Showing 1 - 10 of 14
Thai SMEs are in need of a lifeline
Oped, Dai Kadomae, Published on 07/08/2025
» Thailand's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are quietly suffering through a credit crunch with far-reaching implications. Despite accounting for over 90% of registered businesses, SMEs are finding it harder than ever to access capital. The economic recovery has been uneven, and traditional lenders -- still cautious after the pandemic -- are reducing risk exposure. But the core issue is not merely liquidity; it is the absence of a national system for reviving viable but stressed firms.
Thai LNG hub ambitions need caution
Oped, Imran Arif, Published on 25/06/2025
» Despite local and global headwinds, Thailand's energy demand, driven by economic activities, continues to grow. Such seemingly insatiable energy demand has been met primarily via natural gas, which, according to Thailand's Electricity Generation Authority (EGAT), is used to generate 60.85% of Thailand's electricity.
Can 'Land Bridge' ignite growth?
Oped, Dai Kadomae, Published on 18/06/2025
» Thailand has long struggled to escape the middle-income trap. Despite its strategic location at the heart of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), the country continues to trail regional peers in GDP growth, capital market performance, and infrastructure competitiveness.
Defusing heritage rows
Oped, Editorial, Published on 18/04/2024
» As the Songkran water-splashing festival draws to a close in Thailand and Cambodia, the war of words among netizens -- sparked by a Thai influencer who made sarcastic comments about the Khmer New Year -- drags on.
Thai-Cambodian ties enter a new era
Oped, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 30/01/2024
» Exactly 37 days before Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet was due to fly to Bangkok on Feb 7 for a one-day official visit, Cambodia extended Thai border pass access to Siem Reap, where Angkor Wat is located. This was an act of goodwill as the proposal has been on the table for discussions since Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin's visit to Phnom Penh in September -- his first official foreign destination after being elected Thai leader.
UN digital pact needs firm support
Oped, Dio Herdiawan Tobing, Published on 07/04/2023
» The international community is about to have its first-ever global instrument on digitalisation, which is expected to be adopted at the Summit for the Future in September 2024. The instrument, called the Global Digital Compact (GDC), will guide countries to maximise digital cooperation by bringing the benefits of digital technologies for all without leaving one behind.
Free-flowing Salween River needs protection
Oped, Pianporn Deetes, Published on 14/03/2023
» This morning at Sob Moei -- the confluence of the Moei and the Salween rivers on the Thailand-Myanmar border -- indigenous peoples and their supporters are attending a spiritual ceremony to express their collective stance to protect the Salween River from destructive dam projects.
The hidden tale of a 3-legged tiger
Oped, Steven R. Galster, Published on 17/02/2022
» Tigers are in the news again. First, rare camera-trap footage released last week showed a three-legged victim of poaching, a female tiger, hopping through the jungles of western Thailand, eating domestic animals (and possibly attacking people too). Days later: an undercover bust of traffickers with tiger skins in the same region. To keep hope alive for the critically endangered big cat, authorities must now act on two levels. First, they must rescue the amputee before she or poachers strike again. Second, they need to address the underlying causes of poaching before other tigers, animals and people suffer.
Verdict cause for cheer
Oped, Editorial, Published on 10/12/2021
» On Wednesday, Thais witnessed justice being served fair and square. In a trial that will be remembered as a landmark environmental case, the Supreme Court handed down jail terms of about three years to construction tycoon Premchai Karnasutra and two accomplices for poaching in Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary.
Corruption jeopardises reopening plan
Oped, Chairith Yonpiam, Published on 23/10/2021
» As the countdown begins for the country's reopening, we find ourselves trapped in the same old dilemma that led to the series of Covid outbreaks this year, including the Thong Lor cluster in April that led to a cumulative total of 1.8 million coronavirus infections.