9 Dec 2020
Industry
Thai air conditioner exports are set to face numerous challenges ahead. These include competition from new rivals like Vietnam in the inverter air conditioner segment (normal model), plus the fact that consumers in emerging markets have increasingly purchased inverter air conditioners, and this has ... Read more
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4 Dec 2020
KResearch projects that the total value of Thai food and beverage exports for 2020 will stand at USD 24.9 billion, equivalent to growth of 3.0 percent YoY as the COVID-19 crisis has driven up demand for food products among Thailand’s trade partners. Moreover, Thai manufacturers have been able to mai... Read more
18 Nov 2020
Entering 2021, the Thai auto parts industry may have to contend with new challenges that have emerged in the US, one of its primary importers. Of late, the US has announced the suspension of GSP privileges, which included many auto parts that are produced in Thailand. For this reason, Thai auto part... Read more
2 Nov 2020
Electric vehicles (EVs) have increasingly made their presence felt within ASEAN, in particular investment in EV production in Thailand and Indonesia. Currently, Thailand has an edge over Indonesia in terms of EV manufacturing, thanks to the government’s clear policy of supporting the EV industry. Si... Read more
28 Oct 2020
Under assumptions that there is no serious resurgence of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Thailand, which allows the relevant authorities to gradually relax international travel restrictions, and the majority of people in Thailand receives COVID-19 vaccines in late 2021 while the domestic poli... Read more
8 Oct 2020
Due to increased competition in the telecom sector and a staggering investment in 5G networks at more than THB10 billion, Thai telecom operators are now accelerating the expansion of their 5G user bases by inducing more consumers to use 5G smartphones, which will in turn help boost the uptake of 5G ... Read more
1 Oct 2020
For the past several years, Thailand’s steel industry has encountered challenges that stem from price competition against steel imports from China due mainly to steel oversupply in the global market. Since 2014, Chinese steel manufacturers have cleared out their excessive stock via exports to market... Read more
24 Sep 2020
KResearch expects the mooncake market for 2020 to be valued at an estimated THB800 million, or a contraction of 15.8 percent YoY, as the market has suffered a severe setback from deteriorating purchasing power as a result of COVID-19. This projected fall in market value is attributed to fewer partic... Read more
18 Sep 2020
The packaging waste crisis is worsening in line with an increase in consumption, the growth of convenience food and the massive expansion of food delivery services during the period of semi-lockdown measures to counter the spread of COVID-19. More than half of all packaging waste comes from food and... Read more
16 Sep 2020
The Ministry of Commerce has issued a Notification on the ban of electronic waste (e-waste) imports per HS Codes 84 and 85, specifically for Commodity Code 899, or the ban of e-waste imports under the Basel Convention, effective September 15, 2020. Currently, Thailand’s imports of electronics classi... Read more
27 Aug 2020
Presently, automobile and auto parts manufacturers, especially Japanese brands, are progressively moving away from production processes that emphasize keeping costs low, like lean production, to production that leans more towards agile supply chains in order to quickly respond to potentially volatil... Read more
24 Jul 2020
Based on the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) for 2020, Thailand is ranked at no. 78 in the world, moving up from no. 121 in 2018 – which is better in comparison to countries of similar ranking in 2018, such as China and the Philippines. In consideration of the various indicators, Thailand has... Read more
8 Jul 2020
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has adversely affected both the business sector and households, with SMEs being the major casualty. For this reason, financial assistance measures are geared towards SMEs during 1H20. Since a debt moratorium, which is one of those important measures, is due to exp... Read more
11 Jun 2020
The packaging business has had to contend with challenges from COVID-19 and economic conditions that have caused a decline in consumers’ purchasing power. Demand for packaging in downstream industries is likely to drop, in line with a slowdown in the manufacturing sector. The overall packaging busi... Read more
5 Jun 2020
The spread of COVID-19 and a labor shortage have pushed the food processing industry, which is extremely labor intensive, to consider increased usage of automation. Apart from lowering production risks that are associated with manual labor, the system plays a part in raising safety standards in food... Read more
19 May 2020
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has not only resulted in the growing popularity of gaming, but also opened business opportunities for game cloud computing (GCC) entrepreneurs in Thailand. Given this, we at KResearch have assessed that turnover in the GCC market may grow from THB7.3 billion repor... Read more
7 May 2020
The ongoing COVID-19 global crisis has affected the Thai automobile industry in many different aspects, as the economic recession which is playing out in Thailand and at the international level remains the key factor impacting purchase orders for cars, both domestically and in export markets. As a c... Read more
30 Apr 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 is likely putting pressure on the value of Thailand’s exports of Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs), with an expected contraction of 20.9 to 23.6 percent, for an estimated export value of USD 927.4 - 960.8 million, in line with reduced global demand for electronic products. ... Read more
10 Apr 2020
