Economy and commerce
Local startup deals down, funding surges
The number of startup funding deals plunged to 30 in 2020, down from 41 the year before, due to the pandemic as investment focused more on companies in the growth stage, according to tech media Techsauce.However, the total investment in local startups surged to US$364 ...
Suchit Leesa-Nguansuk
Financial system increasingly vulnerable
The Thai financial system has become more vulnerable due to negative shocks from the recent Covid-19 outbreak, says the Bank of Thailand (BoT).The financial situation of Thai households has become more fragile as reflected in the elevated debt-to-income ratio which is higher compared to other ...
Somruedi Banchongduang
GSB suspends relief-loan applications after huge demand crashes system
The state-owned lender Government Savings Bank (GSB) temporarily stopped accepting applications for its Covid-19-relief loans on Thursday as more than 100,000 requests are pending in the system, amid online backlash.“We expect to resume taking loan applications again early next week,” said GSB director Withai Rattanakorn ...
Third Covid wave rocks Thai economy
Thailand and many of its neighbours are struggling with the spread of Covid-19 cases while they await the beginning of mass vaccination programmes to counter the pandemic.Thailand’s financial system has been hit hard by the latest coronavirus outbreak and the central bank says its economy ...
BoT worried over possible rise in NPLs
The Bank of Thailand (BoT) is concerned with the expected higher number of non-performing loans (NPLs) of tourism-related businesses in the second quarter of this year because of the the third wave of Covid-19.Both the BoT and financial institutions are concerned about rising NPLs in ...
Somruedi Banchongduang
Thai economy shrinks by 2.6% in Q1
The Thai economy shrank by 2.6% in the first quarter of this year — an improvement from a 4.2% contraction in the previous quarter — after it was boosted by a continued increase in agricultural production, recovery of non-agricultural production, acceleration in domestic investments, rise ...
Bangkok Post Reporter
Thailand’s GDP growth relies on vaccine rollout, NESDC says
Thailand’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of this year contracted by 2.6 per cent because the third wave of Covid-19 infections has hurt the economy and tourism industry, the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) said on Monday.However, it was a ...
The Nation Reporter
Thai banks strong, can weather uncertainty - BoT
Thailand’s banking system remained resilient with high capital buffers and liquidity to cushion economic uncertainty, the Bank of Thailand (BoT) said on Monday, as the country deals with a third wave of coronavirus infections.The outbreak, the country’s biggest so far, has hit consumption and tourism, ...
Forecasters: Economy probably shrank in Q1
Thailand’s economy probably shrank again in the first quarter of this year, a Reuters poll showed on Friday, as coronavirus outbreaks hurt consumption and tourism, slowing the pace of the economic recovery.Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, which is heavily reliant on tourism, is believed to have ...
Up to 80% of SMEs hit by lack of liquidity, 100,000 may close for good if Covid crisis persists
About 70 to 80 per cent of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are suffering from a lack of liquidity since the third Covid-19 wave hit Thailand in late March and 100,000 could close for good, warned Saengchai Theerakulwanich, president of the Federation of Thai SMEs, ...
The Nation Reporter