Thailand 20251114
Mekong Memo Thailand Weekly: Business, politics, finance, trade & legal news.
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Here is your Mekong Memo Thailand for this week.
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Headlines:
Government Rushes Investment Approvals
Data Center Boom
Banks Focus on Cash Management, Returns
Debt Restructuring for Small Borrowers
US Corn Import Deal
E-Commerce Gets New Import Duty Regs
Energy Sector Chases Green Solutions
FDI Flows to Manufacturing
Defense and Security Get a Look
Central Provinces Face a Flooding Crisis (Again)
Digital Infrastructure and Cybersecurity
No-Confidence Threat and Constitutional Reform
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Government Rushes Investment Approvals
Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas is putting the pedal to the metal for investment approvals. Board of Investment applications have so far risen 30% this year, a figure that looks even better when you take into account that the figure is almost double the 2023 total. Plans are in place for a Fast Pass system to speed up permit approvals for infrastructure, a change that should support improved water and power delivery. Deputy Minister Borwornsak Uwanno is working to tidy up laws that businesses say are hindering investment.
Read more: Bangkok Post (Investment Growth), Deal Street (BOI Approvals)
Data Center Boom
The Board of Investment has approved four new data center projects worth $3.1 billion, including an 84 MW facility from Dubai-based DAMAC Digital ($740 million) and a 200 MW hyperscale project from a local investor ($1.5 billion). The board also gave licenses to resuscitate six previously stalled (due to challenges with power access and industrial land) projects worth $9.2 billion. DayOne is going to upgrade its Chonburi Tech Park campus to 300MW and is working on a 1GW power platform, signing a renewable-energy agreement with Amata/ B.Grimm to supply green power from a floating-solar facility from 2027. The data center growth is an economic bright spot - 28 projects were approved ($14.5 billion of investment) in the first half of 2025.
Read more: Deal Street Asia (BOI Approval), Data Center Dynamics (DayOne Expansion), Globe Newswire (Power Platform), Capacity Global (Data Centers)
Banks Focus on Cash Management, Returns
As overall business slows, Thai banks are having to figure out how to get more efficient. The Thai banking industry’s 2025 return on equity is expected to finish at 8.4%, significantly below others in the region (compare to ~20%). Banks are also getting the go-ahead to set up joint-venture asset management companies to handle bad debts - an idea that’s been batted around for some time, but is finally coming to fruition.
Read more: Bangkok Post (Capital Management), Bangkok Post (JV-AMCs)
Debt Restructuring for Small Borrowers
The government is rolling out a new debt restructuring program called “Clear Debt, Move Forward” which will get underway in January. The program is designed to help small-scale borrowers shed their non-performing loans. The one-time deal will include about 1.6 million loan accounts (around 1.2 million borrowers), who hold debts of nearly 44 billion baht (unsecured NPLs for individuals with total debts under 100,000 baht). Restructuring options are expected to include lump-sum settlement or installment payments without interest for up to three years. Participants are expected to further benefit by having records of their past financial indiscretions cleared from the National Credit Bureau.
Read more: Bangkok Post (Debt Program), Bangkok Post (One-Time Deal)
US Corn Import Deal
There has to be a joke or a pun here somewhere, but we don’t have time to figure out what it should be. In any event, the cabinet has allowed for a huge increase in US corn imports, and will allow a million tonnes of zero-tariff corn into the country until June next year. That’s a hefty rise from the previous annual quota of 54,700 tonnes, which currently gets a 20% tariff. Thai officials claim the change will reduce animal feed costs while still protecting local farmers by way of a requirement that feed mills buy three tonnes of locally grown corn for every tonne of imported corn. The import window is also designed to avoid overlap with Thailand’s main harvest to keep pressure off of local prices.
Read more: Trading View (Imports), Bangkok Post (Trade Negotiations), Khaosod English (Industry Strength)
E-Commerce Gets New Import Duty Regs
In what is sure to be a blow to Chinese trinket-makers, the Customs Department has confirmed that it plans to apply import duties to goods valued below 1,500 baht starting January 1. Previously, these products could sneak in without a fee to the tax man (both VAT and duties were waived). The new rules are expected to be helpful to Thai manufacturers and domestic sellers by creating “fair” competition against foreign sellers. The change is expected to result in about 3 billion baht of incremental customs revenue.
