Showing 1 - 10 of 14
Some shock therapy or slow healing?
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 02/04/2026
» Do readers prefer shock therapy or slow healing? This is not a health question, but an important economic one.
BoT, govt may have wrong inflation data
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 17/10/2024
» At the time of writing (Tuesday), the Bank of Thailand's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) had not met to decide on the policy interest rate which is currently set at 2.50%. The panel was scheduled to meet yesterday and the committee was under pressure to lower the rate by 25 basis points. The pressure arises from many months of low inflation rates and the recent strong Thai baht. Several central banks in the region have cut their policy interest rates for those two reasons. The latest one is the Bank of Korea.
Digital wallet tokens could hit scheme
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 08/08/2024
» I bet the government never thought of this when they thought of the Digital Wallet scheme. It probably does not make sense to it that there could be millions of people shunning pseudo money, namely Digital Wallet Tokens (DWTs). Perhaps, in the government's mind, a DWT is almost on a par with genuine money -- fiat money.
Time to stop making empty promises
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 07/03/2024
» The Nikkei 225 Index just broke 40,000, surpassing the record high of 1989. The stellar stock market performance happened amid the fact that Japan's economy is officially in recession after two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth.
2024 GDP forecast is wishful thinking
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 14/12/2023
» If one thinks 2023 was a not-so-good year for the Thai economy because GDP growth is likely below 2%, 2024 could be worse owing to three major economic risks: liquidity inadequacy, high gasoline price, and high electricity cost.
Better options to govt's cash handout
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 19/10/2023
» The 10,000-baht cash handout scheme has been under heavy criticism. More than 100 economists, led by two ex-Bank of Thailand governors, oppose the scheme that would bring more harm than good.
A tale of liquidity and (too much) debt
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 05/10/2023
» Before starting the article, I want to convey a message to the government. The message is "Nothing is free; everything has to be paid for". Acting like Santa Claus is nice, but the government should be aware that every handout gift comes with a price tag.
Reviving Thai economy is a tall order
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 27/07/2023
» By the time readers read this article, Thailand still does not have a real government. But judging from the game being played, it is not too hard to guess which party will lead a new government.
New govt faces 4 economic time bombs
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 18/05/2023
» The election result is already out and Thailand is heading for a big policy change. As the party with most seats, the Move Forward Party will form the government. The second place-getter -- the Pheu Thai Party -- has agreed to be in the coalition. These two parties, however, have totally different views on how to run the economy.
Signs of economic slowdown alarming
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 12/01/2023
» The Thai government, businesses, and citizens are cherishing the news of returning Chinese tourists with the first group of 286 passengers who arrived on Monday. The Tourism Authority of Thailand estimates that 5 million Chinese tourists will visit our country this year, bringing with them 250 billion baht in spending money. I have two comments on this joyful news. Firstly, the ban on the sale of outbound group and package travel imposed by China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Jan 27, 2020, is still in effect. There is no telling when this ban will be relaxed or lifted. Second, the mass arrival of Chinese tourists was already factored into the World Bank's GDP growth projections. The Bank projected that the Thai economy would grow by 3.6% in 2023. To achieve such growth, the arrival of 22.4 million foreign tourists, with 6.2 million from China, was assumed.