Economy and industry
BoT to slash growth outlook
The fresh wave of Covid-19 infections has the Bank of Thailand likely to slash its economic growth forecast for this year from a previous prediction of 3%.The central bank is monitoring the impact of the third wave, with a downgrade possible because of the effects ...
Somruedi Banchongduang
Public cloud spending to rise sharply
Thailand’s spending on public cloud services is expected to surge 31.7% year-on-year to 26.8 billion baht in 2021, in tandem with strong growth seen worldwide due to the pandemic, says global tech research firm Gartner.The company indicated that spending in Thailand could grow 28.2% to ...
Bangkok Post Reporter
Tourism could be hit by re-tightening of travel restrictions, experts warn
Government measures to contain the spread of Covid-19 infections across Bangkok and other five red-zoned provinces will likely have a negative impact on the tourism sector, analysts said Friday, adding that the downside risk was limited.The return of a 14-day mandatory quarantine for all oversea ...
Digital technology for field hospitals
The Digital Council of Thailand (DCT) is working with 36 leading tech organisations and the Medical Council of Thailand (TMC) to provide digital technology for field hospitals treating Covid-19 patients.“Digital technology can play an immense role in dealing with the country’s crisis, which is the ...
Suchit Leesa-Nguansuk
Over 80% Thai businesses struggling due to pandemic: PwC report
More than 80 per cent of Thai organisations surveyed by PwC recently said they were hit adversely by the Covid-19 pandemic, while the report indicated that successful crisis recovery hinges on improving resiliency.The Thailand part of PwC’s “Global Crisis Survey 2021” – a global survey ...
The Nation Reporter
State preps B300bn for new measures
The government looks set to prepare more than 300 billion baht’s worth of new measures to help reduce people’s expenses and stimulate domestic consumption battered by a fresh wave of Covid-19 infections.Kulaya Tantitemit, the director-general of the Fiscal Policy Office under the Finance Ministry, said ...
Wichit Chantanusornsiri
Thailand may gain from virus-led migration - BoT
The massive labour migration Thailand experienced during the first wave of Covid infections last year may present an opportunity to modernise the country’s agricultural sector and develop outlying regions of the country, according to a Bank of Thailand (BoT) study.“This is a rare opportunity for ...
Fight to foil cyberthreats intensifies
Cybersecurity has become paramount for businesses and individuals as digital transformation, internet usage and digital asset values are skyrocketing.Thailand encountered more than 20 million cyberthreats last year, according to global cybersecurity company Kaspersky.Kaspersky Security Network (KSN) reported its products detected 20,598,223 different internet-borne cyberthreats on ...
Suchit Leesa-Nguansuk
Banks maintain NPL ratio amid virus risk
Ten SET-listed commercial banks restrained their non-performing loan (NPL) ratio in the first quarter of 2021 as they set aside a relatively high provision for loan loss amid uncertainty brought about by the pandemic.Among the big players, Bangkok Bank (BBL) and Krungthai Bank (KTB) reported ...
Somruedi Banchongduang
Thai economy may lose $3 billion a month after new virus outbreak
Thailand’s economy could lose 100 billion baht ($3.2 billion) a month, a university warned on Thursday, as the country struggles with a third wave of the coronavirus. The University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce said the latest wave could reduce the number of workers by ...