Showing 1 - 10 of 37
Call to let foreigners buy more insurance
Business, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 12/02/2026
» Allowing foreigners to buy insurance policies in Thailand with foreign currencies, particularly yuan, would lift the domestic insurance industry, which is pressured by low interest rates and a sluggish economy, says the Thai unit of French insurer AXA.
Gold trading controls seen having limited impact on baht
Business, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 20/01/2026
» Granting the Bank of Thailand powers to control online gold trading transactions will have a limited impact on curbing the baht's excessive strength, gold and currency experts say, as bullion has soared to a new all-time high of nearly US$4,700 an ounce and the Thai unit is expected to strengthen further.
Bitcoin even more buoyant
Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 09/12/2024
» Bitcoin topped US$100,000 for the first time on Dec 5, jumping drastically from roughly $69,000 the day before the US presidential election about a month earlier.
Big outlay for virtual banks
Business, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 17/10/2024
» The three consortiums awarded virtual bank licences are projected to spend up to 5.7 billion baht in just one year from mid-2025 to develop digital platforms and offer products similar to their mobile banking counterparts, says Maybank Securities (Thailand).
Virtual banks face wait for profits
Business, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 02/10/2024
» Winners of the Bank of Thailand's virtual bank licences are likely to struggle to turn a profit early on because the business usually burns cash during the first five years, says KGI Securities.
Analyst sees headwinds persisting until mid-2025
Business, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 30/07/2024
» A high level of non-performing loans (NPLs), slow loan growth and rising household debt will continue to pressure banks until the first half of next year as a reduction in consumer purchasing power and rising living costs will affect not only small businesses but also large companies, analysts say.
Analyst sees scant impact from digital wallet
Business, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 13/07/2024
» The government's flagship digital wallet policy can improve the economy by only 0.4 percentage points, mostly in 2025, after the project's budget was reduced by 50 billion baht to 450 billion, as uncertainties remain regarding the funding, according to an analyst.
FWD ranks second in the life sector
Business, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 04/04/2024
» FWD Life Insurance has secured the No.2 spot in the life insurance industry, with new premiums surging 28% from 2022 to nearly 20.7 billion baht last year thanks to significant growth of the agency channel.
Generali unit emphasises portfolio quality
Business, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 28/10/2023
» With a 192-year history, Generali is one of the oldest insurance companies worldwide with assets under management tallying €618 billion and 82,000 employees as of last year.
Tech disrupted by reality
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 20/06/2022
» When Covid-19 emerged more than two years ago, millions of people including myself suddenly found ourselves stuck at home. To survive the unprecedented challenges and stress, I started to befriend mobile apps I hadn't used before to buy things and pay bills online, among them the e-commerce platform Shopee.