Archive
August 23, 2026
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Thai energy regulators (DOEB) plan to standardise pyrolysis production, quality and safety rules, after the Middle East war pushed the government to revisit plastic-to-oil fuel. The oil works as a substitute for industrial boilers and furnaces, but not directly in most cars or diesel engines without refining. Six refineries have already cut Middle Eastern crude from 58% to 30% of imports. For an SME, this is a signal to watch rather than act on: if you run boilers or furnaces, a cheaper alternative fuel may appear once standards are published. No deadline or cost change is in force yet.
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Vice-Finance Minister Santitarn Sathirathai says BoI will judge foreign investment by the value it adds to Thailand, not just capital, with local content rising steadily over 3-5 years. A subcommittee chaired by Finance Minister Ekniti is reviewing local-content rules, and EV excise and support measures may change to favour domestic production. No new rule is in force yet. For a Thai SME, the opening is supplying parts, services and materials to EV, data centre and other foreign-backed projects; watch for the local-content rules and tax changes.
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A coordinated wave of 51 attacks on Saturday night across Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala included bombings, arson and spikes placed on roads. Narathiwat had a curfew from 10.15pm to 6am, and a rail section between Maruebo and Tanyongmas was temporarily closed for inspection and repairs. The army links the attacks to a crackdown on illicit trade. If you run a business or deliver goods in these provinces, plan around curfews, road closures and rail delays, and avoid affected areas and suspicious objects.
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PM Anutin ordered Nan flood recovery to be fast-tracked, with homes restored within four to five days. Affected households get an initial 6,700 baht per household for bedding, kitchen gear and clothing, paid 30 Aug to 1 Sep; home-repair aid follows after local assessments. Transport Ministry is checking roads and bridges. Heavy rain may return 30 Aug to 6 Sep in the upper North and Northeast, and Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phayao, Nan and Sukhothai are told to stay alert. For Northern businesses: check stock, equipment and shipping routes now, and register for aid if your premises or staff were hit.
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GitHub's 17 August 2026 outage lasted about 7 hours. GitHub says it was a capacity failure, not a single bad code or config change: monthly commits rose from 1.4 billion in April to 2.9 billion in August. It is adding compute and storage and moving infrastructure to Azure (about 58% of load, up from 12% in May). For a Thai SME that relies on GitHub or GitHub-hosted tools, the practical point is to expect occasional multi-hour disruptions and keep a fallback for deploys and code access. No action is required beyond that.
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EXIM BANK research says global buyers now pay for delivery reliability, not just price, as geopolitics, climate, tariffs and freight costs keep supply chains uncertain. It suggests exporters keep buffer stock for hard-to-source inputs without tying up excess cash, line up alternative suppliers, routes and markets, and track traceability and carbon data, which buyers need for EU CBAM rules. It also recommends cash-flow forecasts under several scenarios and currency hedging. For a Thai SME exporter, reliable delivery can be a selling point against cheaper rivals.
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The Commerce Ministry has set up a dedicated team to tackle adulterated coconut water and is checking raw-material balance in Nakhon Pathom, Samut Sakhon, Samut Songkhram and Ratchaburi. Officials will compare coconut-flesh use with coconut-water output. Growers and processors say oversupply, weaker demand from China and the Middle East conflict, and higher freight and labour costs have pushed prices down and slowed traders' processing. If you buy, sell or process coconut or coconut water, expect more traceability checks along the supply chain and watch pricing from low-cost bottled products.
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The Peaceful Society Promotion Act was published in the Royal Gazette and takes effect Monday. It covers political offences from Jan 1, 2005 to July 16, 2025, such as sedition, emergency-decree violations, assembly offences and some computer crimes. Lese majeste (Section 112), corruption, and offences causing death or serious injury are excluded, as are offences involving private individuals. A nine-member committee chaired by the prime minister decides who qualifies. For most business owners this is a legal and political matter with no direct effect on operations, though staff or partners with past political cases may see records cleared.
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An HR columnist argues attendance bonuses ("เบี้ยขยัน") are often used to top up low base pay and to keep them out of the wage base for overtime, severance and social security. He warns that if the bonus is not truly an incentive for extra output, it can be reclassified as wages and included in those calculations anyway. Owners paying attendance allowances should review whether the payment is tied to attendance rules, and consider linking extra pay to output above standard instead. This is an opinion column, not a legal ruling.
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The Royal Gazette published the Peaceful Social Development Act B.E. 2569, which grants amnesty for political assembly and expression from 1 Jan 2005 to 16 Jul 2025, effective after 23 Aug 2026. The article covers only the political amnesty and gives no business, tax, labour or cost provisions. For a typical SME owner, no action is needed; it is background awareness only.
