Category: The Bangkok Post

When Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last week that Washington would at least double its purchases of long-term US bonds to a minimum of US$4 billion per operation, aiming to assuage investor concerns about the government’s soaring borrowing costs, the move took markets by surprise.

However, Treasury buybacks are a standing programme launched in May 2024 under which the US Treasury repurchases its own previously issued Treasury bonds from primary dealers on a regular schedule.

The scale is small relative to total Treasury outstanding debt, well under 1%, so the effect is more signal than substance in any single operation.

Yet the timing of the announcement after a major sell-off highlights the Trump administration’s sensitivity to the rise in yields, with 30-year bond yields reaching their highest level since 2007.

The unexpected move also underlined a fundamental question: what are the sustainable paths to lower borrowing costs that flow through to households, businesses, and government debt-servicing costs, and are any of them possible in the near future?

WHY IS THE US TREASURY INCREASING ITS BUYBACKS?

US Treasury yields have continued to rise this year, particularly at the long end of the curve. Prior to the announcement, the 30-year Treasury yield climbed to 5.34%, its highest level in 19 years.

The rise prompted the Treasury to announce an increase in the size of its buyback operations for bonds with maturities of 10-20 years and 20-30 years, doubling the amount from $2 billion to $4 billion per operation.

The increased buyback size applies to operations conducted between Sept 9 and Nov 4, 2026, as part of efforts to support liquidity and maintain stability in the Treasury market.

According to Kasikorn Research Center (K-Research), Treasury buybacks are a regular and ongoing market operation rather than an emergency measure, conducted as part of the Treasury’s debt management strategy.

Typically, these buybacks aim to improve liquidity in segments of the government bond market, supporting market stability and managing the government’s debt portfolio. Under the programme, the Treasury conducts auctions to repurchase Treasury securities based on their remaining maturities.

“The increase in the size of the buyback operations this time is expected to help stabilise elevated Treasury yields amid heightened uncertainty over the global economy, energy prices and inflation,” said the think tank.

The Treasury also faces pressure from continued government borrowing to finance the fiscal deficit, which has contributed to upward pressure on bond yields, noted K-Research.

Chayanon Rakkanjanan, co-founder of Finnomena financial platform, said Wall Street is calling the recent bond buyback strategy “Operation Twist 2.0”, drawing parallels with the Federal Reserve’s earlier Operation Twist that involved selling short-term bonds and buying longer-term securities to push down long-term yields.

The key difference this time is the Treasury rather than the Fed is taking the lead in buying long-term Treasuries. Treasury purchases have reportedly doubled from around $2 billion to $4 billion, sending a strong signal to the bond market despite the relatively small amount involved.

The strategy comes as 20-year Treasury yields have risen above 5.2%, reflecting growing concerns over the US government’s borrowing costs.

“Mr Bessent, with his background as a hedge fund investor, is seen as attempting to stabilise the long end of the Treasury market and prevent borrowing costs from rising further,” said Mr Chayanon.

WHY DO RISING BOND YIELDS MATTER TO GLOBAL MARKETS?

Treasuries are the benchmark “risk-free” asset for global finance, anchoring the pricing of mortgages, corporate bonds, emerging market debt, private credit and stock valuations worldwide.

A sustained rise in US yields can pull capital towards dollar assets, strengthening the dollar and tightening financial conditions abroad, which makes it harder for lower-rated companies, indebted governments and emerging market borrowers to refinance.

For the US government, Treasury yields are what the government pays to borrow. Higher yields raise federal interest costs. Rising interest costs leave policymakers less room to fund other priorities without raising revenue, cutting elsewhere or borrowing more.

That creates concern that the fiscal trajectory itself can push yields higher as investors demand more compensation to hold long-dated debt, which in turn raises the cost of servicing a debt load that keeps growing.

For , insurers and pension funds, a ?fast uptick can also erode the market value of existing long-dated bonds. Institutions forced to sell before maturity can lock in losses, even though the securities will repay face value if held to term.

Companies typically borrow at a Treasury yield plus a credit spread that compensates investors for default and liquidity risk. When the Treasury yield rises, corporate borrowing costs rise with it, and the pain is sharpest for companies issuing new bonds, refinancing debt or carrying floating-rate loans. Those that locked in low fixed rates years ago have more breathing room.

Higher borrowing costs can make capital-intensive projects such as data centres, energy infrastructure and industrial expansion less attractive, potentially curbing future investment and earnings growth. This is a particular concern for the tech sector, which is issuing record amounts of debt to finance artificial intelligence-related projects.

