Economy

Overseas investments by Thai corporates have grown significantly, overtaking inward foreign direct investment (FDI) for the first time in 2011. Encouraged by both the Bank of Thailand (BOT) and the government, cash-rich Thai firms leveraged the strengthening baht (until May 2013) to expand both regionally and further afield in developed markets...

While Thailand is pushing ahead with efforts to expand its network of free trade agreements (FTAs), the lack of a permanent government means that approval and implementation of any deals could be delayed. Thai officials have played down concerns that the political troubles, which may not see a new government installed until at least June 2014,...

Leveraging its central position to drive trade and investment with neighbouring countries, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV) in particular, will be a driving force for Thailand’s economic prospects. Long dominated by trade with Malaysia, which accounted for roughly 60% of Thailand’s border trade in 2013, cross-border trade is...

While both major political parties have tabled successive large-scale infrastructure developments, centring on high-speed rail and dual-tracking of existing lines, political differences have delayed implementation over the past decade. Thailand’s ratio of public investment to GDP fell from 6.9-7.1% in 2002-08 to 5.5-5.9% in 2010-12, according to...

South-east Asia’s second-largest economy with a GDP of $366bn and a per capita income of $5168 in 2012, Thailand has the potential to become the world’s 23rdlargest economy by 2050, according to HSBC, up from 34th now. A diversified and competitive export base accounting for 62.3% of GDP in 2012, ranging from agriculture to high-end manufactured...