Thai Industry News

The baht, which last week spiked up above Bt30 per dollar for the first time since January, will continue to appreciate because of expected higher exports and more foreign direct investment, boosted by the natural disasters in Japan, according to HSBC Global Research.

The average round of golf was 29% cheaper in Thailand than in other leading golf destinations in Asia, according to a recent survey.

Indorama Ventures board on 5 April 2011 has approved a Brownfield expansion of PET polymers production in Europe with a capacity increase of 220,000 tons per year.

Despite disrupted supply of components and parts from Japan, Thai manufacturers in the automotive and electronics sectors see only a slim chance of massive layoffs. Expecting the disruption to end soon, they realise that layoffs could create a long-term problem amid the tight labour market.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) expects Thailand to record the lowest growth among the six major Southeast Asian economies this year.

The Pattaya property market has potential to stage a full recovery this year, spurred by 15 billion baht in spending planned to improve transport and utilities services, communities and the environment.

The 32nd Bangkok International Motor Show finished up successfully with the booking of over 33,000 vehicles, well above the 28,000 target. Nevertheless, as small cars ruled the show, the combined value of sold vehicles was short of the Bt40 billion target.

Thailand's fast-growing property market runs a risk of facing a slowdown after its robust growth last year, according to a real-estate expert.

Hotel developer, Minor International, will complete the transfer of the riverside Bangkok Marriott Resort & Spa from Marriott management to its own in-house brand Anantara by 11 November.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) continued its climb yesterday by jumping another 1.34% to close at 1,078.66 points yesterday, in heavy trade worth 42 billion baht.