For consumers, the 10-year Treasury yield serves as an important guide for mortgage rates, as it generally moves in tandem with mortgage-backed securities. Higher rates shrink how much buyers can borrow for a given monthly payment and discourage existing homeowners with lower-rate mortgages from moving, weighing on home sales, construction and related spending.

Rates on new auto loans and other fixed-rate consumer debt also tend to drift higher as market rates and lenders’ funding costs rise, though the pass-through isn’t immediate or exact.

Credit card rates more closely track banks’ prime rates, which typically move with Fed policy. Here, rising long-term yields alone may not lift card rates right away, but expectations of a more restrictive Fed can push them higher.

Consumers locked into fixed-rate mortgages or auto loans are largely insulated until they refinance or start a new loan, while those carrying variable-rate debt feel the pinch faster.

HOW IS THE MARKET REACTING?

According to K-Research, following the announcement of the larger buyback operations, Treasury yields for maturities of five years and longer fell by 2-9 basis points from the previous day.

However, yields rebounded to around their previous levels the following day as tensions in the Middle East escalated again, prompting renewed concerns over energy prices and inflation.

Asia Plus Securities said the US stock market edged up by about 0.2% after Mr Bessent signalled the Treasury’s attempt to control the government’s long-term borrowing costs after Treasury yields rose to multi-year highs.

From another perspective, Treasury buybacks reflect the increasing pressure on the US economy and fiscal health from significantly higher interest costs. There’s also a risk that bond repurchases alone are unable to reverse the downward trend in the bond market, said Therdsak Thaveeteeratham, senior executive vice-president at Asia Plus.

The US dollar weakened, reflecting growing concerns over the US government’s borrowing costs and further intervention in the future. The US national debt, which exceeded $40 trillion for the first time after having doubled over the past decade, is also stoking fear that Trump’s tax and spending plans are unsustainable.

As the dollar weakened, gold prices surged past $4,500 an ounce. While gold and Treasury bonds are both major safe haven assets, they react differently to shifts in interest rates and monetary policy. Gold pays no yield, so when Treasury yields rise, the opportunity cost of holding gold increases. Conversely, falling yields boost gold.

Bitcoin ripped to a two-month high of more than $70,000 on Aug 19, its first trip past that level since June, as many investors view Operation Twist 2.0 as potentially positive for risk assets, including cryptocurrencies, if it successfully pushes down bond yields.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?

Mr Chayanon said in the short term, the market is likely to become more cautious.

Investors who had been considering shorting long-term Treasuries because they expected long-term yields to rise further may now hesitate.

“Those already holding long-term bonds may also become less willing to sell aggressively because they will be thinking, ‘what if the Treasury comes into the market and buys even more?’ That could lead investors to close their short positions,” he said.

As a result, Mr Chayanon said he expects it will be difficult for long-term bond yields to rise significantly in the near term, which could benefit equities.

If long-term bond yields do not rise sharply, the gap between bond yields and equity earnings yields will not widen significantly, which could allow the stock market to move higher, he said.

“I think Mr Bessent has chosen the timing very carefully. Given his experience in the hedge fund industry, this is a fairly sophisticated piece of market timing,” noted Mr Chayanon.

“Over the next 1-3 months, I think the US market could have room to breathe and potentially move higher. The weaker dollar should also be positive for gold. We could potentially see gold reach around $4,800-5,000 an ounce by the end of this year.”

The opposition is preparing for what it hopes will be the most consequential parliamentary challenge yet to Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s administration.

With parliament now back in session, the main opposition People’s Party (PP) is expected to build its case around a series of controversies, ranging from alleged collusion in the 2024 Senate election and irregularities in local-government recruitment examinations to the TH-AI Passport project and the government’s planned 400-billion-baht emergency borrowing decree.

For the PP, the coming no-confidence debate is more than an opportunity to embarrass the government. It is a test of whether the largest opposition party can convert its electoral acumen into effective parliamentary scrutiny and demonstrate that it is capable of governing rather than simply campaigning.

Comparisons have inevitably emerged with the Democrat Party, whose long parliamentary history has given it considerably more experience in censure debates and adversarial politics. Founded in 1946, the Democrats are Thailand’s oldest political party and have spent decades alternating between government and opposition.

The comparison could be unnerving for the PP, which has inherited much of the reformist political base of the dissolved Move Forward Party. Its central challenge is to transform allegations, investigations and political suspicions into evidence capable of surviving parliamentary scrutiny.

PP and Opposition Leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut said the opposition was making progress in preparing to submit a no-confidence motion against the government.

He said the party would approach ‘every political party that is not part of the government’ to exchange views on the framework and issues to be raised in the proposed censure debate.

