THAILAND

Export Atlas in PDF

Thailand is the second largest ASEAN economy and has upper middle-income status. Thailand has managed to maintain its relative fiscal strength and low external vulnerability, despite the sharp contraction of economic activity experienced in 2020.

The economic recovery is expected to be gradual in the next two years, and depends heavily on the ongoing health situation, the vaccination campaign and ongoing disruption to domestic and international travel. Real GDP growth will be supported by manufacturing, good exports (although less than other ASEAN countries, as electronics exports represent only less than 15% of total exports in Thailand) and fiscal policy. Internal demand is expected to remain weak over the next two years.

Medium to long term prospects have not significantly deteriorated compared to pre- COVID-19 levels. The tourism sector (while deeply affected in the short term) is highly competitive, the manufacturing sector should return to its pre-COVID-19 trends (as no significant relocation of production capacity has yet been observed), and the banking sector is sound and well capitalised, which will continue to support funding to the economy.

The biggest threat to Thailand’s economic growth, and its main structural weakness, remains political risk. After a few years of apparent calm, social tensions rose again significantly in 2020. The political climate is still tense and could deteriorate further once the health situation stabilises. Yet the resurgence of political tensions and the proliferation of popular demands will not necessarily lead to a radical regime change in the short or even the medium term.

Thailand’s chronic political instability hampers the implementation of the structural reforms needed to adapt to an ageing population, the lack of infrastructure, and the growing risk that the country will remain mired in a middle income trap.

Summary

BNP Paribas has had a presence in Thailand since 1979, with a full branch license granted in 1997. The bank has a business centre located in Bangkok, and customers have access to over 145 branches. BNP Paribas provides comprehensive support for the domestic and cross-border cash management and international trade finance needs of both Thai companies operating internationally and foreign company doing business in Thailand.

Currency

  • Thai Baht (THB).

Bank accounts

  • A company incorporated in Thailand is considered a Thai resident.

BNP Paribas Cash Management Capabilities

Cash collections
Cheque collections
Direct debit collections
Domestic incoming transfers
Virtual IBAN
Virtual accounts
International incoming transfers
Card acquiring

Payments & collections

Thailand’s use of cash remains strong, despite the increasing popularity of mobile wallets and card payments. According to a Global Survey of Saving and Investment Stragtegies by Nielsen, nearly 7 out 10 people still prefer to use cash over credit cards for their daily shopping. However, the country’s digital payments more than doubled via the PromtPay Platform in February 2021, on February 2020 figures, due, in large part, to the outbreak of Covid 19.

Electronic banking services are available from most banks. There is no national electronic banking standard in Thailand, so companies use banks’ proprietary services. An Online Retail Funds Transfer (ORFT) system enables interbank retail funds transfers to be performed through an interbank network via ATMs, internet, mobile or bank counters.

Online and mobile banking services are provided by the country’s leading banks. There were approximately 32.7 million and 68.8 million internet and mobile banking agreements in Thailand respectively at the end of February 2021. The volume and value of internet banking transactions at the end of 2020 totalled 727,810 thousand, with a value of THB 28,378 billion. The volume and value of mobile banking transactions in 2020 totalled 9,272,215 thousand, with a value of THB 34,233 billion, an increase on 2019 figures of 4,925,109 thousand transactions, with a value of THB 24,408 billion.

Short term investments

Interest payable on credit balances

  • Interest-bearing current accounts are not available.

Demand deposits

  • Demand deposits are not widely available.

Time deposits

  • Time deposits are available in THB or major foreign currencies for terms of three, six and 12 months.

Treasury (government) bills

  • The BOT auctions treasury bills on a weekly basis with maturities of one and three. The BOT has discontinued the issuance of new six-month bills. The Public Debt Management Office will auction the bills on a regular basis instead.
  • Government bonds are issued weekly with terms ranging from one month to two years.

Commercial paper

  • Domestic commercial paper is available, although few domestic companies are able to issue unsecured paper. Most commercial paper is issued by financial institutions.
  • When available, commercial paper is issued with terms up to 270 days, although terms between four and 12 weeks are most common.

Money market funds

  • Money market funds are available.

Repurchase agreements

  • Bilateral repurchase agreements with maturities ranging from one week to six months are available.

Banker's acceptances

  • Banker's acceptances are not commonly used in Thailand.

BNP Paribas Trade Finance Capabilities

Documentary credits
Documentary collections

International trade

  • As a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Thailand has entered into the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) between member states (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam). Thailand is also a member of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and is committed to reducing and eliminating tariffs between members.
  • As a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, Thailand has agreed to liberalise trade and investment rules between members.