Thailand 20260717

Mekong Memo Thailand Weekly: Business, politics, finance, trade & legal news.

Jul 17, 2026

News from Southeast Asia directly to your inbox every weekday.

The Mekong Memo is proudly presented by:

Horton International is your premier partner for executive search in Southeast Asia. Whether you're a small startup or a global corporation, our reliable and effective recruiting solutions are tailored to meet your unique needs. With extensive experience and offices across the region, we excel at overcoming recruitment challenges and securing top talent for your organization.

Click here to learn how Horton can make your life easier.

The Memo is published weekdays - Cambodia (every Monday), Myanmar (Tuesday), Laos (Wednesday), Vietnam (Thursday) and Thailand (Friday). The Thailand edition is free in its entirety; the others usually abbreviated for non-paid subscribers.

Please go to https://www.mekongmemo.com/account to select country editions you would like to receive without affecting your overall subscription status.

Bar Fire Kills 32; 2008 Loophole Still Open

The Rong Beer Na Ladprao fire killed 32 people and hospitalized more than 70, making it Bangkok's deadliest blaze since the Santika Club fire killed 67 on New Year's Eve 2008 which resulted in the 2012 fire-safety overhaul. Police found beer crates blocking one fire exit, a table blocking another, and a third door near the restrooms bolted shut because the owner feared customers would slip out without paying. Officials told PM Anutin Charnvirakul that the door was marked "staff only" and unknown to patrons. Investigators say combustible foam soundproofing and plastic flowers around the stage fed the flames within seconds of a short circuit in a ceiling air conditioner. None of the 2012 post-Santika rules on fire-resistant materials, sprinklers, or properly sized exits applied, because the venue was registered as a "restaurant with live music" rather than an “entertainment venue.” Opposition MP Paramait Vithayaruksun told parliament that venues outside Bangkok's three designated entertainment zones are unable to get proper licenses even when operators are willing to meet the standards.

Read more: AP News (licensing gap), CNA (occupancy limits), BBC (Mountain B), BBC (owner history), ABC (flashover)

Four Chinese Dissidents Held as Anutin Visits Xi

Bai Zhaodong, the Caixin investigative journalist who spent 25 years reporting on Communist Party corruption, has been in Bangkok's Suan Phlu detention center since January, barred from leaving the country under a Yulin arrest warrant for "extortion." Zhang Xinyan, a UN-recognized refugee and Falun Gong practitioner wanted by Hong Kong police on a HK$200,000 bounty, was pulled off her July 8 flight to Vancouver. Her lawyers have not been able to talk to her since July 9 and have filed a torture and enforced-disappearance petition with the South Bangkok Criminal Court. Rights groups say Zhou Junyi and Tan Yixiang have the same deportation risk. Thai immigration have not been willing to say where Zhang is being held.

Read more: Prachatai English (UN review), Philenews (journalists), Prachatai English (Zhang hearing), Prachatai English (Bai warrant)

Appeals Court Upholds Lese-Majeste Conviction

Bangkok's Appeals Court upheld a two-year sentence against lawyer-activist Anon Nampa, the first lese-majeste conviction to reach appellate review in the current wave of protest-era cases. Another individual, a programmer named Atirut, has withdrawn his Supreme Court appeal and will serve 1 year 8 months at Bangkok Remand Prison for shouting "you are a burden wherever you go" at King Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida's motorcade in October 2022. His March appellate loss was based on the idea that calling the royals a burden "leads to hate, loss of faith, and conflict." The ruling said Atirut has a bachelor's degree and "therefore should know right from wrong."

Read more: Thai Enquirer (case tally), Prachatai English (sentence)

800,000-Baht Exam Bribery Scheme Unravels

The Central Committee for Local Government Personnel Examinations will come together today so they can decide the fate of 3,621 local officials, the first group expected to be let go after investigators found their late-2025 exam scores had been electronically improved, often in exchange for bribes as high as 800,000 baht ($23,847). Almost 6,000 of 14,988 appointees had eyebrow-raising scores, and the Interior Ministry is now going to re-examine about 800,000 answer sheets and recount results for more than 400,000 candidates. Three suspects are in custody after a 17-day police and anti-corruption raid; one had fled to Laos before getting picked up. If convicted, they will probably get fines and may need to spend up to five years in prison. The PM said the scheme was "disgusting" and warned of a "vicious circle" of officials buying power to sell more of it.

