass transit has lifted the price index of vacant land in Greater Bangkok, a recovery in the property market, with more price increases expected in 2025. The price index reached 391.1 in Q3 2024, a 2.9% year-on-year increase. Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira is looking at improving 'rights over leasehold asset' laws to make them more conducive for foreign investment in real estate. Buyers from Myanmar have been actively purchasing condominiums in Bangkok and other parts of Thailand, tripling in the first nine months of 2024 compared to the previous year and becoming the second-largest group of foreign purchasers after the Chinese.
Read more: Bangkok Post (Vacant Land Prices), Bangkok Post (Attracting Foreign Investors), Construction World (Myanmar Buyers)
Crackdown on Nominee Structures
The government is planning to crack down on illegal nominee practices, where foreign businesses operate using Thai nationals to get around regulations. A proposed three-phase strategy includes stricter enforcement, a behavioral trend monitoring system, and amendments to the Foreign Business Act to impose harsher penalties. The Commerce Ministry is working with several agencies to target high-risk sectors like online platforms and logistics. Authorities are urging Thai participants to squeal by reporting nominee activity, offering witness protection to reduce penalties and support enforcement.
Read more: Bangkok Post
THAI Reconnects to Brussels, BKK as Transit Hub
Direct flights on Thai Airways International between Thailand and Belgium are set to resume on Dec 1, after a four-year suspension thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic. Airports of Thailand wants to increase transit flights at Suvarnabhumi Airport from the current 4% to 20% as part of a plan to make it an aviation hub in Southeast Asia with a capacity of 150 million passengers per year by 2030.
Read more: Bangkok Post (Brussels Flights), Bangkok Post (Aviation Hub Plans), The Nation Thailand (Suvarnabhumi Transit Flights)
Affordable Solar Power to Ease Price Burden
The Ministry of Energy has successfully developed an affordable prototype of solar power system equipment and hopes to make it available to the public next year. The current market price of solar equipment is quite high, so the ministry has been working on developing affordable solar roof systems. Renewable energy projects are expanding across the country, with a push for investments in solar, wind, and hydropower ongoing. Although the government's policies initially hindered rooftop solar trading, plans for direct power trading agreements should stabilize the market while inviting private investment.
Read more: The Nation Thailand
PM Targets Food, Healthcare, Soft Power
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said the government will focus on food, healthcare and soft power to attract new investments. The government is going to bring back the 'Thai Kitchen to the World' policy to promote Thailand's place as a global food supplier, possible because of the country's strong agricultural sector.
Read more: The Nation Thailand
Digital Competitiveness Slips
Thailand's digital competitiveness has moved down two places to 37th globally, according to the World Digital Competitiveness Ranking 2024. The country maintained third place among ASEAN countries, after Singapore and Malaysia. Thailand was ranked 41 among 133 economies in the Global Innovation Index 2024, its highest place in a decade.
Read more: The Nation Thailand (Digital Competitiveness), Bangkok Post (Innovation Index)
Microreactor Shipped from China to Thailand
China has shipped the systems and equipment for the Miniature Neutron Source Reactor that will be built at the Suranaree University of Technology. The reactor has a rated power of 30kW and is suitable for construction in densely populated areas like universities, hospitals, and research institutes for scientific research.
Read more: World Nuclear News
Venue Revamp for Global Events
The Tourism and Sports Ministry has announced plans to reinvigorate Thailand's events infrastructure to attract world-class competitions and concerts. The ministry will act as a mediator to redevelop the National Stadium and the Nimibutr Sports Building. The envisioned venue would host large-scale concerts and major sporting events, setting Thailand up as a prime destination for international competitions.
Read more: The Nation Thailand
Top 3 for IPOs, Startup Funding
Thailand ranked among the top three initial public offering (IPO) markets in Southeast Asia, representing 26% of total fundraising across the region, with a strong pipeline of IPOs in consumer, healthcare and real estate sectors. There were 29 IPOs in Thailand as of Nov 15, mobilizing funds worth $756 million. Tech start-ups are getting extra funds, with the Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Ministry announcing an almost 20% increase in its technology fund for 270 projects to support tech entrepreneurs.
Read more: Bangkok Post (IPO Ranking), Bangkok Post (Tech Start-up Funding)
Transforming the Shadow Economy
The informal economy has enormous value but is not included in the calculation of national income, leading to inaccuracies in GDP figures and hindering effective economic planning. Dr. Anusorn Thammajai, University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, has published an analysis of the country's unofficial economic activities and outlined a three-part framework for bringing these activities into a regulated and transparent system.
Read more: Khaosod English
Thailand Taps Turkish Expertise for HSR
Thailand is collaborating with Türasaş, Turkey's state-owned train manufacturer, to build fast trains for its new high-speed rail network. The knowledge exchange is part of plans to forge a rail-manufacturing industry to support the country's transport development. Thailand is going to need to order or make many locomotives and trains in the near future, so the ability to design and make trains locally with world-class technology will be helpful.
Read more: The Nation Thailand
Xi Urges Faster China-Thailand Railway Progress
Chinese President Xi Jinping has said that China and Thailand should accelerate the construction of the China-Thailand Railway and expand cooperation in the emerging fields of energy, digital economy, and artificial intelligence. He made the remarks when meeting with Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on the sidelines of the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Peru.
Read more: The Nation Thailand
PM Signals Tech Commitment
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has assured global tech giants that the Thai government is committed to promoting digital skills and infrastructure and working with them in these areas. The government is closely monitoring the BRICS membership expansion process and has spoken up about its readiness to contribute to global and regional multilateral mechanisms, organizations, and forums.
Read more: Bangkok Post
Thailand Hopes for Speedy IP Watch List Removal
The US is going to remove Thailand from its watch list on intellectual property protection soon, Commerce Minister Pichai Naripthaphan said following discussions with the US Trade Representative Ambassador during the APEC Economic Leaders' meeting. Thailand was ranked 41 among 133 economies in the Global Innovation Index 2024, its highest positioning in a decade.
Read more: The Nation Thailand
And now for something completely different.
While the focus of The Memo is on news for business, we often wrap up with a less business-focused article. While Miss Universe Thailand has come home to a hero’s welcome, and insiders are saying that Thailand is set to become a huge LGBT wedding destination, monkeys are again wreaking havoc in Lopburi:
Lopburi Monkeys Escape, Strut About Town
More 200 monkeys have engineered a jailbreak from the Lopburi City Municipality Animal Nursery thanks to old netting in their enclosure. Some monkeys invaded the Tha Hin Police Station, while others roamed nearby streets and homes like they owned the place. Officials have recaptured 60 monkeys using food traps and hope to recovering the rest within days. The damaged enclosure has been repaired, and residents are being called upon to report sightings. This is the second mass escape from the facility.
Read more: Khaosod English
That’s it for this week, thanks for reading!
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