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Floodwaters have receded in Nan and shops and markets are gradually reopening. The first compensation round of 6,700 baht per affected household is due between 30 Aug and 1 Sept 2026, for bedding, clothing and kitchen equipment. A second round for damaged homes follows engineer assessments, with no date given. If you run a business in Nan or nearby northern provinces, expect mud cleanup to take four to five days and keep an eye on flash-flood and landslide warnings for the rest of the rainy season.
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A sub-committee for the Chao Phraya river basin, set up on 14 August 2026, met to prepare six flood and drought measures for 8 central provinces and Bangkok. Key points: risk maps and early-warning systems using GISTDA satellite imagery; provincial command centres; hospital preparedness; and a dry-season rice-planting plan matched to water supply, so farm water use does not squeeze other users in 2027. Relief payments will be sped up, with satellite images used to verify damage. If your business is in these provinces, especially farming, riverside or logistics, check your flood and water exposure. The article sets no deadlines or new payment rules.
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Sansiri's strategy head says H1 2026 transfers held steady by unit count but fell sharply in value, and resale homes now make up two-thirds of transfers. Top-5 developers' H1 net profit fell 3.2% to 7,890 million baht. Energy costs are the main drag on margins; government transfer-fee cuts and low-rate loans are support. Homes near jobs and schools and landed houses around 10 million baht are still selling best. Small and mid-sized builders face the toughest conditions. For a supplier or contractor, expect slower spending and favour clients with solid finances.
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Bloomberg reports, citing unnamed sources, that NVIDIA told some large customers its AI servers will cost at least 15% more from next year, due to pricier memory chips. Covers Vera Rubin and Grace Blackwell platforms. NVIDIA declined to comment and reports quarterly results this week. For a typical Thai SME this is far-off and indirect: it mainly touches businesses that buy AI servers or cloud compute, which will likely see higher costs passed through. No action needed now; keep it in mind when budgeting IT or cloud spending for next year.
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Arrival duty-free shops have been closed at 8 Thai airports since 1 August 2024, under a cabinet resolution that is still formally in force. AOT, which runs 5 of them, says it is studying a return and has asked the Finance Ministry for a formal answer, but nothing is decided. A pilot tax-paid sales area at Phuket's baggage belt got good feedback. King Power's existing contracts still cover the space, and it has raised investment concerns. For a Thai SME, there is no action now; watch for a cabinet decision, and if you sell to arriving travellers or supply airport shops, consider it a possible future channel.
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The Agriculture Minister has ordered the Royal Irrigation Department to monitor the Yom, Nan and Pasak river basins as rain accumulates. Water levels are still below the banks at all reported stations. The Nan is past its peak and easing, while the Pasak at Phetchabun is rising. If your business is in Sukhothai, Phitsanulok, Phetchabun or Nan, check flood-access routes and stock storage, and keep watching updates from the Irrigation Department.
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The government will pay a first flood relief sum of 6,700 baht per affected household (for bedding, cooking and clothing) on 30 August to 1 September 2026. A second round will cover house and nearby damage repairs, after surveys by local engineers and about 30 engineers from the Department of Public Works and Town & Country Planning. Clean-up in Nan's districts (Pua, Tha Wang Pha, Mueang, Phu Phiang, Wiang Sa) is expected to take 4-5 days. If you operate in Nan or the North, check whether your premises or staff were hit and register with your local office for the payout. Expect a slower wait on repair grants.
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The PM chaired a flood meeting in Nan and ordered governors and the Disaster Prevention department to speed up damage surveys, compensation and recovery of homes, roads, power, water and farmland as water recedes. Authorities will issue earlier flood warnings for economic zones and central districts, and the rainy season is not over, so flash floods and landslides remain a risk. If your shop or farm is in the northern or northeastern flood areas, document losses now, check compensation eligibility and plan for possible disruption to power, water and transport.
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Security forces recorded 51 incidents on Saturday night across Narathiwat (22), Pattani (11) and Yala (18), mostly arson, bombs and vehicle theft. Attacks hit a 7-Eleven in Yaring, a municipal office in Sai Buri and a rubberwood plant in Yarang. If you run a business in the three southern border provinces, check your routes and premises, avoid touching suspicious objects, and report them immediately. Expect possible delays to deliveries and transport on main roads, where spikes were scattered.
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H1 GDP grew 2.4% and is forecast at 2.0% for the full year, driven mainly by private investment in digital and electronics. Retail leaders say SMEs, the bottom of the K, are recovering slowly because of weaker spending, high costs, bad debt and cheap imports. Credit is tightening, pushing many households toward informal lenders. The Retail Sentiment Index for Aug-Oct dipped slightly but stayed above 50. Watch the year-end festive season and the domestic tourism stimulus that is about to launch. The article itself contains no concrete new measure or deadline.
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