RCEP was successfully concluded in November 2020 with 15 parties confirming their participation in the free trade agreement. For Thailand, it is estimated that the RCEP will boost the country’s GDP by an additional 4%.
Thai government has taken into account the potential negative impacts on local entrepreneurs in some sectors. In this respect, the Ministry of Commerce is now considering establishing an FTA fund to support local enterprises with financial and technical assistance.
According to the Global COVID-19 Index (GCI), Thailand currently ranks 2nd out of 184 countries for COVID-19 recovery. the GCI was established as a way of measuring the COVID-19 recovery performance of countries around the world.
Talks of Thailand joining CPTPP have been ongoing for nearly 2 years now. The initiative was met with as much support as criticism, thus warranting the Department of Trade Negotiation to conduct an in-depth study of the impact.
With the spread of the COVID-19 virus, it appears to present a golden opportunity for the online shopping industry. However, e-commerce retailers have failed to benefit, due to difficulties in importing goods under strict quarantine conditions and reduced productivity in china.
The coronavirus will incur a THB 50 billion loss to the Thai Economy each month; a worrying figure if the situation does not resolve swiftly. Unless the epidemic is contained within 2 months, the Thai economy’s 2020 growth rate will be hindered by 0.7%.
The recent release of the Ease of Doing Business Report 2020 by the World Bank highlights the progress made by Thailand in improving its business and regulatory environment.
Following the 14th Senior Officials Meeting between the European Union and Thailand earlier this month, the EU has released a statement to reiterate its readiness to broaden its engagement with Thailand.
Thailand is ranked as the world’s 40th most competitive economy in 2019 with a GCI score of 68.1. Despite a 0.6 increase from the previous year’s score, this slight growth was not high enough for Thailand to maintain its 38th position in the 2018 rankings.
the digital economy becomes an increasingly crucial development area, including Thailand. With more traffic taking place online, digital data and information have become a valuable economic resource for development, leading to an entirely new “data value chain.”
The Northern provinces of Thailand have been choking from air pollution caused by haze and small particulate matter known as PM 2.5. The air pollution is posing a serious health threat to the locals, particularly children, the elderly, and those with respiratory problems.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), ASEAN has great potential to go digital due to its sizable economy, demographic dividend, and accelerating regional integration. In addition, to encourage further development in science, technology, and innovation, the Board of Investment recently approved new investments in three regional science and technology parks.
