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Business Times
a day ago
- Business
- Business Times
Top Thai billionaires-backed groups win digital bank permits
[BANGKOK] Three groups led by Charoen Pokmhand Group, Gulf Development and SCB X have clinched Thailand's new virtual bank licences to boost competition in the nation's banking industry, according to the central bank. ACM Holding, which is part of CP Group, and Advanced Info Service, a Gulf Development's mobile phone affiliate, secured the permits, Bank of Thailand said on Thursday (Jun 19). SCB X, which formed a consortium that includes China's WeBank and South Korea's KakaoBank, also obtained the virtual bank licence. 'We have high hopes that the new licences will increase competition in the banking industry with new innovation and technology,' deputy governor Roong Mallikamas told a press briefing. The announcement came amid a fresh political turmoil in the country that puts the current government on the brink of collapse. The nation is opening its banking industry to more competition that will allow greater access to loans for under-served consumers, following similar moves across Asia. Still, the new virtual banking operators will confront a landscape where traditional lenders are saddled with rising bad loans and weakening credit demand on the back of a soft economy. The timing of these permits is 'tricky and throws up a number of challenges,' said Sarah Jane Mahmud, a senior bank analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. 'Singapore digital banks have yet to break even, three years after going live,' she said. 'With hefty investment in digital platforms and marketing, Thai digital banks could face a longer wait to generate profit.' Singapore handed out digital banking permits in 2020, followed by the Philippines and Malaysia. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 8.30 am Asean Business Business insights centering on South-east Asia's fast-growing economies. Sign Up Sign Up Low-income individuals and small business will also have a greater access to new credit by the new operators of virtual banks, said Roong. The Chearavanont family, which controls CP Group, is one of Asia's richest clans, according to the Bloomberg billionaires Index report. It has businesses spanning from foods and retail to telecommunication and properties. It forayed into digital payment and financial services through fintech unit Ascend Money, with more than 50 million customers in Thailand and six other South-east Asian countries. Gulf Development, controlled by billionaire Sarath Ratanavadi, was created earlier this year by combining his empire – ranging from power to seaports, tollways and telecommunication – under one roof with the goal to accelerate his expansion in digital infrastructure such as data centres. Sarath is Thailand's second-richest person with a net worth of USUS$11 billion. Joining Sarath's group in the bid are Krung Thai Bank and PTT Oil and Retail Business, according to the central bank's statement. BLOOMBERG
Business Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Business Times
Thailand PM apologises as crisis threatens to topple government
[BANGKOK] Thailand Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra apologised on Thursday (Jun 19) for a leaked phone call with former Cambodian leader Hun Sen that has provoked widespread anger and put her government on the brink of collapse. Her main coalition partner has quit and she faces calls to resign or hold an election, throwing the kingdom into a fresh round of political instability as it seeks to boost its spluttering economy and avoid US President Donald Trump's swingeing trade tariffs. The conservative Bhumjaithai party pulled out on Wednesday, saying Paetongtarn's conduct in the leaked call had wounded the country and the army's dignity. As pressure grew on Thursday, Paetongtarn apologised at a news conference alongside military chiefs and senior figures from her Pheu Thai party. 'I would like to apologise for the leaked audio of my conversation with a Cambodian leader which has caused public resentment,' Paetongtarn told reporters. The 38-year-old is the daughter of billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand's most influential but controversial modern politician. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 8.30 am Asean Business Business insights centering on South-east Asia's fast-growing economies. Sign Up Sign Up Paetongtarn is heard in the call discussing an ongoing border dispute with Hun Sen, who still holds wide powers in Cambodia despite leaving office in 2023. She addresses the veteran leader as 'uncle' and refers to the Thai army commander in the country's northeast as her opponent, a remark that sparked fierce criticism on social media. The Thai foreign ministry summoned the Cambodian ambassador on Thursday to deliver a letter complaining about the leaking of the call. The loss of Bhumjaithai's 69 MPs left Paetongtarn with barely enough votes to scrape a majority in parliament and a snap election looks a clear possibility – barely two years after the last one in May 2023. Two other coalition parties, the United Thai Nation and the Democrat Party, will hold meetings to discuss the situation later Thursday. Paetongtarn will be hoping her apology and public show of unity with the military are enough to persuade them to stay on board. Losing either would likely mean the end of her government and either an election or a bid by other parties to stitch together a new coalition. Resignation calls Thailand's military said in a statement that army chief General Pana Claewplodtook 'affirms commitment to democratic principles and national sovereignty protection'. 