Mr Natthaphong reiterated the party’s intention to expose detailed information about what it calls the ‘Blue Regime’, referring to networks of political influence associated with the ruling Bhumjaithai Party, while closely monitoring allegations of corruption and collusion in the Senate election.

But a no-confidence debate is not simply a political rally inside parliament. It is a courtroom-like contest in which the opposition must establish a chain of evidence: what happened, who was responsible, which law or regulation was breached, which public interest was damaged, and why the prime minister or a minister should bear political responsibility.

The PP has made serious allegations concerning the 2024 Senate election, including claims of organised manipulation and collusion. The issue is not imaginary. The Election Commission has been dealing with hundreds of cases involving alleged collusion, corruption and electoral manipulation, while the Senate itself has faced continuing controversy over the circumstances surrounding its selection.

But political suspicion is not the same as proof. Critics of the PP argue that it has sometimes moved too quickly from circumstantial evidence to political conclusions. That weakness could prove particularly damaging during a censure debate, when government ministers will have every incentive to challenge individual allegations, demand documentary evidence and portray the opposition as relying on insinuation.

The Senate controversy therefore presents both the PP’s greatest opportunity and its greatest danger.

Mr Anutin has sought to project confidence, saying the government is unperturbed by the imminent debate. He has also made clear that he will not accept responsibility for allegations concerning the Senate election, which he considers unrelated to the current administration.

‘We are not answering people in parliament. We are answering the entire country, so every minister must be prepared,’ Mr Anutin said.

He denied that the government had anything to do with alleged collusion in the Senate election, saying ministers would answer questions concerning the current government’s work.

If PP MPs can produce credible money trails, communications, coordinated voting patterns, witness testimony or other documentary evidence linking political actors to an organised scheme, the issue could prove devastating. Reports indicate the party is preparing new evidence, including alleged financial links, while the EC continues to consider a large number of Senate-related cases.

But if the evidence remains largely circumstantial, the government could reverse the political attack. Instead of being forced to defend itself, it could accuse the opposition of making unsubstantiated allegations against institutions and individuals.

This is where the Democrats’ experience may prove relevant. The party has a long institutional memory of parliamentary grilling. Its veterans have operated through repeated governments, coalition crises and censure debates, learning to build attacks around specific ministerial failures rather than attempting to prove an entire government incompetent through a single political narrative.

Thailand’s censure tradition illustrates the point. Democrats have repeatedly used no-confidence debates not necessarily to topple governments immediately, but to establish a political record of alleged failures, expose inconsistencies and create material that could later be used outside parliament.

A 2008 Democrat-led censure motion, for example, targeted then premier Samak Sundaravej and seven cabinet ministers. Subsequent debates under the Prayut Chan-o-cha administration also demonstrated how parliamentary scrutiny could become a prolonged contest over ministerial credibility.

The PP represents a newer political generation. Its strength has traditionally been its ability to mobilise public opinion around structural reform, transparency and institutional accountability. Its weakness may be translating that political language into the mechanics of parliamentary investigation.

That matters because the Anutin government is unlikely to collapse simply because the opposition delivers powerful speeches.

The government has a parliamentary majority following the Feb 8 election, with Bhumjaithai the dominant force. The PP remains the main opposition party, but a successful no-confidence vote requires more than public anger.

The PP needs to convince voters that the government is not merely imperfect but unfit to govern. That requires evidence sufficiently clear for ordinary voters to understand without relying on partisan interpretation.

The Anutin administration can be expected to deploy a familiar defensive strategy: separating allegations against individual politicians or officials from the prime minister’s personal responsibility. The government can argue that investigations should proceed through the relevant agencies and that allegations concerning past elections do not automatically establish misconduct by the current cabinet.

Mr Anutin has already signalled that he is prepared to face the opposition, suggesting the government sees the coming confrontation as survivable. For the PP, therefore, the question is not whether it has enough issues with which to attack the government. It clearly does. The question is whether it has enough provable facts.

The Democrats’ comparative advantage lies in knowing that parliamentary combat is often won through accumulation rather than spectacle. One document can be more damaging than an hour-long speech; one contradiction between a minister’s statement and an official record can undermine an entire defence; one credible witness can turn an allegation into a political crisis.

The PP would do well to adopt that discipline.

It should also resist the temptation to make the no-confidence debate a referendum on every grievance against the Anutin administration. The more allegations it introduces without sufficiently developed evidence, the easier it becomes for the government to dismiss the entire case as political theatre.

The Democrats, meanwhile, have an opportunity of their own. Under veteran politician Abhisit Vejjajiva, who has returned to lead the party, they can attempt to reclaim a role as the traditional parliamentary watchdog. Their challenge is to show that experience still matters when parties compete as much through social media as through parliamentary procedure.

