Thailand

Japanese companies established Thailand’s auto industry virtually from scratch, dating back to the years after World War II. By the late 1970s, Japanese brands commanded around 90 percent of car sales in Thailand. They invested in building Thai supply chains, and their cars were also widely perceived by customers as reliable, the New York Times reported. In the 1990s, American and South Korean automakers targeted the Thai market but barely made a dent in Japan’s share.

Energy Absolute Pcl shares plunged by the 30% daily limit after the founder and chief executive quit over a fraud probe and its credit rating was slashed to junk, Bloomberg News reported. Energy Absolute fell to a 10-year low of 9.2 baht when it resumed trading Tuesday, after revealing it has 19.5 billion baht ($539 million) of debt due in 2024 and is seeking one or more strategic partners. Its disclosure followed a one-day share suspension ordered by the Stock Exchange of Thailand, which demanded the renewables company explain its financials and the impact of a fraud probe.

Thailand's prime minister said Monday that eligible businesses and individuals can register from August for digital cash handouts, a controversial program that will cost billions of dollars and is meant to boost the lagging economy. The government announced in April the widely criticized ambitious plan, named the “Digital Wallet,” meant to give 10,000 baht (about $275) to 50 million citizens in digital money to spend at local businesses.

Thailand’s central bank remains firm in its opposition to a government plan to give nearly $14 billion in cash to almost all adult citizens to revitalize consumption activity, saying the prudent thing would be to focus on the needy, Bloomberg News reported. With private consumption forecast to expand about 4% this year after a record growth of 7% last year, there’s no need to stimulate demand across the board, Bank of Thailand Governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput said in an interview on Tuesday.

Thailand’s central bank governor pushed back further against a government suggestion to raise the monetary authority’s inflation target, spelling out the risks of such a move to Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, Bloomberg News reported. Any push to tweak the inflation target may unanchor expectations and result in quickening price gains — and in turn, higher borrowing costs, Governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput said in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Haslinda Amin in Bangkok on Tuesday.

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s administration is discussing ways to exert more control over the country’s central bank after repeatedly clashing with the monetary authority on economic policy, Bloomberg News reported. One of the measures under discussion focuses on the Bank of Thailand’s board chairman role, which will open up in September, the people said. While the chairman doesn’t have powers to dictate monetary policy, the official can evaluate the BOT governor’s performance as well as have a say in which outside experts join the Monetary Policy Committee.

Thailand’s economy grew in the first quarter as private consumption and tourism helped counter weakness in goods exports, but the outlook for the year remains cloudy, the Wall Street Journal reported. Gross domestic product rose 1.5% from a year earlier, compared with the 1.7% expansion seen in the final quarter of 2023, the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council said on Monday.