TTB advises Thai entrepreneurs to adapt to the volatility of the global economy, including global trade and currency fluctuations, especially in Asian markets. It expects GDP to grow by 3% next year, up from 2.6% this year.
TMB Thanachart or TTB organized the ttb I Global Trade and FX Forum seminar under the topic ‘The Future of Asia: Economic Trends and Trade Challenges for Thailand 2025’ with experts from various fields providing knowledge to Thai entrepreneurs.
Mr. Saran Phupat, Chief Commercial Officer, TMB Thanachart Bank, said that the influence of geopolitics, trade conflicts, political uncertainty, and climate change are still major issues affecting the global economy, including exchange rate changes, which are significant challenges and risks for international trade operators. In addition, the People’s Republic of China is a country that influences the global economic system. China’s policy changes affect the supply chain and trade opportunities of businesses around the world. Meanwhile, Asian m
arkets still have high growth potential. Access to these markets helps spread risks and provides opportunities for business expansion in the future. This is a challenge for international trade operators who must understand the economic situation, adapt to changes, maintain competitiveness, and achieve long-term growth.
Mr. Naris Sathapoldecha, President of Data and Analytics Group, TTB, believes that the overall Thai economy in 2025 is expected to expand by 3% from 2.6% this year. Consumption is expected to be 2-3% from 4% this year. Thailand still has a high level of household debt. As for the overall global trade, there are 3 themes: 1. Deglobalization, which shows that global trade is not with developed countries, but with emerging markets, which account for 60% of the total, because trade in Asia is less risky than with developed countries, which account for only 40% of the total trade, due to trade barriers. 2. Decoupling, which shows that China exports to Thailand, especially electrical appliances, aut
omobiles, and steel, and the problem will become more severe. 3. ESG Standards will be affected by measures that have increased from 40 to more than 100 measures.
Private investment in Thailand improved by 3-4% from 0.8%, partly due to investment from China, which fled from the United States. This is consistent with government investment and government spending that have improved in line with economic stimulus measures. China has announced an economic stimulus plan, but it is still expected that China’s GDP will grow less than 5%. However, ASEAN markets or emerging markets are still growing, especially the service and hotel sectors. However, the manufacturing sector is still sluggish. Although it is not in crisis, it is not growing much. Production is struggling under what is called “China stumbles, the world chokes”.
‘Policy Makers must come in and take care of global trade because we can see that Chinese products exported to Thailand in large quantities, similar to Vietnam’s. However, we can see that Chin
a does not import Thai products, but imports from Vietnam. Thailand has a large trade deficit with China. However, China, which has invested the most in Thailand since the beginning of the year, has begun to invest in electronics, electrical appliances, etc., with increasing amounts of money,’ said Mr. Naris.
Source: Thai News Agency