Thailand

Thailand is expected to produce 1.4 million tons of durian this year, up 17% from the previous year, as strong demand encouraged farmers to expand cultivation.
Business trends

China's zero-COVID policy bites Thai fruit growers

Can price supports and a 19-year-old rapper save the industry?

5 May 2022
Advanced Info Service has earmarked 12 billion baht ($349 million) for 5G network development.
Interview

Thailand's AIS plans $1bn investment blitz to protect telecom crown

CEO says company will win over customers dissatisfied with True-DTAC megamerger

4 May 2022
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, left, raises a toast with Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha in Bangkok on May 2. 
The Nikkei View

Can Japan convince ASEAN to oppose Russia -- and potentially China?

Kishida's Southeast Asia diplomacy will be a major test case for the region's future

4 May 2022
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, center left, and Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, center right, meet in Bangkok on May 2.
International relations

Japan PM touts unity on Ukraine in Southeast Asia tour

Tokyo and Bangkok sign defense equipment pact and eye South China Sea cooperation

3 May 2022
As Singaporeans grow comfortable living with the virus, the Clarke Quay nighttime social scene has blossomed.
Coronavirus

Southeast Asia's COVID-hit economies scramble for tourists

Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand throw caution to wind; Indonesia a bit more careful

30 April 2022
Founded by Aung Kyaw Moe in 2003, 2C2P has hitherto focused on Southeast Asia's top six markets but with Ant investment can now look further afield. (Source photos by Getty Images and courtesy of 2C2P) 
Companies

2C2P aims beyond Southeast Asia with Ant Group investment

Majority stake gives Ant access to large regional retailers and airlines

28 April 2022
As resorts like this one in Dubai await the return of the tourist hordes, analysts say the consequences of the war in Ukraine are likely to negate eased travel restrictions and keep would-be visitors at home. (Photo courtesy of Centara Hotels & Resorts)
Travel & Leisure

Thai hotels bet on expansion and recovery from COVID this year

Major chains are adding rooms and building resorts despite Ukraine war impact

27 April 2022
Politicians up for election say that raising the earnings of workers at the bottom of the pay scale could kickstart a multiplier effect that reverberates across economies, but the chiefs of Southeast Asian industries are not so sure.
Asia Insight

Malaysia's 35% minimum wage hike stirs recovery concerns

Critics say politicians are promising happier paydays as an election ploy

26 April 2022
The weak yen raises doubts over Japan's influence in Asia as the currency becomes less of a safe haven and less key in financial markets. (Source photo by Suzu Takahashi) 
Market Spotlight

South Korea shrugs off weak yen as Japan's influence wanes

Samsung, Hyundai Motor unfazed by depreciation, signaling power shift away from neighbor

25 April 2022
Prinn Panitchpakdi, former deputy leader of Thailand's Democrat Party, faces accusations of sexual misconduct from more than a dozen women.
Turbulent Thailand

Thai ruling coalition rocked by corruption and sex abuse allegations

PM Prayuth vulnerable ahead of expected no-confidence vote

23 April 2022
The Tourism Authority of Thailand hopes to welcome 5.6 million foreign tourists this year.
Coronavirus

Hong Kong to reopen to visitors, Thailand loosens entry rules

Bangkok drops negative COVID test requirement to bring tourists back

22 April 2022
Pimsiri Sirikaew of Thailand focuses during the Women's 58 kg weightlifting competition at the 2016 Rio Olympics in August 2016. She took home the silver medal that year, as well as four years earlier at the London Games.
Life

Thailand's female weightlifters defy gender expectations

Athletes face stumbling blocks away from the Olympic platform

22 April 2022
A farmer rides alongside a rice field north of Bangkok. Demand for Thai rice exports is accelerating in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Commodities

Thai rice exports surge as Ukraine war roils global food supply

Importers rush to snap up alternatives to Russian, Ukrainian grain

21 April 2022
The ReMaker -- aka Yuttana Anothaisintawee -- at his Bangkok workshop. (Courtesy of Artery)
Arts

Thai designers elevate cool side of 'trashion'

Upcycling trend forges a more sustainable future for the fashion industry

20 April 2022
Binance has no fixed headquarters and is barred from providing services in Singapore and the U.K.
19 April 2022
Thai artist Natee Utarit’s current exhibition "Deja vu: When the Sun Rises in the West" fuses Greco-Roman and Buddhist art forms in an attempt to address Western cultural imperialism in the East. “It’s very important that we are the same; not one higher than the other or one lower. It’s about equality,” he says. (Courtesy of artist and Art Centre Silpakorn University)
Arts

Thai artist combines classical and Buddhist cultures

Natee Utarit puts East and West on equal footing in memorable exhibition

18 April 2022
Two Chinese share brokerages are tapping Singapore for talent as they target growth in Southeast Asia. (Source photo by Ken Kobayashi)
Interview

Chinese brokers race for Singapore talent to drive ASEAN growth

Tiger Brokers, Futu Securities eye Thailand, Malaysia amid Beijing's tech crackdown

15 April 2022
Production in Myanmar's Yadana gas field faces possible disruption as Western operation partners prepare to pull out. (Photo courtesy of PTTEP)
Energy

Russia-Ukraine war prompts PTTEP to produce more oil and gas

Thai exploration arm invests massively to boost profits, secure energy supply

14 April 2022
Lion seeks to tap demand from working women in Indonesia. (Source photo by AFP/Jiji) 
Consumer

Kao, Lion and other Japan companies reboot ASEAN strategies

COVID hurt business but helped consumers gain awareness of good hygiene

14 April 2022
In addition to showcasing a rich variety of artwork, Rupert Mann's "Bangkok Street Art and Graffiti" contains essays peppered with interviews that address the history of street art and graffiti, from its origins in the U.S. and Europe to its rise in Thailand. (Nikkei montage/source photos by River Books and Tom Vater) 
Books

Books: For creative protest, in Thailand the writing is on the wall

Illustrated book traces history of political street art and graffiti

13 April 2022
Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and Chinese President Xi Jinping. After Prayuth launched a coup in 2014, Thailand faced Western criticism and approached China. (Nikkei montage/AP)
Politics

Thailand's purchase of first Chinese submarine runs aground

Germany's refusal to provide engine stalls procurement plan

12 April 2022
Thailand's youth recently emerged as a new political force after organizing huge anti-government protests in recent years.
Politics

Bangkok to hold gubernatorial election for first time in 9 years

Contest seen as prelude to Thai general poll, with 700,000 new voters in mix

11 April 2022
In Thailand, its "boys love" or BL dramas are popular mainly among young women, as the country is more accepting of the LGBTQ community than most other Asian countries.
10 April 2022
A worker stands behind barriers sealing off a residential area of Shanghai amid a coronavirus outbreak on March 29.
COVID-19 Recovery Index

China plunges in COVID Recovery Index as Shanghai cases rise

Cambodia rebounds to No. 2 but Thailand and Hong Kong sink further

8 April 2022
Four men were arrested in New York in a sprawling drugs for weapons scheme.  (Photo courtesy of the Department of Justice)
Politics

Yakuza leader arrested in U.S. for drugs for missiles plot

Surface-to-air missiles to Myanmar to be paid for with heroin and meth

8 April 2022