
Thai GDP forecast cut to 1.7% amid multiple crises and political uncertainty
Thanawat Pholvichai, President of UTCC and the centre's chief adviser, outlined a string of mounting concerns: the ongoing trade war and potential US tariffs on Thai goods, the Israel-Iran conflict, rising tensions along the Thai-Cambodian border, domestic political instability, and the effectiveness of the government's stimulus disbursement.
The revised forecast assumes no further escalation in any of these risk areas.
The outlook hinges on the US imposing only 10–15% tariffs on Thai products — with negotiations now entering the final 10 days before the July 8 deadline.
It also assumes a quick de-escalation of both the Middle East conflict and Thai-Cambodian border issues, and that Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra remains in office throughout 2025, enabling 50% of the national budget to be disbursed.
Export growth is still expected to come in at +2.5%. - The Nation/ANN
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The Star
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Migrants bordered by uncertainty
Hundreds of thousands of Cambodian migrant workers have been heading home from Thailand as the two countries work to keep a ceasefire in armed clashes along their border. Tensions between the countries have escalated due to disputes over pockets of land along their 800km border. A five-day clash in July left at least 43 people dead and displaced more than 260,000 in both South-East Asian nations. A fragile ceasefire brokered by Malaysia, with backing from the United States and China, appears to be holding while officials try to resolve issues underlying the conflict. The retreat has left many of the workers streaming back to Cambodia wondering how to get by after they left jobs that enabled them to send money back to their families. Kri Phart, a 56-year-old poultry worker, said he began packing after reading a post by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet on Facebook urging migrants to return to Cambodia. 'I have no idea if the fighting will really stop and with fewer and fewer Cambodians in Thailand, I got nervous. I didn't want to be the last Cambodian migrant in Thailand. Military policemen patrolling the main road of Kamrieng. — AP 'I got scared because of the border conflict,' said Kri Phart, one of thousands of Cambodians streaming shoulder-to-shoulder through the Daung International Border Gate last week, hauling rainbow-coloured bags, appliances and even guitars in the 40°C heat. 'Many of the Cambodians I knew working in Thailand ran away. Everyday, more and more of us fled,' he said. The reasons driving Cambodians to flee Thailand are varied. Human rights activists reported that some migrant workers had been attacked by gangs of young Thais. Others were alarmed by unsubstantiated rumours that the Cambodian government would seize their land and revoke their citizenships if they didn't return home by mid-August. Cambodia's Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training estimates that 1.2 million Cambodians were working in Thailand when the border disputes began to escalate in June. Estimates vary, but Sun Mesa, a ministry spokesman, said at least 780,000 – about 65% – have returned to Cambodia. He said the workers could find jobs with equal pay and benefits back home. Many of those who were driven by poverty or climate change to leave for work in Thailand have expressed doubts. 'Now that I am back, there is going to be no income for a while and this will really put my family in a bad situation,' said Thouk Houy, 26, who left a job at a leather factory south of Bangkok that enabled her to send US$70 (RM296) to US$100 (RM422) a month back to her parents. 'I'm the last of my siblings who is still single, meaning it's my responsibility to support my parents. I don't know how I can do that now that I am back home,' she said. 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'These kinds of conflicts demonstrate how precarious migrant livelihoods are in Cambodia,' Green said. An overseas advocacy group, the Khmer Movement for Democracy, has urged the government to defer loan payments and provide incentives for companies to hire returning migrants. 'Without economic safeguards, families of returning migrants will not be able to repay their debts and financial institutions will be at their throats,' said Mu Sochua, the group's president. 'We are talking about the poorest of the poor, who will be deprived of incomes.' Meng Yeam, who was trying to wave down a taxi while keeping an eye on his belongings, said he managed to send his family back home 20,000 baht (RM2,594) while working as a manager at a rubber factory in eastern Thailand's Chonburi province. More than 90% of the Cambodians working in the factory have left, the 32-year-old said. Meng Yeam said he expected his family to be okay, though they won't be able to save as much as it did while he was working in Thailand. And he was glum about the prospects for things to return to normal. 'Cambodia and Thailand need each other to do well, but for now, it seems like we just cannot get along,' he said. 'I hope we can work in Thailand again one day, but who knows, maybe I will be retired by the time we stop fighting.' — AP


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Cambodian FM urges UNDP to continue support for kingdom's key areas
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The Star
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Cambodian soldier in landmine planting video identified as same from joint patrols
PHNOM PENH: A recent post by the Cambodian media outlet Fresh News International on Facebook claimed that Thailand had staged photos and videos of landmine planting to falsely accuse Cambodia. The post suggested that ethnic Thai Cambodians from Surin, fluent in Khmer, were dressed in Cambodian military uniforms and used equipment easily available in Thai markets. However, a Facebook page called "RTA Trend" posted a photo of a Cambodian soldier featured in both the photo and the landmine planting video, with the caption: "Trust no one standing so close! New evidence proves Thailand didn't stage it! Maly... Look here! Photos of Thai and Cambodian soldiers who once patrolled together – it's the same person in both the photo and the video!" - Photo: The Nation/ANN Additionally, the page further criticised the use of traps, stating: "Brutal and underhanded, a spike trap is a device used to capture animals or people, made from sharp wood or metal. It is set in a hole in the ground and camouflaged with wooden grids and leaves.' 'Found in the Phu Makua area, it clearly implicates Cambodia. This trap poses a significant risk to civilians, violating international humanitarian law and breaching the Geneva Conventions and the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) (Protocol II).' - The Nation/ANN