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

Sep 11, 2026

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Bangkok Puts Up a Tollgate for Imported EVs

The EV Board has approved (in principle) a three-tier excise tax that will penalize fully imported vehicles and reward cars built with local content. The top rate will be higher than the current 10 percent import tax, and the lowest will be reserved for models assembled locally. Excise Department chief Pornchai Thiraveja said the middle tier will be reserved for vehicles brought in for testing or local finishing. Permanent secretary Lavaron Sangsnit says the rates should be in place by the end of this month, but will need to be approved by cabinet. Unlike the EV3.0 and EV3.5 schemes that first pulled Chinese brands into the market, this one has no budget subsidies associated with it. EVs and hybrids made up more than half of new car sales through the first seven months of this year, so the tide against combustion engines is turning. The Board of Investment had cleared $4.59 billion for 189 EV projects by August.

Read more: Nation Thailand (automaker investments), Briefs (regional competition)

PM Pauses Data Centers Despite 7-Day Fast Lane

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul's new National Data Center Policy Committee is staring down power requests from developers totaling almost 20,000 megawatts, which is close to Thailand’s current entire electricity consumption. In an attempt to buy some time, the government has asked 49 data centers being built to take a voluntary pause because it doesn’t have any legal power to stop them. Decisions on permits for another 117 projects have been frozen. Four subcommittees are now racing to write rules for power, water, site safety and clean energy. Even against that uninspiring backdrop, however, the NBTC Office is offering an automatic "Type 1" route that promises approval within seven working days. Officials admit that their registry of 35 operating data centers, compiled from 16 agencies, lacks the detail that’s really needed to regulate them effectively.

Read more: Nation Thailand (license rules), TechRepublic (investment boom), Bangkok Tribune (policy gaps)

Government Puts Muscle Into Rooftop Solar

A $1.52 billion rooftop solar subsidy is going to start rolling out next month. The deal will offer households about $1,520 per installation and the opportunity to sell surplus power back into the grid. Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas says three state banks will cover the upfront costs. Electricity authorities will buy the surplus power and use the proceeds to repay the loans. The Interior Ministry is has a target of a million homes for the scheme, but is weighing an increase of that target by half to 1.5 million homes. The government says a five-kilowatt system with modest household use could earn about $30 a month, and the panels should last 25 to 30 years. Tax breaks on some imported components will add another sweetener for installers and suppliers.

Hanwha Ocean Preferred Navy Frigate Builder

Hanwha Ocean’s bid, with the support of Seoul’s defense ministry, DAPA and the ROK Navy, has come out on top as the preferred supplier of the Royal Thai Navy's next frigate. It’s a THB 16.73 billion contract for a single ship in addition to logistics support. The Hanwha Ocean offer beat those from Spain's Navantia, Singapore's ST Engineering, Turkey's ASFAT and TAIS, and Korean rival Hyundai Heavy Industries. Hanwha previously delivered HTMS Bhumibol Adulyadej in 2018, but the proposed ship will break new ground for the builder, as it will be the first build with European partners. France's Naval Group is expected to handle combat management and sensor integration for the OCEAN-40F design, while MBDA will supply Exocet MM40 Block 3c anti-ship missiles. The full terms still have to be negotiated before a final contract can be agreed to.

Airport Rail Link Operator Names Its Price

Asia Era One is willing to keep running Bangkok's Airport Rail Link after its contract expires on September 30, but the price demanded is 60 million baht ($1.7 million) a month for four months. It also wants the right to walk away with 30 days' notice if the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) decides to sue because of the stalled three-airport high-speed rail project. That unbuilt line, which was supposed to connect Don Mueang, Suvarnabhumi and U-Tapao, is still the CP-backed operator's main prize. The SRT board is thinking about the proposal after Transport Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn brokered talks to keep the trains running. The fleet has dwindled from nine trains to five or six since maintenance problems started in around 2014. Peak wait times that ought to only be eight to ten minutes can now reach up to 30 or even 45 minutes.

Thai, Cambodian Envoys Trade Blame in Geneva

Thai envoy Usana Berananda told the UN Human Rights Council that Bangkok claims no Cambodian territory and accused Phnom Penh of “firing first” on July 24. Cambodia's Ke Sovann responded that Thailand had declared its "Chakrabongse Bhuvanath" military operation a day earlier and accused Thai forces of "salami slicing" the border with razor wire, container barricades and new infrastructure. Sovann referred to the France-Siam treaties and the ICJ's Preah Vihear rulings, and said that that the boundary can’t be replaced by way of unilateral Thai maps or by force.

