Economy and commerce

The Bank of Thailand insists that despite shocks and changes experienced in the macroeconomic environment, the country’s fundamentals remain strong, as reflected in the country’s current account surplus, stable foreign exchange rate and low unemployment. Central bank governor Prasarn Trairatvorakul on 17 August said speeding up infrastructure investment ...

Local small and medium-sized importers are in a rush to hedge their currency exposure to protect against the rapid weakening of the baht, says TMB Bank. The number of SME customers hedging against foreign exchange risk has increased by 20-30% since the baht began depreciating after ...

Thai entrepreneurs should tap Myanmar’s high growth potential, say business leaders. However, competition has grown intense as Myanmar welcomes other foreign investors, forcing some Thai businesses to seek local partners in order to make it easier to do business there. Keep reading ...

Thailand’s baht currency slumped to a more than six-year low on 18 August and shares fell in Bangkok over concerns an unprecedented attack in the capital could hit the vital tourism sector. At least 21 people were killed and over 120 wounded when a bomb ripped through ...

Hanoi chicken farmer Nguyen Huu Tuyen blames inexpensive poultry imported from the U.S. for the loss of almost $14,000 this year.   Farmers such as Tuyen say the only way American companies can undercut Vietnamese poultry prices is if they export chicken at artificially low prices or ...

Vietnam’s stocks slid the most in more than three months to enter correction territory amid concern the nation’s exports will be hurt by yuan devaluation.   The VN-Index slumped for a fifth day, losing 2.7 percent to 573.15 at the 3 p.m. close and extending losses to ...

Vietnam and the EU have reached a framework agreement on the creation of a free trade zone under which almost all customs barriers between the partners will be eliminated.   The deal, which follows two and one-half years of talks, will once fully implemented remove nearly all ...

Thailand’s economic growth slowed in the second quarter as improving government spending and tourism failed to counter weak local demand and exports, with the outlook clouded by drought and the yuan’s devaluation. Gross domestic product gained 2.8 percent in the three months through June from a ...

Salaries in Thailand are expected to go up by 5.9 per cent in 2015, according to global consulting firm Mercer in its recently released annual labour market research. Keep reading   ...

Vietnam saw a trade deficit of over three billion U.S. dollars with China in July, bringing the figure in the first seven months of 2015 to hit some 19.3 billion U.S. dollars, said Vietnam Customs on 17 August.   Keep reading ...