For voters, this creates an intriguing contest between two models of opposition.

The PP represents political transformation and institutional reform. The Democrats represent an older tradition of parliamentary confrontation and incremental accountability. The coming censure debate may reveal which model is more effective when the objective is not merely to generate headlines but to hold a government politically accountable.

Ultimately, the PP does not necessarily need to unseat Anutin to win. If it can present a compelling, evidence-based case, expose contradictions and establish a credible record of government failures, it may achieve something more durable: convincing voters that it is ready not just to oppose, but to govern.

29aboutpolitics1(29/08/2026) attach caption KJ

Ballot codes under scrutiny

The Constitutional Court’s first hearing of key witnesses on Aug 26 marked the beginning of a closely watched case over the use of barcodes and QR codes on ballots in the Feb 8 general election.

The case centres on whether the codes could potentially be used to trace ballots back to individual voters, raising questions about whether the system violated the constitutional requirement for secret voting.

The judges earlier voted 6-3 to consider a petition forwarded by the Ombudsman under Section 231 of the constitution after it received 22 complaints alleging that the Election Commission (EC) had violated voters’ constitutional right to a secret ballot by designing and printing ballot papers containing barcodes and QR codes.

The potential consequences are significant. If the court finds that the system compromised ballot secrecy, it will have to decide whether the breach was serious enough to invalidate the election results and require voters to return to the polls.

But the political impact may be less dramatic than the legal controversy suggests.

Political scientist Stithorn Thananithichot of Chulalongkorn University said the court had asked its office to examine the technical structure of the barcode and QR code systems and whether they could potentially compromise ballot secrecy.

The key question, he said, is whether scanning a barcode could link a ballot number to the number on the ballot stub, which contains information identifying the voter.

If such a link can be established, the voting process may not have been genuinely secret, as required by Section 85 of the constitution.

Mr Stithorn said the problem appeared to stem not from an attempt by the EC to favour any political party, but from its failure to fully understand the technology involved.

The EC accepted a proposal from the ballot printer to include barcodes as a way of tracking ballots in case some went missing. The commission may not have realised that the system could raise a far more serious question over ballot secrecy. Its reluctance to acknowledge the problem may also have contributed to the delay in resolving it, he said.

Mr Stithorn pointed to the 2006 election, which was later annulled, when members of the EC faced legal consequences over their handling of the poll.

Vasana Puemlarp, Prinya Nakchudtree and Virachai Naewboonnien were found guilty of mishandling the election in April 2006 after the Constitutional Court nullified the result.

That experience may have made the current commission reluctant to accept responsibility for another election-related error, Mr Stithorn said.

‘Once the problem emerged, the EC should have admitted its mistake from the beginning. But the process has dragged on because it did not know where to put the blame,’ he said.

The political consequences, however, could be limited.

According to Mr Stithorn, the potential problem involving ballot secrecy is confined to party-list ballots. The QR code printed on constituency ballots, he said, cannot be used to trace a ballot back to a voter’s identity.

If that distinction is accepted, the constituency election – which accounts for 400 of the House’s 500 seats – would remain unaffected. Only the 100 party-list seats would potentially be at issue.

The People’s Party (PP) won the largest number of party-list seats, with 32, followed by Bhumjaithai (Bhumjaithai) with 19, Pheu Thai with 16 and the Democrat Party with 11. Smaller parties won the remaining seats.

Even if the court orders a new party-list election, Mr Stithorn does not believe it would fundamentally alter the political balance.

The government’s position rests largely on the constituency results, which account for the overwhelming majority of House seats.

‘A new election for the party-list MPs alone would not be enough to change the political game,’ he said.

At most, the PP and Democrat Party might gain additional seats while Bhumjaithai could lose some. But the changes would be unlikely to overturn the existing balance of power or trigger a change of government.

‘And there is no guarantee that Bhumjaithai would lose seats,’ he said.

Even in the more extreme scenario of a fresh election for both constituency and party-list seats, Mr Stithorn believes Bhumjaithai would retain the advantage and be able to remain in power.

The court is scheduled to rule on Sept 28 on whether the use of barcodes and QR codes breached constitutional protections for secret voting.

Opposition leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut has questioned whether the public can have confidence in the court’s handling of the case, given that its judges were selected through a Senate whose own selection process has faced allegations of collusion.

That political criticism is likely to continue as the court weighs a question that goes to the heart of any election: whether voters can be certain that their choices remain secret.

The legal consequences may ultimately be limited. But the principle at stake is not.

The Tourism Department’s plan to reinstate the security deposit for tour companies at the pre-pandemic rate will not help curb fraud against tourists, instead increasing the burden on licensed operators, according to the Thai Travel Agents Association (TTAA).