Sondhi Rallies Crowd at Israeli Embassy

Hundreds gathered outside Israel's Bangkok embassy as veteran activist Sondhi Limthongkul proclaimed four demands. He wants tighter controls on tourist conduct, no protection for offenders facing Thai courts, scrutiny of land deals in Chachoengsao and Chabad centers, in addition to Israeli compliance with international humanitarian law in Gaza. Protesters also questioned nominee arrangements used to hold property and run businesses, especially on Koh Phangan and in Phuket. The embassy shuttered for the morning. Deputy Chief of Mission Rami Teplitski later posted a Thai-language video saying that the mission was taking the concerns seriously. Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow previously warned Ambassador Alona Fisher-Kamm that misconduct by Israeli citizens could damage bilateral ties. More than 277,000 Israelis were counted visiting Thailand in the first eight months of this year, which is a pace about 7 percent higher than during the same period last year.

Read more: AP News (tourist deportation), Khaosod English (protest campaign), Jerusalem Post (embassy response), Ynet News (stay limits)

Scam Compound Tour Includes an Operating Table

Nine months after taking over the Chong Chom scam base on the Cambodian border, the military has taken ASEAN observers and reporters through the site where they were shown an operating table with surgical equipment on the third floor, solitary cells stripped of their cameras, and documents listing "organ trafficking" as the punishment for workers who didn’t meet their scam quotas. The military says Vietnamese and Chinese nationals who were captured while fleeing the compound had “wounds” and suffered severed fingers.

Court Faults Fisheries Department Over Tilapia

The Central Administrative Court says that the Department of Fisheries failed to inspect Charoen Pokphand Foods' research on Blackchin tilapia after given them a permit in 2010, even though it knew the alien species could be a threat to native fish. An outbreak spread through waterways between 2012 and 2016, causing much damage. The court told the department and 17 other agencies to control the fish, declare emergency outbreak zones and offer support to affected residents while at the same time rejecting the government's claim that its 2024-2027 action plan was sufficient. CP Foods has not commented, and the court has not set compensation.

Nestlé Puts CHF 157 Million on Thai Kibble

Nestle is putting more than CHF 157 million (~6.4B THB) into its Rayong-based Purina plant to make more Felix, Friskies, Pro Plan and Purina One product for both local sales and export. Pet food makes up about a fifth of group sales. The company wants to capitalize on the spending by owners of an estimated 350 million cats and dogs in Asia, Oceania and Africa who are trading home-cooked meals for packaged premium food.

Taylor's Schools Buys Four St Andrews Campuses

Taylor's Schools has bought four St Andrews International School campuses from Cognita in its first play beyond Malaysia and Singapore. The deal will grow its network to 10 schools and about 10,000 students. The three Bangkok campuses and the school at Green Valley on the east coast will retain their existing names and staff. CEO Angelina Tee (formerly of Cognita) says boarding and a year-round outdoor education center could follow at Green Valley and that she expects the group to be in control of 15 schools within five years.

Gulftainer Buys Into Bangkok's River Port

UAE port operator Gulftainer has agreed to invest in Suksawat Terminal on the Chao Phraya River in Samut Prakan. It is the group's first investment into Thailand. Gulftainer didn’t publish the price, but it plans to upgrade the barge terminal that feeds cargo to Laem Chabang. The group says the terminal will be the anchor for a broader network of ports, inland logistics, industrial parks and shipping lines.

Ayutthaya Abbot Arrested in 92 Million Baht Temple Case

In a titillating story that has torn through local social media, police have arrested monk Luang Por Chot of Wat Phutthaisawan in connection with more than 92 million baht (about $2.6 million) in allegedly diverted temple funds. That’s not the main reason that the story has caught fire, however. Police say the money was passed to a female associate to help conceal it and the monk has appeared on video in flagrante performing what appear to be rather unorthodox rites. A 2022 Supreme Court ruling classifies abbots appointed to ecclesiastical positions as officials under the Sangha Act, so a money-laundering conviction can carry triple the standard penalty, to say nothing of the social cost of his other indiscretions.

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