'The Chief of Army emphasised that the paramount imperative is for 'Thai people to stand united' in collectively defending national sovereignty,' it said. Thailand's armed forces have long played a powerful role in the kingdom's politics and politicians are usually careful not to antagonise them. Thailand has suffered a dozen coups since the end of absolute monarchy in 1932, and the current crisis has inevitably triggered rumours that another may be in the offing. Such an outcome would make Paetongtarn the third member of her family, after her aunt Yingluck and father Thaksin, to be kicked out of office by the military. The main opposition People's Party, which won the most seats in 2023 but was blocked by conservative senators from forming a government, urged Paetongtarn to call an election. 'What happened yesterday was a leadership crisis that destroyed people's trust,' People's Party leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut said in a statement. The Palang Pracharath party, which led the government up to 2023, said the leaked recording showed Paetongtarn was weak and inexperienced, incapable of managing the country's security. Hundreds of anti-government protesters, some of them veterans of the royalist, anti-Thaksin 'Yellow Shirt' movement of the late 2000s, demonstrated outside government House on Thursday demanding that Paetongtarn quit. Awkward coalition Paetongtarn came to power in August 2024 at the head of an uneasy coalition between Pheu Thai and a group of conservative, pro-military parties whose members have spent much of the past 20 years battling against her father. Growing tensions within the coalition erupted into open warfare in the past week as Pheu Thai tried to take the interior minister's job away from Bhumjaithai leader Anutin Charnvirakul. The battle between the conservative pro-royal establishment and Thaksin's political movement has dominated recent Thai politics. Former Manchester City owner Thaksin, 75, still enjoys huge support from the rural base whose lives he transformed with populist policies in the early 2000s. But he is despised by Thailand's powerful elites, who saw his rule as corrupt, authoritarian and socially destabilising. AFP
Business Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Business Times
Big blow for Thailand's PM as major party exits coalition
[BANGKOK] Thailand's Bhumjaithai Party on Wednesday (Jun 18) withdrew from Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra's government in a major blow to the embattled premier, leaving her ruling coalition with only a slim majority. The party, the second largest in the alliance and holder of 69 house seats, said its departure was due to the impact on the nation of a leak on Wednesday of a phone call between Paetongtarn and Hun Sen, the influential former premier of Cambodia, with which Thailand is involved in an escalating border dispute. 'Bhumjaithai will work with all Thai people to support the army and officials who safeguard the sovereignty, territorial integrity and interests of Thailand in all ways,' Bhumjaithai said in a statement. A spokesperson for Paetongtarn's government did not answer calls seeking comment on the withdrawal. The exit of Bhumjaithai leaves Paetongtarn's government hanging by a thread and facing declining popularity as it battles to revive a lacklustre economy facing if it cannot negotiate a reduction. Paetongtarn, 38, the daughter of influential former premier was thrust abruptly into the spotlight less than a year ago when she became Thailand's after her predecessor was removed from office by a court order. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 8.30 am Asean Business Business insights centering on South-east Asia's fast-growing economies. Sign Up Sign Up Her position looks increasingly fragile and attention will now shift to whether her remaining 10 coalition members will follow Bhumjaithai. The row with Cambodia over disputed border areas has prompted fears of a after the mobilisation of troops on both sides, with Paetongtarn facing public criticism over her diplomatic response in contrast to the military's tougher rhetoric. Paetongtarn has insisted she is committed to a peaceful resolution but would do what is required to defend Thailand's sovereignty. In the leaked Jun 15 phone call, Paetongtarn said she was facing domestic pressure and urged Hun Sen not to listen to 'the other side' in Thailand, which she said included an outspoken Thai general who oversees the army in the border area. 'Bhumjaithia has called on Prime Minister Paetongtarn to show responsibility for making the country lose its integrity, honor, to the people and the army,' the party said. REUTERS
Business Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
Thai PM sparks turmoil after criticising military in leaked audio
