Showing 1 - 8 of 8
Thailand must manage debt to progress
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 22/01/2026
» This article may be read as a continuation of my previous piece, Year of the Debt. That article focused mainly on household debt, which has already risen beyond the ability of Thai consumers to repay.
The baht is almost as good as gold
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 18/09/2025
» The baht is undoubtedly the strongest currency in the region. Over this year, the baht has appreciated 4.45% against the dollar while the Vietnamese dong has depreciated 8.47%.
Tariff talks are unlikely to go as planned
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 24/07/2025
» It is only a week away from the Aug 1 deadline when the 36% reciprocal tariff levied on Thai exports to the US will take effect.
The two ways to satisfy Trump on trade
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 10/07/2025
» I am terribly sorry for miscalculating the US's reciprocal tariff for Thailand at 35% in my previous article, when the actual rate imposed by Mr Trump on Monday was 36%.
GDP figures don't reflect real situation
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 26/12/2024
» This article is the last for 2024. I have made many bad predictions about the Thai economy throughout the year. Many became true, like the contracting credit market, the NPL explosion, and an ineffective cash handout programme. Many have not become true (or have they?). One was GDP growth. Instead of shrinking as I predicted, GDP growth rates improved from quarter to quarter. They were 1.6% for Q1, 2.2% for Q2, and 3.0% for Q3. And it is expected to be 3.5% for Q4 to fulfil the annual 2.6% growth projection.
BoT ought to revise exchange rate policy
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 26/09/2024
» This is not the usual time slot for my article. My articles are usually published every other Thursday. The next one was for Oct 3. However, I feel that the "too strong" Thai baht requires immediate attention.
Changing Thailand: a series (prologue)
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 23/02/2023
» Before I start talking economic jargon filled with figures, let me explain Thailand's economic situation in plain language.
Take economic data with a grain of salt
News, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 07/11/2019
» Originally, I planned to write an article titled "Albert Einstein and baht exchange rate". Then I said to myself, "Nope, let's not write another serious article this week". So, I decided to go for a lighter one about international rankings and ratings which the government often cites to reiterate that the Thai economy is in good shape. I never have understood why governments like to do this. Nobody cares about these figures. They care about their businesses, their jobs and their debts.