The group said the authority should instead focus on regulating high-risk and illegal operators.

The Tourism and Sports Ministry is conducting a public hearing on the website law.go.th until next month regarding a ministerial draft specifying the security deposit amount for tour companies, which is required under the Tourism Business and Guide Act.

Jaturon Phakdeewanit, director-general of the department, said the authority wants to reinstate the 2019 deposit amount after reducing it to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on tour operators.

Under the new regulation, tour companies offering services in a specific area or the domestic market are mandated to place a security deposit of 10,000 baht or 50,000 baht respectively, up from the reduced rates of 3,000 baht and 15,000 baht.

Meanwhile, inbound tour companies and general tour companies offering outbound packages are required to deposit 100,000 baht and 200,000 baht respectively, up from 30,000 baht and 60,000 baht.

In recent years, there have been numerous cases of tour companies defrauding travellers, particularly outbound tour operators, said Mr Jaturon.

The paltry security deposits were insufficient to compensate victims, leaving many waiting until lawsuits against the perpetrators could be concluded.

“The higher amount should make businesses more cautious in their operations,” he said.

According to the Tourism Department, the main objective of this deposit is to provide advance compensation for tourists affected by tour operators that breach agreements, advertisements and requirements specified under the law.

These offences include abandoning tour groups and providing services that do not match ads, said Mr Jaturon.

“Increasing the deposit amount may improve protection and compensation for tourists in cases of damage to some extent. However, if the primary objective is to reduce fraud or scams against tourists, this may not be a direct solution,” said Kanlayanee Assanee, president of TTAA.

Instead, she said the move will create a burden for licensed companies and could impact their liquidity, especially small and medium-sized operators, while those who intentionally deceive tourists and illegal tour companies are not addressed.

Mrs Kanlayanee said the authority should focus on regulating high-risk operators, cracking down on illegal vendors and addressing complaints quickly.

Meanwhile, the deposit hike should be calculated at an appropriate rate based on actual economic conditions, rather than simply aiming for the same rate as before the pandemic, she noted.

The authorities should also summarise data from previous cases involving damage, including the causes of the problems, the types of operators involved and how effectively the deposit helped mitigate the impact, said Mrs Kanlayanee.

All feedback from the hearing will be considered by the Tourism Business and Guide Committee, chaired by the ministry’s permanent secretary and comprising representatives from private stakeholders, said Mr Jaturon.

Google plans to shift the production of its flagship Pixel smartphones, smartwatches and wireless earbuds from China to Vietnam by 2027, driven by rising geopolitical tensions between the United States and China that have pushed major tech firms to diversify their supply chain risks.

The transition marks a complete shift of high-end product development and manufacturing to Vietnam, building on the success of Pixel smartphone assembly in the country in 2026.

While India remains under consideration as a secondary manufacturing site, Vietnam has emerged as the trusted hub for Google’s more technically complex products.

If successful, Google will become the second major tech giant after Samsung Electronics to fully relocate its manufacturing operations out of China.

Alongside its manufacturing pivot, Google is adjusting its strategy to compete in an increasingly fierce smartphone market. The company has reportedly raised its Pixel shipment target for this year by 8-10%, despite surging costs for memory chips and critical hardware components.

To offset margin pressures, Google has consolidated its memory chip procurement across its cloud and hardware divisions into a single bulk order. The move boosts its bargaining power with dominant suppliers like Micron Technology, Samsung and SK Hynix to secure more favourable contract terms.

Google’s broader strategy – diversifying production away from China, boosting Pixel shipments, and streamlining semiconductor procurement – underscores a deliberate effort to build a resilient supply chain.

The move also reinforces Vietnam’s position as one of Southeast Asia’s top destinations capable of supporting advanced technology manufacturing.

Fire broke out again on Saturday afternoon at Klongthom Center in Bangkok, after a major blaze overnight caused extensive damage to the popular market for second-hand goods, electronics, spare parts and tools.

Black, grey and reddish-brown smoke began billowing from the top of the three-storey building at 2.30pm as firefighters deployed water trucks to contain hotspots and prevent flames from spreading.

Authorities are investigating materials that might have burned, and warning the public that the smoke may contain toxic gases or chemicals.

After inspecting the scene on Worachak Road in Pom Prap Sattru Phai district, Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said the building could not be salvaged.

‘The damage is currently 100%, covering the entire four-rai site. Klongthom Center is probably no more,’ he said. ‘The structure will have to be demolished because it has been severely damaged.’

He said Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) drone teams had surveyed the area, and images showed that the main building had completely collapsed from the inside.