[BANGKOK] Thailand's prime minister blamed her own military for escalating a border dispute with Cambodia, according to a leaked audio recording, sparking fresh political turmoil in the country as opposition groups called on her to resign. Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra slammed former Cambodian leader Hun Sen on Wednesday (Jun 18) for leaking a recording of the June 15 call. The 17-minute private conversation, which has since been posted in full on Hun Sen's Facebook page, should not have been recorded or shared, she said. The Thai leader is already facing the threat of her coalition's largest partner quitting the cabinet over a ministerial post, concerns that sent the benchmark stock index to a two-month low on Wednesday. Paetongtarn said her 'sympathetic remarks and softer tone' during the phone call with Hun Sen were part of a strategy to ease the border tension. 'It was just a negotiation technique. I was conducting myself with the purpose of maintaining peace and our sovereignty,' Paetongtarn said. 'It's clear now that his true desire is to win popularity in his country without caring about the impact on bilateral relations.' The spectre of a fresh spell of political turmoil may unnerve foreign investors, who have dumped a net US$2.3 billion of Thai stocks this year. The nation's benchmark stock index has slumped 22 per cent this year – among the worst performers globally – largely on concerns the US threat of a 36 per cent tariff will worsen the outlook for growth and hurt company earnings. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 8.30 am Asean Business Business insights centering on South-east Asia's fast-growing economies. Sign Up Sign Up The brewing crisis could lead to a dissolution of parliament, which would delay the new budget bill and disrupt fiscal policy, analysts at Asia Plus Securities, including Paradorn Tiaranapramote and Pawat Pattrapong, said in a note. Hun Sen, father of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, confirmed on Facebook that he recorded the call and distributed it to about 80 Cambodian officials. He appeared angered by Paetongtarn's earlier criticism of Cambodia's 'unprofessional communications' after a nine-minute clip initially leaked online. Tensions between the two neighbours have escalated since a May border clash in the disputed Chong Bok area left a Cambodian soldier dead. Both sides have since reinforced troops and restricted border crossings, while Phnom Penh imposed trade curbs. Diplomatic efforts to ease tensions have so far failed. The fallout is particularly striking given the long-standing ties between the Shinawatra family and Hun Sen, who has referred to Paetongtarn's father, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, as a 'brother.' The leak could undermine the Shinawatra-backed Pheu Thai Party's push for greater cabinet control over its conservative coalition partner, Bhumjaithai Party. In the leaked clip, Paetongtarn, speaking through an interpreter, told Hun Sen her government was facing public criticism over the border issue and proposed a joint statement to resume normal crossings. Referring to him as 'uncle,' she urged him to ignore 'the opposite side,' a reference to the Thai military, and said its statements were unhelpful. She offered to 'take care of whatever' he needed. The main opposition People's Party said Paetongtarn had 'completely lost' people's confidence by painting the Thai army as the common enemy of Cambodian and Thai governments. 'I call on the prime minister to take responsibility by dissolving the parliament,' opposition leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut said in a statement. 'This is to return the power to the people and prevent some groups from using this mistake to create situations that will hurt our democratic system.' Former lawmaker Piyabutr Saengkanokkul warned the controversy could fuel talk of a military coup, a recurring feature of Thai politics. 'We urge and plead with the armed forces to carry on their duty in protecting the Thai borders, and not use this as a pretext for seizing power,' said senator Nantana Nantavaropas. BLOOMBERG
Business Times
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
Thai May export growth beats forecast with fastest pace in more than three years
[BANGKOK] Thailand's exports rose by their fastest annual rate in more than three years in May, beating expectations after shipments to the United States soared, and the commerce minister said on Wednesday (Jun 18) that they would continue to perform well in 2025. May exports jumped 18.4 per cent from a year earlier to a record US$31 billion, compared with a forecast year-on-year increase of 6.7 per cent in a Reuters poll. The surge in exports, a key driver of the Thai economy, was driven by accelerated shipments ahead of the expiry of a US tariff pause in early July, the ministry said. In the first five months of 2025, exports rose 14.9 per cent from a year earlier. 'We hope export growth will exceed 10 per cent this year,' Commerce Minister Pichai Naripthaphan told a news conference, saying that the weaker baht would further support shipments. He said exports will be 'a hero' for the economy this year, and that he expected upcoming trade talks with the United States to go well. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 8.30 am Asean Business Business insights centering on South-east Asia's fast-growing economies. Sign Up Sign Up 'We have started negotiations. I believe that in the end, we will be able to end it well,' he said. Thailand faces a 36 per cent US tariff on its exports if a reduction cannot be negotiated before the moratorium expires in July. The US has imposed a 10 per cent tariff for most nations while the moratorium is in place. On Monday, Pichai said both countries could agree on good terms with tariffs, possibly as low as 10 per cent. In May, exports to the United States, Thailand's biggest market, jumped 35 per cent from a year earlier, while shipments to China rose 28 per cent. Exports of computers and parts surged 104 per cent in May from a year earlier, while shipments of agricultural goods rose 6.8 per cent. Rice export volumes dropped 0.2 per cent on the year. Last month, imports increased 18 per cent from a year earlier, beating a forecast rise of 13.1 per cent, which led to a trade surplus of US$1.12 billion for the month. REUTERS