Read more: Bangkok Post (Duty Rules), Retail News Asia (Tax Policy)
Energy Sector Chases Green Solutions
Energy Minister Auttapol Rerkpiboon is prioritizing long-term energy projects. He says he wants Thailand to be a leader for green hydrogen in Southeast Asia, and is pushing the regulatory changes needed to make it happen. Auttapol is also calling for the use of small modular reactors to produce nuclear energy, saying there’s little to worry about as they’re safer than traditional reactors. The Energy Regulatory Commission is asking for public input on electricity tariff changes, with options including keeping the current tariff of 3.94 baht per kilowatt-hour or increasing it to 4.58 baht. It is not clear who, in the public, is pushing for higher rates.
Read more: Bangkok Post (Long-term Focus), Bangkok Post (Tariff Changes), Reccessary (Diesel Emissions)
FDI Flows to Manufacturing
HD Hyundai Heavy Industries signed a deal with Thailand’s Regional Container Lines to build two 13,800 TEU container vessels valued at about $300 million. Delivery is expected for Q4 2028. Dynamic Electronics Co Ltd said it’ll invest 1.5 billion yuan ($210.59 million) in an AI-related printed circuit board project. Jabil partnered with Inno, a subsidiary of Shanghai Xinpeng Industry, to co-invest in a 15,000-square-metre battery energy storage system enclosures facility in Rayong; prototyping operations are expected by late 2026.
Read more: iMarine News (Container Ships), Trading View (PCB Expansion), Evertiq (Battery Facility)
Defense and Security Get a Look
BAE Systems wants to supply its M777 155 mm/39 calibre lightweight howitzer to the Royal Thai Army. Hanwha Ocean presented its OCEAN-40F frigate design at Defense & Security 2025 in Bangkok, its second proposal for Thailand. Interestingly, one of the selling points of the craft is its counter-drone capability. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (same one from the previous story) is flogging export variants of its frigate designs, including the HDF-3200, HDF-3600, and HDF-4000, hoping to get a piece of next year’s Royal Thai Navy’s frigate procurement program. Edge Group is jockeying for a spot in the lineup for its THeMIS unmanned ground vehicle opportunity.
Read more: Janes (M777 Bid), Naval News (OCEAN-40F), Naval News (HD HHI Frigates), Defense News (THeMIS)
Central Provinces Face a Flooding Crisis (Again)
New satellite images from the THEOS-1 satellite shows more than 1,300 square km of land is underwater in the central provinces of Ayutthaya, Ang Thong, Suphan Buri, and Nakhon Pathom. Ayutthaya is the most seriously affected. The PM said that he’d resolve flooding issues by the end of the year and plans to give monthly compensation to farmers impacted by floodwater retention. Agriculture Minister Thamanat Prompow forecasts the Chao Phraya River flow to remain at about 2,900 cubic meters a second for another week before normalizing to about 1,000 by the third week of December. The current flow will raise water levels by 20-30 centimeters, mostly affecting Bangkok’s western side.
Read more: Bangkok Post (Satellite Data), Bangkok Post (PM Pledge), Bangkok Post (River Flow), Gulf News (Bangkok Impact)
Digital Infrastructure and Cybersecurity
The Ministry of Public Health wants a unified national health data platform to integrate public health information systems into a Health Information Exchange. The ministry will introduce a Digital Health Act to regulate health data exchanges, set interoperability standards and rules around the use of AI and telemedicine. Thailand’s Ministry of Digital Economy and Society is demanding that Meta explain a personal data leak that has affected more than nine million Thai users. A meeting to that end is scheduled for November 20.
Read more: Healthcare IT News (Health Data), Onco Daily (Digital Health), Vietnam Plus (Meta Leak)
No-Confidence Threat and Constitutional Reform
The People’s Party set out three conditions that would trigger a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul: an extension of the government‘s term beyond January 31, a failure to amend Section 15/1 of the constitution by year-end, and the promulgation of any policies that could threaten public safety or which lack transparency. The Bhumjaithai Party refutes claims that the government is dragging its feet on the constitutional amendment process, blaming delays on “external” factors. Senator Phisit Apivatanapong claims that the Senate isn’t stalling the constitution drafting process but is concerned about compliance with a Constitutional Court ruling that blocks direct public elections for the drafting body. A Nida Poll run, through November 4, surveyed 2,000 eligible voters in 17 northern provinces, and found that more than a third would still be undecided about who they would vote for if the election were held now.
Read more: Bangkok Post (Censure Conditions), Bangkok Post (Charter Change), Bangkok Post (Northern Poll)
That’s it for this week, thanks for reading!
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