Showing 1 - 10 of 25
Grasping the VAT nettle
Oped, Editorial, Published on 24/11/2025
» The proposal to raise value-added tax from 7% to 8.5% in 2028, and to 10% in 2030, by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas is a display of political courage rarely seen in a political landscape where politicians are quick to spend money in the name of "economic stimulus" but stay mum when asked how to finance the schemes.
Rethink tax policy
Postbag, Published on 22/11/2025
» Re: "Minister vows VAT increases", (BP, Nov 21).
UK signs up to help Mekong basin
News, Mark Gooding, Published on 21/06/2025
» Thailand is facing increasing risks from climate change -- as recent typhoons and flooding have shown.
US fiscal state is everyone's issue
Oped, Paola Subacchi, Published on 28/05/2025
» As Donald Trump's "big, beautiful" tax bill heads to the US Senate, investors everywhere are growing increasingly uneasy. On May 16, the credit-rating agency Moody's downgraded US sovereign debt from its long-held triple-A status to Aa1 -- following similar decisions by Standard & Poor's (in 2011) and Fitch Ratings (2023). Given the sheer volume of US debt -- which now stands at $36 trillion, or 124% of GDP -- and rising interest costs, these institutions have concluded that US debt metrics are no longer in line with those of similarly rated sovereigns.
Untangling bond market credit ratings
Oped, Pichamon Keakij and Dollada Kasarn, Published on 07/05/2025
» The Thai bond market now averages 65 billion baht in daily transactions -- a remarkable increase from just 1 million baht in 1994.
The Senate's image takes another hit
Oped, Chairith Yonpiam, Published on 22/03/2025
» The rejection of two high-profile picks for the charter court, Siripan Noksuan Sawasdi, a renowned political scientist at Chulalongkorn University, and Chatri Atjananont, a former ambassador, has cast the Senate in a bad light and raised questions about its impartiality.
LA fires reveal limits of California's utility fund
News, Mark Chediak & Eliyahu Kamisher, Published on 21/01/2025
» Financial losses from the devastating Los Angeles wildfires are mounting after the blazes incinerated entire neighbourhoods and destroyed thousands of homes. And now, investors are growing increasingly concerned that a US$21 billion (720 billion baht) state fund crafted to backstop utilities will fall far short of what's needed if companies are found liable.
After another boom and bust, where to for lithium?
Andy Home, Published on 13/07/2024
» Lithium boom has turned to lithium bust over the last two years as a wave of new supply overwhelms weaker-than-expected demand for electric vehicle (EV) batteries.
Macron gambles on investor faith
News, Marcus Ashworth, Published on 12/06/2024
» French President Emmanuel Macron has taken a serious gamble in calling early parliamentary elections. The consequences of putting politics above economic stability could be profound. Financial markets don't like unnecessary or unexpected political volatility, especially at the core of the European Union. The electorate only gets to vote at elections; financial markets get to vote every day, and so far, they're giving a thumbs down to Mr Macron's ploy.
A tale of nickel and copper
News, David Fickling, Published on 23/02/2024
» The world's biggest miner, BHP Group Ltd, grew powerful by building dominant positions in producing the minerals of the future. That makes the challenges it's facing with two key clean-tech ingredients a sobering lesson for the energy transition.