At present, China has established a rising trend in car exports and increasingly invested in automobile production across multiple countries around the world, especially in the category of electric vehicles (EV), which have been considerably well-received, even in the automobile markets of developed... Read more
14 Feb 2020
The outbreak of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) with the epicenter in China has become unpredictable as it is spreading, adversely affecting the economy worldwide, including China’s automotive sector and the global auto industry, including Thailand’s. All automotive sectors are suffering contraction. C... Read more
12 Feb 2020
In 2020, Thailand’s wireless communication technology is about to experience another turning point. The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) will auction the 5G spectrum in the 700 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2600 MHz and 26 GHz frequency bands on February 16, 2020, aiming to roll out t... Read more
5 Feb 2020
The airline businesses have faced tough challenges due to pricing competition, which has steadily reduced the average airfares. Moreover, the demand for air travel began to slow, resulting in a drop in airline business value for the first time in 2019 to 314 billion Baht.... Read more
4 Feb 2020
2020 may be another difficult year for Thai car exports. Despite a positive factor, i.e., a likelihood that the Baht may not be as strong as that seen in 2019, there are a number of factors that may inevitably cause Thai car shipments to shrink in 2020. These include economic problems continuing fro... Read more
31 Jan 2020
From January 1, 2020, Thailand has begun a campaign to ban single-use plastic bags under the Plastic Waste Management Road Map 2018-2030 of the Pollution Control Department. KResearch views that the ban will significantly reduce the amount of single-use plastic bags. It will affect supply chains of ... Read more
7 Jan 2020
Thailand is one of the aviation hubs in the Asia Pacific region, which is expected to experience a rising demand for aviation maintenance and repair services in the future. The future outlook has become clearer after a cooperative agreement for a Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facility at U... Read more
12 Dec 2019
We at KResearch view that turnover in the ready-to-eat food market may reach THB20.2-20.5 billion, increasing 3.0-5.0 percent YoY in 2020, thanks to the diversity of new products developed by related entrepreneurs as a result of heightened competition. Meanwhile, the domestic food and beverage marke... Read more
4 Dec 2019
KResearch views that the overall auto sales throughout 2019 will contract 2.5 percent from 2018, or totaling 1,015,000 units. The Bank of Thailand’s control measure for auto loan approval, launched in the middle of this year, has become a key factor pressuring auto loan sales.... Read more
28 Nov 2019
In the past 2 to 3 years, the automobile industry has awakened to the realization that the era of electric vehicles (EV) is coming, resulting in a massive restructuring of the automotive part supply chain worldwide, including Thailand, in 2 aspects; the internal combustion engine (ICE) supply chain ... Read more
7 Nov 2019
The multi-sport 30th SEA Games to be held from November 30 – December 11, 2019 in the Philippines will include E-Sports for the first time with the presence of Thai contestants, who are now gearing up to get ready for the competition.... Read more
5 Nov 2019
Europe is another important market for Thailand’s pickup exports. However, because of more stringent environmental measures for commercial vehicles in Europe, we at KResearch view that most of Thai pickups shipped to Europe will inevitably have to be upgraded to hybrid pickups over the near future. ... Read more
28 Oct 2019
Thailand has so far relied on the imported materials for medical equipment production such as high-quality catheters, even though the Thai plastic industry is regarded as having a solid base throughout the supply chain. However, Thailand’s upstream and midstream manufacturers have focused on product... Read more
18 Oct 2019
KResearch predicts that Thailand’s food and beverage exports in 2019 will increase 3.5 percent YoY, or equivalent to USD26.6 billion, driven by key export items, namely, fresh and frozen and chilled fruit, poultry products (chicken), wheat products, other ready meals and non-alcoholic beverages whic... Read more
3 Oct 2019
Thailand’s electronic industry is about to reach a saturation point, and its stance in the global supply chains has gradually become weaker. Thailand, therefore, needs to speed up reforming its electronic industry in line with the evolving technology products in the world market, instead of trying t... Read more
23 Sep 2019
Thailand may lose its comparative advantage and soon be surpassed by emerging countries such as Vietnam mainly because Thailand is no longer competitive in terms of labor cost. This is particularly evident in the electronics and textile and apparel industries. Although Thai industry still has a comp... Read more
9 Sep 2019
KResearch has surveyed consumer behavior during the Mid-Autumn Festival this year and found that most Thais are still interested in buying mooncakes with the proportion of mooncake purchases rising to 61.4 percent in 2019 from 59.6 percent registered in 2018. Most consumers buy Chinese delicacies fo... Read more
28 Aug 2019
Amid a new round of the US-China trade dispute, China has announced a 25 percent tariff hike on US car imports, effective December 15, 2019. This is expected to adversely affect US car shipments to China later on. However, it may benefit Thailand because luxury carmakers, namely BMW and Mercedes Ben... Read more
23 Aug 2019
KResearch projects that Thai car exports overall may contract 2.7 percent to 1,110,000 units in 2019, dampened by a number of factors. These include the protracted trade war, stronger Baht and substantial declines in our automobile shipments to major markets, namely Australia, as they are experienc... Read more