Asia Economy

While the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN) remains the cornerstone of foreign policy, Malaysia has long been engaged in other bilateral and multilateral alliances, pacts, agreements and treaties. These now place it in a truly global web of security, economic and cultural connections.

Today, Thailand is undergoing its most profound transformation of the last 30 years. The military coup d’é- tat of September 19, 2006 that deposed the populist prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, radically altered the nation’s political dynamic, launching the country into five protracted years of domestic strife and weakened international...

Diversified and globally integrated to a high degree, Thailand’s economy has also proven itself to be resilient to shocks of recent years, both external and internal. The country’s decades-long incentives-based policy for attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) has been one of the great successes of developing-market economics, having boosted the...

The Kingdom of Thailand, formerly known as Siam, is situated in the heart of South-east Asia. Thailand lies between the Lao People’s Democratic Republic to its north-east, Myanmar to its north-west and western, Cambodia to the south-east, and Malaysia on the southern border.

Long-term trends have Thailand’s economy tilting ever closer to its own region, renewing a focus that had taken a back seat as the growth of manufacturing in the country led to a greater exposure to the world’s most developed economies. Natural market forces are one catalyst, as consumer demand in nearby countries such as China and Indonesia is on...

One of the most important changes to the Thai economy expected for 2012 came on April 1, when the minimum wage in Bangkok and six other of Thailand’s 75 provinces was boosted from about BT220 ($7) to BT300 ($9.60) – a 36% jump. The wage hike will be applied to all provinces in January 2013, and will fulfil one of the current government’s major...