Firefighters were using excavators to clear access routes and reach the interior to extinguish the remaining fires. The operation was being carried out with caution as the building’s structure had suffered extensive damage.

The market building contained various goods, including batteries, solar panels and some chemicals that could produce toxic substances when burned.

Smoke and dust from the fire also present a health hazard, with fine-dust particles, or PM2.5, measured at 630 microgrammes per cubic metre – considered extremely hazardous and far above Thailand’s national standard of 37.5 µg/m³.

People living or working near the site have been urged to wear protective N95 masks, while vulnerable groups should take extra precautions. The wind was expected to blow towards the northeast, the governor said.

An initial inspection found that a sprinkler system in the building had not operated during the fire. Further checks were required.

The fire started at 8.42pm on Friday. The building began to collapse at 10.16pm and the blaze was finally brought under control at 5.32am on Saturday, according to the BMA’s Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.

The fire was believed to have started on the first floor, where large quantities of electronic equipment, audio systems, IT products, LED equipment, solar panels and automotive accessories were stored. The materials provided substantial fuel, causing the blaze to burn for an extended period.

Klongthom Center had about 300 shop stalls and an estimated 100 operators, as some traders operated more than one stall. About 70 operators have so far registered to report losses, while the BMA was collecting information and assessing the extent of the damage. The total value of losses has yet to be determined.

For affected people seeking assistance, the Pom Prap Sattru Phai district office set up a registration point at the Phra Phiren Temple pavilion.

From Sunday onwards, applications can be submitted to the administration section on the second floor of the district office, also from 8am to 4pm.

Nearby commercial buildings affected by the fire included an 88-room dormitory and a warehouse storing plastic goods and phone equipment.

Nine people were injured and taken to various hospitals: four suffered smoke inhalation, three sustained cuts from broken glass, one suffered a shoulder injury after being struck by a falling concrete slab, and one fell from a height and suffered pain in both legs.

Police have been asked to help secure the area because the site contained large quantities of goods that could be vulnerable to theft. The area has been designated a fire zone and outsiders are prohibited from entering.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul also inspected the damaged site and received an update on the operation on Saturday.

The centre’s owner told Mr Anutin that the economic climate and competition from online commerce had taken a toll on the centre and he was not sure if the business could continue.

The building and its assets were insured, and compensation would be provided through the insurance process, Mr Anutin added.

Klongthom Center, built about three decades ago, is an indoor shopping complex developed from the historic Khlong Thom commercial area in central Bangkok, which is known for cheap goods, antiques, second-hand products, spare parts, tools and electronic equipment. The wider area has more than 500 shops.

In 2014, a government campaign to regulate street trading forced many vendors to move from public spaces into private premises and market buildings.

A pub in Huai Khwang district of Bangkok was found to have reopened without a proper licence after previously being ordered to close, with authorities also suspecting a nominee ownership arrangement.

A police officer was given ‘ghost shares’ in the business in return for helping it resolve any legal difficulties, investigators were told.

Police and a special task force from the Department of Provincial Administration raided 577 Club, also known as the ‘Huai Khwang Chinese Pub’, on on Soi Thoranin 3, off Pracha Uthit Road, at 1.30am on Saturday.

Authorities found that the venue was operating as an entertainment establishment without an apparent licence and had previously been ordered to close in August last year.

Several Vietnamese employees who could speak Chinese were found at the venue. Officials were also told that the pub placed importance on hiring staff who could communicate in Chinese.

As well, investigators found a Chinese national who appeared to have the authority to give orders to employees and intervene in problems at the venue, authorities said.

The venue also accepted payments for food and drinks through foreign platforms, including Alipay and WeChat.

The recipient name displayed for payments was 577 Club Saeng Mungkorn Thong Co Ltd.

Authorities are expanding their investigation into possible Chinese investment, nominee arrangements and financial transactions.

During the raid, 132 customers were found at the venue, including 65 Thais and 67 Chinese nationals.

Officials seized drugs found inside, while some customers, both Thai and foreign, tested positive for narcotics. They were taken into the legal process.

Authorities said the venue could face a five-year closure order.

Nominee confesses

Deputy Interior Minister Polapee Suwunchwee said an in-depth investigation found that the business was actually financed and owned by a Chinese investor, but the person listed as the legal owner was a Thai man, identified only as ‘Mr Chart’.

Mr Chart reportedly confessed that he was merely a ‘nominee’ hired to hold ownership on behalf of the foreigner, according to the minister, who was present during Saturday’s raid.

Further investigation uncovered information indicating that the venue had given ‘ghost shares’ to a police officer known as ‘DorSor Joe’.