Read more: CNA (dismissals), Bangkok Post (bribes), WION (reform)

Cabinet Restores India Visa-Free After 20% Slide

The cabinet has restored visa-free entry for Indian travelers for 30 days, half the 60 they lost when a May proposal to scrap the privilege was dropped before taking effect. Confusion seems to have been enough, as arrivals from India, the third-largest source market after China and Malaysia, fell almost a fifth as the threat remained unresolved. Tourism Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul said the 30-day window is matched with how Indians normally travel anyway; their trips normally run about a week. The overhaul reduces visa-free access down from 93 countries to 59. Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Malta and the Maldives all are getting the same 30-day terms. The new rules will take effect 15 days after publication in the Royal Gazette.

Read more: Bloomberg (policy reversal), Travelweekly Asia (tourism revenue), NDTV (Royal Gazette timeline)

aerial photography of high-rise buildings under cloudy sky — Photo by Andreas Brücker on Unsplash

Consumer Board Sends Spies Into EV Showrooms

The Office of the Consumer Protection Board has ordered inspections of EV dealers, starting with Bangkok showrooms, and says sellers need to post clear vehicle specs, battery performance data and warranty terms since complaints have started to pile up over slow claims, parts delays and unclear fine print. EV sales rose 70 percent in 2025 (about 140,000 units), to make up almost a quarter of new car sales. Chinese brands made up more than two-thirds of that number.

Gunkul Wires Up for the AI Data-Center Boom

Gunkul Engineering wants to sell renewable power to foreign AI investors under the new direct-PPA pilot, a 2-gigawatt scheme from the Energy Regulatory Commission that lets clean-energy firms avoid restrictions on peer-to-peer power trading. CEO Naruechon Dhumrongpiyawut says the company is taking lessons from its Philippine operations, where a liberalized market already allows direct sales, partly as a hedge against delays at home. BOI applications totaled more than a trillion baht in Q1 2026, up almost two and a half times the prior year, ~90% of the total coming from data center and cloud services investments.

Marsh Buys Out Its 48-Year Thai Partner

Marsh McLennan took full control of its local broking business, closing out a 48-year partnership with Bangkok's PB Group and founder Piya Jittalan. The renamed Marsh Risk (Thailand) Company Limited is now entirely inside the Marsh McLennan corporate structure as it no longer needs a local partner to satisfy the Foreign Business Act's old restrictions on insurance broking. Fully foreign-owned brokerages are allowed subject to licensing.

Royal Orchid Blames Trustee for Missed Buyback

Royal Orchid Hotel missed the deadline to repurchase its Bangkok riverside property (the Royal Orchid Sheraton) for 4.87 billion baht and blames trustee MFC Asset Management for giving payment instructions that didn’t match the original sale-and-leaseback deal terms. Managing director Vitavas Vibhagool says the buyback is still on, that the dispute is simply procedural, and the company has no funding problem. ROH sent a representative to the land office on deadline day and has asked MFC to fix what it calls a breach. GROREIT's manager ONEAM is lining up Starwood as interim operator.

Chamber Tells Exporters to Route Around Hormuz

The Thai Chamber of Commerce is telling exporters to keep watching the Strait of Hormuz as the US-Iran ceasefire remains shaky (at best) and only a trickle of vessels is able to transit the strait. Chairman Poj Aramwattananont said shipping lines are already rerouting cargo to Khor Fakkan in the UAE and to Salalah and Sohar in Oman, adding time and expense to freight bound for the Middle East. No specific figures were shared about how much of an effect the changes are having on shipping costs. His advice is not to panic, but to keep watching energy and freight prices, keep inventories of raw materials and finished goods topped up, and arrange backup suppliers now. The chamber says it is ready to work together with the government if the conflict gets worse.

The Mekong Memo

Discussion about this post

Ready for more?