Thailand registered 7,979 new businesses in June 2025, up 12.14% from May and 13.61% from June 2024, according to Poonpong Nayanaparkor, director-general of the Commerce Ministry's Business Development Department. Registered capital for the month reached 15.231 billion baht, a 4.12% increase from May. The first half of 2025 saw 44,773 new business registrations, a 2.13% increase from the same period in 2024, though registered capital dropped 25.44% to 111.2 billion baht year-on-year. E-commerce led growth sectors with 1,296 registrations up 56.9% year-on-year, followed by restaurants and clothing retail businesses with 15.67% and 83.46% growth respectively. Business closures in June totaled 1,760 registrations with 6.8 billion baht in capital, while the first half saw 7,024 closures, up 12.49% from 2024. Overall, 2.09 million registered entities operate in Thailand with combined capital of 32.39 trillion baht, with 1.004 million actively operating businesses holding 23.81 trillion baht in registered capital.

Thanawan Chiarannan, Head of Consumer Lending at CIMB Thai Public Company Limited, said the overall home mortgage market in 2025 remains stable for both new and resale properties. Although government real estate stimulus measures are beginning to have a positive effect on buying sentiment, most consumers are increasingly focused on managing liquidity and long-term expenses.

"As the real estate market slows, banks are shifting emphasis from competing on new loan disbursements to caring for existing customers and expanding the refinancing market," Thanawan said. "This is an opportunity to significantly reduce customers' financial costs while banks can still grow based on customers with good repayment histories."

Bank data shows that many home loan customers who have been paying for more than three years have never refinanced, despite being able to reduce interest burden and monthly installments. Especially as the economy recovers only partially, reducing financial costs is an effective way to increase household liquidity.

To address this opportunity, CIMB Thai has launched a home refinancing program with a first-year interest rate of just 1.44%, the lowest rate the bank has ever offered. The bank can offer this competitive rate because it views refinancing customers as a quality segment with consistent repayment histories and clear credit data that allows accurate assessment of repayment capacity. This allows the bank to manage risk efficiently while passing benefits to customers through competitive rates.

For customers needing additional liquidity, the bank also offers refinancing with additional borrowing, allowing customers to use increased collateral value as additional credit lines for necessary expenses such as home improvements, education, or consolidating higher-interest debts.

The bank also provides a home refinancing cash-exchange product for customers wanting to boost liquidity with greater flexibility, without needing to wait three years as required by original loan terms before considering refinancing options. This allows customers to manage their financial obligations appropriately with changing circumstances and needs.

"Refinancing is one of CIMB Thai's core strengths," the bank stated. "We offer products covering all customer segments seeking to reduce interest, lower installments, increase liquidity, or plan long-term debt management, allowing customers to choose solutions matching their financial goals."

Beyond refinancing expansion, in 2025 the bank is also adjusting its new and resale home lending strategy to be more attractive, focusing on the home market at 5 million baht and above and Wealth customer segments, which still have growth potential and diverse financial service needs.

Customers with home loans of 10 million baht or more will be automatically upgraded to CIMB Preferred status, receiving comprehensive financial and investment benefits including investment management services, special transaction privileges, and access to diverse investment products. Leveraging the CIMB group's comprehensive investment product range including debt instruments and equities, the bank aims to provide full-service financial solutions.

The Royal Thai Police opened a ceremony for a training and tactics competition involving 753 police personnel on July 16, 2026 at 8:30 a.m., presided over by Police General Siam Bunserm, the Police Commissioner, and attended by numerous senior commanders and police representatives.

The competition featured two main components: a hand-to-hand combat training event with 53 personnel per unit (45 active competitors, 5 alternates, 1 trainer, and 2 assistants), and a police tactics training competition focused on checkpoint establishment and interception procedures, with 11-13 personnel per unit totaling 117 participants. In total, 753 police officers from units including the Traffic Police Command, Investigation and Special Operations Command, and Security and Crowd Control Command participated in the program.

Police General Siam stated that the National Police Office mandates all commands to conduct training and competitions to maintain discipline, uphold conduct standards, and develop police personnel capabilities. He noted that while the competition seeks to identify winning units for awards at the annual Police Day celebration, its broader purpose is to strengthen discipline, unity, and solidarity within police units.

The Agricultural Bank of Thailand (BAAC) conducted its savings lottery draw on July 16, 2569, announcing six major prize winners across multiple lottery series. The top prize of 40 million baht went to a winner at the Nonthaburi branch for the Khunaplan Emerald series (9th draw). Other major winners included a Rayong branch holder who won 20 million baht from the Gold Pot series (5th draw) and a Ratchaburi branch winner who claimed 20 million baht from the Emerald Tueesihn series (23rd draw). Additional winners received 10 million baht prizes from the Jade Dragon series (Ratchaburi province) and Silver Pot series (Chon Buri province), while a Khon Kaen branch holder won 5 million baht from the digital lottery (44th draw).

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul met with executives from more than 40 European companies today (July 16) at Government House during a meeting with the EU-ASEAN Business Council and the European Ass...

At 11:40 a.m. on July 16, 2024, at the parliament grounds, Wilas Chanthphitthak, a former Bangkok MP from the Democrat Party, announced the expiration of the two-year construction warranty for the parliament building on July 15. He noted that as a former chair of the House anti-corruption committee, he had monitored the project during multiple expansions and found numerous defects, leading to 65 complaints to the National Anti-Corruption Commission. He challenged anyone who disputes his claims to sue him.

Wilas said July 15 marked the completion of the two-year warranty period and the first day beyond contract. He proposed seven actions for parliament:

1. The contract contains three separate performance bonds totaling no less than 1.5 billion baht, most of which have been paid, with only one installment remaining.

2. The warranty period should extend beyond July 15, 2024, until all defects are corrected, as the contractor has not yet been called to repair the damage.

3. Parliament must expedite repairs, as numerous problems exist—including loose tiles on riverside embankments—and the warranty timeline must be extended until all issues are resolved.

4. Parliament should not create budgets to benefit the contractor by funding repairs in problem areas, such as the 123 million baht glass hall renovation this year, which itself contains multiple contract violations.

5. The 14 construction contracts contain serious defects, with all subcontractors poorly vetted and uninvestigated. One subcontractor received 2.993 billion baht in work yet submitted bids during the original contractor selection, raising suspicion of impropriety that warrants investigation.

6. Officials are being threatened and warned not to investigate, with threats of transfer if they persist. Such intimidation must stop, and any transfers will be contested in court.

7. Wilas, who has already filed 65 complaints, continues to find numerous defects and plans to submit additional complaints, particularly regarding water damage issues.