Showing 1 - 10 of 59
In an uncertain world, gold is a comfort
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 05/02/2026
» With Thai citizens heading to the polls this Sunday to decide which party will form the next government, I have decided to postpone my article on the economic crisis for another two weeks.
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.
VAT hikes alone won't narrow deficit
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 27/11/2025
» This article is not meant to attack Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas’s Medium-Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF) for the fiscal years from 2026 to 2030. It is meant to emphasise the fragility of a Thai fiscal position that requires multiple revenue enhancement measures.
Why gold matters in a changing world
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 13/11/2025
» After reading my previous article, "Thailand has become the sick man of Asean", a good friend asked me what would happen to the Thai economy after becoming the sick man?
Thailand has lost its last growth engine
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 29/05/2025
» Thailand has lost its last engine of growth and people are abandoning hope for a decent life.
Thai-US trade talks are likely to fail
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 15/05/2025
» Don't get too excited over news the temporary trade deal between China and the US will mean friendly negotiations with other countries. The US government still aims for higher import tax income to narrow its monstrous fiscal deficit. As explained in a previous article, Donald Trump would love to see an average tariff rate of around 20% or higher on imports. Higher customs revenue already allowed the US to achieve a budget surplus of US$258 billion (8.5 trillion baht) in April. The figure incorporates only a 10% universal tariff, as full reciprocal tariffs were postponed for 90 days from April 8. Just imagine how nice the US budget position would be with 20% or more import tariff revenue?
Trump's tariff trade war is no accident
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 01/05/2025
» President Donald Trump's tariff policy has received numerous criticisms from various parties, including several Nobel Prize laureates, for being against the economic principles of free trade.
Rate cut helps the BoT, not the economy
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 06/03/2025
» On Feb 26, the Bank of Thailand's (BoT) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) cut its policy interest rate by 0.25%, lowering it to 2.0%.
Little cause for optimism in year ahead
News, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 09/01/2025
» One would expect the first article of the year to be about economic predictions. I will certainly do that but not in today's article. It will be in my next one. The reason being that my predictions will not be as positive as those of others.
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.