The officer’s role was to resolve any problems the venue had with law enforcement agencies, allowing it to continue operating, Mr Polapee said.

Huai Khwang has become a major residential area for the new generation of Chinese people coming to live or work in Thailand, and is dubbed ‘Bangkok’s second Chinatown’.

Some Chinese-run businesses in the area have also faced scrutiny over nominee shareholding, illicit financial activities and gambling when authorities stepped up a crackdown this year.

Phuket Provincial Police have reported progress in the rollout of an AI-powered surveillance network designed to improve public safety and tackle traffic problems across the island.

The Phuket Eyes project was launched in January to strengthen security in the resort province, which welcomes at least 13 million visitors and generates more than 500 billion baht annually, the second-highest provincial total nationwide.

Pol Maj Gen Sinlert Sukhum, commander of Phuket Provincial Police, said the project was initiated under government policy and the direction of Pol Lt Gen Surapong Thanomjit, then commissioner of Provincial Police Region 8.

The first phase, costing 98.74 million baht, added 503 AI cameras to 233 existing units, creating a network of 736 cameras covering Phuket’s three districts and 11 police stations.

The system comprises 389 fixed-view cameras, 68 facial-recognition cameras, 30 pan-tilt cameras and 16 licence plate recognition cameras. It can process vehicle registration data within fractions of a second and track targeted vehicles and individuals in real time.

The network is linked to databases containing more than 1,300 arrest warrants in Phuket and over 100,000 warrants nationwide maintained by the Central Investigation Bureau.

It alerts officers when wanted people or suspicious vehicles enter the province by land or air or pass through checkpoints.

At Tha Chatchai checkpoint, facial-recognition cameras operate alongside an X-ray system that checks vehicle undercarriages for suspicious objects.

Two pilot Smart Poles have been installed in Phuket Town and Patong Beach, featuring SOS emergency call systems linked directly to the command centre as well as public-address systems.

Police have also deployed 24 body cameras for patrol and checkpoint officers. At Patong Beach, an AI-based warning system detects people entering the sea during red-flag conditions, allowing officials to intervene.

The Command and Control Centre, known as War Room 191, operates around the clock with 16 monitoring screens and is linked to sub-centres at all 11 police stations.

A GPS-enabled mobile application under development will allow residents and tourists to report emergencies in Thai, English, Chinese and Russian. The system can also detect traffic violations and automatically issue fines.

The network became fully operational in July. Authorities will assess arrest figures and cost-effectiveness after three months.

Police have proposed a second phase costing more than 100 million baht to expand coverage.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul plans to host a get-together for coalition cabinet ministers next week amid speculation of a cabinet reshuffle and questions over the government’s unity.

Mr Anutin said the gathering has yet to be finalised, with no date or venue confirmed.

Asked whether the planned dinner meant there would be no cabinet reshuffle in the near future, the prime minister declined to answer.

The government wants to consolidate its strength and discuss strategies ahead of an expected opposition no-confidence motion.

Pheu Thai leader Julapun Amornvivat said on Friday that he had heard about the planned gatherings but the dates were yet to be confirmed.

Mr Julapun also played down concerns over former party leader Cholnan Srikaew’s planned appearance at an opposition forum on the “crisis of confidence in Thai politics” today.

He said the party does not prohibit members from taking part in public discussions, and the event was not expected to focus on the government.

Mr Julapun expressed confidence in Dr Cholnan’s judgement but said he would discuss the matter with him again following concerns the forum could target the government.

“This activity can be beneficial if it is with good intentions. But if it becomes political, it could amount to using state funds for political purposes,” he said.

Asked whether Dr Cholnan’s participation could create friction within the coalition, Mr Julapun dismissed the suggestion, saying differences of opinion are normal.

He insisted the coalition parties were working together without divisions.

The Bank of Thailand expects unemployment to rise in the near future as the Thai labour market shifts towards greater capital intensity and away from labour-intensive activities.

Speaking after the central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on Wednesday, MPC secretary Don Nakornthab said the panel is monitoring the labour market and although a new wave of investment has begun, it has not generated as many jobs as in the past.

According to the Board of Investment (BoI), labour demand typically tends to increase in line with rising investment values. However, modern investment models emphasise capital intensity and advanced technology over manual labour.

BoI data shows total labour demand rose from roughly 100,000 workers in 2018 to nearly 250,000 in 2025, driven by an expansion in investment capital. However, investment growth has increasingly diverged from labour demand.

The labour-to-capital ratio, which measures the number of workers required per unit of investment capital, declined to 0.2 workers per million baht in 2025 from a peak of 0.4-0.45 workers per million baht in 2021.

