LHFG forecasts Thailand's 2025 economy will expand by approximately 2% from government stimulus measures, though it faces external risks including geopolitical tensions, trade tariffs, and volatile global financial markets. The group's research suggests global economic pressure from wars and regional conflicts could push oil prices to $80-90 per barrel, potentially reaching $100 in the latter half of the year, affecting energy-dependent nations like Thailand. The group must also monitor U.S. import tariffs and third-country export screening, which could impact Thailand's automotive, electronics, food, textile, and labor-intensive industries.

Despite these challenges, LHFG believes Thailand will benefit from AI investment, export growth, foreign direct investment, and government stimulus, supporting economic recovery in the second half. In the first half of 2025, LHFG posted net profit of 1,538.6 billion baht, up 37.3% year-on-year, with total assets reaching 425,330 billion baht, a 6.6% increase from end-2024. Total group revenue grew nearly 20%, driven by banking, securities, and fund management businesses, with banking profit up 25%, securities business growth exceeding 200%, and fund management operations up 80%.

LH Bank expanded lending 6.7% to 302,153 billion baht in the first half, outpacing the industry average of 1.8%, with growth across all customer segments. International business transactions grew notably by 27% through CTBC Bank's network—the parent company and Taiwan's top private bank—boosting trade finance fees by 147% and foreign exchange transactions. Management emphasizes quality growth with careful risk management, responsible lending expansion, financial product development for green economy support, and strengthened competitive capacity for Thai SMEs.

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Phuket — Authorities in Phuket have reassured residents and tourists that the island faces no tsunami threat following a magnitude 5.1 earthquake that struck Aceh Province, Indonesia, at 11:18 a.m. local time. Officials confirmed there was no damage. Our previous story: Residents in parts of Phuket reported feeling tremors late Wednesday morning after a moderate earthquake […] UPDATE: Phuket Governor Confirms No Tsunami Risk After Indonesia Quake Tremors Felt -=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=- The Phuket Express - Real. Unbiased. Impactful. In the moment.

On July 23, 2025, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Yuthasak Sasiprapa, along with senior officials, visited Seoul Bio Hub, one of South Korea's largest and most comprehensive biotech and medical startup incubators, known as the "Boston of Korea." The delegation received business pitches from high-potential startups whose technologies could be applied directly to Thailand, including Cursus Bio (obesity treatment), Medical AI (cardiac disease detection), NeoCannBio (cannabis extraction technology for medicine building on Thai herbal traditions), and Petra Intelligence (3D body-scanning technology for health industries).

Yuthasak highlighted the mission's key achievement: agreement to launch the Seoul-Thailand Bio Bridge to connect the biotech ecosystems of Seoul and Thailand, enabling seamless collaboration between startups from both nations in investment, joint ventures, and market expansion, supported by global accelerator SYP. Within months, Thailand will open the Seoul-Thailand Startup Innovation Space, an initiative under the Science Diplomacy policy jointly promoted by the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation. Modern diplomacy, he emphasized, now centers on science, technology, and innovation rather than politics and trade alone.

In parallel discussions with SK Bioscience, a world-leading vaccine developer in the SK Group and the first company to develop a complete domestic COVID-19 vaccine for South Korea, the delegation explored technical cooperation on cell-culture-based vaccine manufacturing technology. This method surpasses traditional egg-based production by operating in a closed, sterile system, cutting production time by 2–3 months, enabling larger batches, and quickly adapting to new variants. The talks also covered positioning Thailand as a regional clinical research hub and expanding into animal vaccines to serve Thai livestock and agriculture sectors, with conclusions expected by year-end.

Yuthasak stressed that vaccine sovereignty means more than rapid, safe access during epidemics—it requires Thailand to develop and lead its own health security.

A Chinese man has become an online sensation after attempting to evade drunk driving charges through an implausible fake death scheme involving family members. The man, identified as Sae "Sio," was arrested on drunk driving charges in January and had two prior convictions for unlicensed and impaired driving. Under Chinese law, drunk driving carries penalties including license suspension, one to six months detention, and fines.

Sio claimed he was heavily indebted and feared a criminal record would ruin his chances at a fresh start, so he devised an elaborate escape plan. Months later, he purchased a coffin and scattered empty medicine bottles around his home to suggest a drug overdose. He used cooling equipment to lower his body temperature to appear corpse-like, while his family told authorities his face was disfigured from the overdose and kept it covered. Before sunset that day, his mother and grandmother hastily buried the coffin, while Sio fled to Yunnan province.

When police arrived to investigate, they could not conduct an autopsy as the coffin was already buried. However, multiple suspicious circumstances raised red flags: the family never sought hospital treatment, there was no death certificate from a hospital, no funeral documentation, and no proper household registration cancellation. Relatives and villagers also reported that no one except his mother and grandmother had seen his face.

Police expanded their investigation by reviewing surveillance footage, financial transactions, and phone records, which confirmed Sio was still alive. He was arrested in April and sentenced to five months detention plus a 20,000 yuan fine—roughly equivalent to 100,000 baht. His mother and grandmother were charged with harboring a criminal. The prosecutor noted that staging death to evade the law not only fails to prevent conviction but can result in additional charges. The story went viral on Chinese social media, gaining over 10 million views, with netizens criticizing that the situation could have been avoided by not driving drunk in the first place.

On July 23, 2569, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Chaiyapruck Duangpratthana, acting as secretary of the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC), traveled to Narathiwat province following an armed attack on the Bukesami ranger checkpoint in Rangae district. Assailants used firearms and pipe bombs in the assault, killing five soldiers and injuring two civilians, including a 10-year-old boy.

Upon arrival, Gen. Chaiyapruck convened security officials to review the situation and assess response measures, ordering all units to strengthen enforcement efforts and coordinate aggressive operations to track down those responsible for prosecution. "I will have people search every village and every mountainous area," the general said. "Those who give them shelter, those countries that shelter them—know that we will hunt them to the ends of the earth. The perpetrators need to be careful about eating, sleeping, and moving. Your time as hunters is over; now you are the hunted."

Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt chaired a meeting on July 23, 2025 to address registration fraud involving the issuance of false birth certificates to children of foreign mothers, falsely listing Thai men as fathers to obtain Thai nationality. The operation, dubbed 'Pho Thip,' affected 24 children confirmed to have been illegally registered, with one district-level official already dismissed. The governor confirmed that a fact-finding committee was established immediately upon discovery, with the deputy Bangkok governor overseeing efforts to coordinate with the Interior Ministry for nationality revocation and to identify at-risk cases, such as Thai fathers with multiple foreign wives. Authorities ordered all district offices to conduct detailed reviews, particularly investigating connections with private hospitals that allegedly sold packages for this scheme. Investigations revealed irregularities in six districts, with Bangkok to examine internal discipline and procedural controls, while deeper investigations into private hospitals will be handled by the Interior Ministry and the Royal Thai Police's forensic unit. Governor Chadchart emphasized that no one would be protected from punishment, as this fraud damages the national economy. Deputy Bangkok Administrator Thanit Tanbualee reported preliminary findings of problems in eight district offices beyond Thonburi, and noted that new measures will include stricter verification such as checking whether multiple children of a Thai father share the same foreign mother, with approvals to be given only by senior registry officials.