Showing 1 - 10 of 61
Polycrisis merits renewed ethos
Oped, Published on 24/09/2025
» In 1999, one of us (Morin) introduced the term "polycrisis" to describe the web of interconnected catastrophes threatening our world. At the time, the concept was meant to serve as a warning, but it has since become our reality. We are facing a confluence of escalating ecological, political, economic, technological, and existential crises, each of which is reinforcing the others.
The baht's troubling rise
Oped, Editorial, Published on 22/09/2025
» The Thai baht, since the beginning this year, has appreciated nearly 8% against the US dollar. Such an escalation makes baht the strongest among Asian currencies. While a rapid currency appreciation should have been taken a signal of economic strength, the underlying realities paints a far more complex and worrying situation.
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%.
Hushed devotion
Oped, Postbag, Published on 27/08/2025
» Re: "Former Aids hospice abbot arrested for alleged temple fund fraud, money-laundering", (BP, Aug 26).
Sino-Thai ties: Kinship and complexity
Oped, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 01/07/2025
» Today marks two significant milestones. Firstly, Thailand and China are commemorating a golden jubilee -- the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relations. Countless personalities and factors have contributed to the strengthening and continued relevance of Zhong Tai yi jia qin -- China and Thailand are one family. Looking back, this family has been tested through trial and error. The notion of "one family" also holds special meaning, as the slogan has been frequently cited by the two countries' leaders as the foundation of their bilateral relations.
Can the 30-baht health scheme survive?
Oped, Published on 19/06/2025
» I recently met Dr Jadej Thammatacharee, secretary-general of the National Health Security Office (NHSO), at the home of a mutual friend to ask questions, of which I had many, about the so-called 30-baht scheme -- also known as the "gold card" scheme.
Soft power gem
Oped, Postbag, Published on 31/01/2025
» Re: "Alarm sounds over haze: Urgent govt moves include bus subsidies", (BP, Jan 25).
Poor pay, rich save
Oped, Postbag, Published on 07/12/2024
» Re: "15% VAT plan has vexed", (BP, Dec 6) and "Pichai promotes rejig of tax rates", (Business, Dec 3).
Monetary policy really needs to tighten in Japan
Oped, Koichi Hamada, Published on 12/11/2024
» Last month, returning to Japan for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, I was struck by how significantly prices had increased. In February 2020, a simple lunch in downtown Tokyo cost about JP¥1,000, then the equivalent of about $10 (324 baht); today, it costs more like JP¥2,000. To some extent, this mirrors the experience in the US, where, even as inflation moderates, prices remain well above their pre-pandemic levels. The difference is that Japan has also experienced a sharp currency depreciation, which benefits foreign visitors: that JP¥2,000 bill translated to just $13.
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.