“Looking at this ratio, we’re using less labour these days than before. For example, a 100-unit investment used to create about 20 jobs, but now that same investment might only hire 10 people,” Mr Don said.

For the near term, the central bank expects both employment and job security to weaken, driven by several factors. The number of jobs created by newly invested businesses is insufficient to offset job losses from businesses that are closing.

Moreover, businesses are increasingly hiring foreign workers to address skills shortages among Thai workers, particularly in terms of education and language proficiency. In addition, some Thai workers tend to be selective about the types of jobs they are willing to take, he said.

Employers are also turning to temporary and contract workers to reduce salary and welfare costs, while gaining greater flexibility in workforce management, noted the regulator.

While investment has been growing in the digital sector, particularly in data centres driven by the artificial intelligence (AI) technology cycle, the positive spillover to the broader Thai economy remains limited, said Mr Don.

Thailand’s technology exports have increased significantly in recent years, primarily driven by the AI boom, but this growth has largely relied on imported inputs.

The import content of technology exports was 48% in 2018 and surged to 70% in the first four months of 2026, highlighting the growing reliance on foreign inputs. As a result, the benefits to the Thai economy remain limited, Mr Don noted.

According to the social outlook report by the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) released on Monday, Thailand’s unemployment rate remained stable at 0.95% of the workforce in the second quarter, equivalent to 400,000 unemployed people, compared with 0.94% in the first quarter of this year. For 2025, the unemployment rate was 0.81%.

The number of employed people in the country tallied 41.5 million in the second quarter of 2026, up 5.1% year-on-year. There were 41.1 million employed people in the first quarter of this year, when employment grew by 4.6%.

Growth in the second quarter was driven by increases in both agricultural and non-agricultural employment, with the construction sector recording the highest growth, noted the NESDC.

A risk to agricultural employment is the super El Niño phenomenon, as several areas have already begun experiencing drought conditions that are expected to persist until the first half of 2027. This pattern could affect agricultural output, farmers’ incomes and demand for agricultural labour, prompting some workers to move to other sectors of the economy.

In addition, illegal employment of migrant workers in occupations reserved for Thais is expected to increase, said the NESDC.

In fiscal 2026, authorities found 3,217 migrants working illegally, with nearly one-third involved in occupations reserved for Thais, up 19.3% year-on-year, indicating authorities need to step up inspections and law enforcement measures, noted the state planning agency.

A PhD medical student has fallen victim to a call-centre scam gang posing as a mobile phone company employee and a police officer, who duped him into transferring money and handing cash to their accomplices, resulting of losses of 11 million baht over three days.

The victim, identified only as ‘Bank’, on Friday brought evidence to the offices of the Sai Mai Tong Rod (Survive) group, whose Facebook page has 500,000 followers and serves as a forum for people needing help.

The 25-year-old man said his ordeal began at 3pm on Aug 22, when he received a phone call from someone claiming to be an employee of a mobile phone company.

The caller told him that someone had used his name to register a phone number in Loei province to defraud other people.

He was told to contact the Muang Loei police station immediately if he was not involved. The call was then transferred to a man claiming to be a police officer.

The scammer then added him on the Line messaging app and made a video call, so that Mr Bank could see that he was indeed talking to someone in uniform.

The bogus police officer took advantage of the victim’s emotional state, as he was under stress while working on a research project. The ‘police officer’ claimed failure to comply would ruin everything he had worked so hard to achieve academically, and could even result in his parents being arrested.

The scammer also instructed him to deceive his family by claiming he needed financial support to pursue further studies in Switzerland.

Frightened and convinced by the bogus officer, Mr Bank made 11 transfers on Aug 23 to six bank accounts, totalling 4.5 million baht.

The scammers then claimed the amount was insufficient and instructed him to prepare cash, saying they would send people to collect it from his residence.

The cash pickups were made on three consecutive days: 1.6 million baht on Aug 23, 2 million on Aug 24 and another 2.9 million on Aug 25. The losses now totalled 10,995,000 baht, according to the victim.

Late on Aug 25, the scammers called again and threatened that people linked to the bank accounts would come to kill him to silence him. They ordered him to flee.

After Mr Bank fled and called his family to tell them what had happened, he learned that he had been duped and immediately reported the case to the Phaya Thai police station in Bangkok.

Ekkapop Luangprasert, the founder of the Sai Mai Tong Rod Facebook page, urged police to examine CCTV footage to identify and track down the people who collected the cash from the victim’s residence.

As the incident had only recently occurred, he said investigators should still be able to trace the financial transactions and follow the money trail.

He also warned people who allow their bank accounts to be used as mule accounts that they would face legal action and be held liable for compensating victims for the damage caused.