Many analysts believe that there is a strong geopolitical impetus in the current policy being pursued by the Federal Reserve in Washington DC which may mean further tough medicine being dished out which is negatively impacting emerging economies. Thailand’s economy has been protected from this to a great extent, by its stable financial system and healthy foreign exchange reserve buffer. In the last few months, however, this has been falling and may be needed in 2023 as economic turmoil across the world, driven by the war in Ukraine and rising US-Chinese tensions may be only beginning.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/10/06/warning-on-foreign-exchange-reserves/

Joseph O' Connor reports from Bangkok.

Comments by the PM on Monday sparked a debate on whether listening to radio in Thailand on transistor sets is a thing of the past. Data shows that while transistor sets may be something from yesteryear, listening to live radio both on the AM and FM band is certainly widespread among all age groups from Generation Z to Baby Boomers among millions of Bangkokonians tuned in on a daily basis.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/10/05/radio-very-alive-in-thailand-says-pm-office/

James Morris reports from Bangkok and Khon Kaen.

For Thailand, the downturn in China has direct implications in terms of economic growth and also the value of the Thai baht which, in the last decade and a half, has mirrored the movement in the Yuan. The kingdom’s economic planners and business sector will be hoping that a more decisive approach will follow the 20th National Congress in Beijing to rectify the disturbing economic picture which has been emerging in recent months.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/10/04/china-moves-to-censor-top-western-banks/

Joseph O' Connor reports from Beijing and Bangkok

Maid at the upmarket condominium complex where the murder took place last Wednesday, foiled the killer’s plan to conceal the body of his murdered 30-year-old lover when she got a glimpse of the chaos within the rented room and detected the overwhelming stench of blood which she reported to managers. They called in the police who within hours made an arrest.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/10/03/35-year-old-man-murdered-cut-up-lover-chanwit-wongsahak-don/

James Morris reports from Samut Prakan and Bangkok.

Touching ceremony at Royal Thai Police headquarters sees power transferred from one police chief to the next. General Damrongsak Kittiprapat takes up the role as leader of an organisation with up to 230,000 officers at any one time and 20% of all civil servants employed in Thailand across dozens of agencies.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/10/01/new-police-chief-installed-in-bangkok-damrongsak-kittiprapat/

Carla Boonkong reports from Bangkok.

The court took the middle course of three options with dates ranging from 2022 to 2027. The verdict means that Prime Minister Prayut Chan ocha again resumes his duties at Government House where acting Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan has carried out the role since August 24th last.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/09/30/pm-prayuth-chan-ocha-reinstated-by-court/

News Desk report from Bangkok.

Ongoing investigation in Ko Samui but the arrested suspect brought from Chonburi is reported to be tight-lipped and unwilling to give police further information. The request by the victims for protection under the Witness Protection Programme is thought to be linked to suspected Russian mafia involvement in the intimidation and extortion of Mr and Mrs Abdullin.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/09/29/russian-couple-ask-for-witness-protection-ko-samui-evgenii-abdullin/

James Morris reports from Ko Samui and Pattaya.

Bank of Thailand sticks to its guns and holds off on higher rate rises to protect the country’s economic recovery pushing the baht into a tailspin as it breached the ฿38 to the dollar barrier. Thailand’s borrowing rate currently stands at 1%, well below a 3% to 3.25% rate in the United States and peers in Southeast Asia.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/09/28/baht-slides-further-with-dovish-central-bank-interest-rate-policy/

Carla Boonkong reports from Bangkok.

Mysterious exploits of a six-member gang including Russians, Kazakh nationals and a German have been tracked by police since Monday when the disturbing case was reported to Ko Samui Police Station. The gang is believed to have spent some time in Pattaya in Chonburi province before travelling to Ko Samui where they stayed in a hotel before and after confronting the Russian couple at a local café on the popular holiday island.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/09/28/russian-gang-extort-couple-out-of-50k-evgenii-abdullin-ekaterina/

James Morris reports from Ko Samui.

All eyes will be on the Bank of Thailand’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting on Wednesday when it will be under pressure to go beyond a 25 basis points rise in the borrowing rate which currently stands at 0.75%. Inflation of 7.86% in August and the plummeting baht will make a strong case for a heftier rise but the impact of higher borrowing costs on ฿15 trillion in household debt recorded at the end of June gives us some idea of how this may impact what Bank of Thailand Governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput has described as a fragile and uneven economic recovery with the country trying desperately to move beyond the disaster inflicted on the economy in 2020.

https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/09/26/choppy-waters-for-the-economy-as-baht-falls/

Joseph O' Connor reports from Bangkok.