Economy and commerce

The Tourism Council of Thailand projects foreign tourist arrivals will reach 30.3 million this year, growing 22% and surpassing the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s target of 28.8 million visitors. Tourism revenue from foreign tourists is expected to surge 21% to 1.42 trillion baht, slightly up from ...

Amid widespread anxiety over the impact of the Myanmar Central Bank’s decision to revoke thousands of US dollar accepter and holder licences, a senior official has promised authorities have no plans to return to old ways.  For many years – until 2011, when six commercial banks opened ...

Earlier this month, 12 countries in the Asia Pacific region signed the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) which ranks as the biggest trade agreement in history – signatory countries account for 40% of total global output. While the treaty still must be ratified by each and every party to it, ...

While Cambodian households saw their debt increase just 2 per cent last year, rural household borrowings to service existing loans nearly doubled, new government research shows. Both total and disposable incomes across the 3.3 million Cambodian households rose 16 per cent year-on-year in 2014, with total ...

The  development by the Thai government of a special economic zone at Mae Sot, which is intended to improve trade and communications between Thailand and Myanmar, could have devastating consequences for local inhabitants. Keep reading ...

Potential mortgage borrowers lined up for the government’s 10 billion baht in cheap loans at all branches of state-owned GH Bank on 19 October, the first day of the scheme. Keep reading ...

China is eyeing total investment of more than 200 billion yuan ($31.45 billion) in 240 projects in a pilot economic zone on the border with Laos, the government of the southwestern province of Yunnan said late on 19 October. Poor and remote, Laos has traditionally been ...

Savan Vegas Hotel and Entertainment Complex, a casino hotel in Laos, is being offered for sale via a competitive bid process, according to a press release dated 19 October. Keep reading ...

Canada has expressed interest in investing in rail systems, both in Bangkok and upcountry. This makes Canada the latest country to be drawn to the country’s infrastructure development projects.  Keep reading ...

Property developers are busy introducing special marketing campaigns to cash in on the Thai government’s property stimulus measures that kicked off on 19 October. Among them are Sansiri Plc, which introduced on-top discounts for 62 residential projects nationwide that have remaining units available for sale priced from ...