The Thai national football team gathered at Suvarnabhumi International Airport on August 13 to prepare for their trip to Singapore for the first leg of the 2026 ASEAN Cup semi-finals against Singapore. Thailand finished Group B as champions and face Singapore, Group A runners-up, in a two-leg home-and-away knockout format to advance to the final.

Head coach Anthony Hudson said the team had prepared well throughout the week and would have one final training session before facing Singapore. He thanked BG Pathum United for allowing striker Patrick Gustafsson to join the squad for the knockout rounds after he did not play in the group stage. Hudson noted that Gustafsson's attacking style differs from other players and could provide significant help in this round.

Hudson explained that preparations for Singapore follow the same process used for previous group-stage opponents, though Singapore has improved in player quality, teamwork, and coaching staff familiarity. He emphasized the importance of replicating their previous four match performances.

Right back Naruebadin Weerawathanodm said the team was well-rested after their match against Myanmar and ready to face Singapore, noting that many Singapore players are familiar to Thai League fans. He stressed the importance of securing a good result in the away first leg to take advantage of playing at home in the second leg with supporter backing.

Weerawathanodm appealed to fans to support the team either via television or at the stadium, saying their pressure would benefit the national team. The first semi-final leg takes place on August 15 at Jalan Besar Stadium in Singapore at 8:00 p.m., with the return match scheduled for August 18 at Rajamangala Stadium at 8:00 p.m.

The Energy Regulatory Commission approved a new tiered electricity rate structure for residential customers, reducing the average billing rate by 9 satang per unit from 3.95 baht to 3.86 baht for September through December 2025. Pul Patthana Leesmabatti, secretary of the Energy Regulatory Commission, announced that the meeting on August 5 approved the progressive rate adjustment for residential electricity users after a public consultation process. The new average base rate will be 3.69 baht per unit, down from the current 3.78 baht per unit, effective from September 2025 onwards. When combined with automatic fuel adjustment charges of 16.23 satang per unit for the September-December billing period, the average household electricity charge falls to 3.86 baht per unit before value-added tax.

The rate restructuring applies specifically to residential customers with meters of 5 amperes or less under the Metropolitan Electricity Authority (types 1.1) and Provincial Electricity Authority (types 1.1.1), as well as customers with meters exceeding 5 amperes under types 1.2 and 1.1.2 respectively. The new structure caps the energy rate for the first 200 units at no more than 3 baht per unit. The restructuring also removes public lighting costs from residential rate calculations, reducing public lighting charges by 0.0634 baht per unit for usage above 200 units.

For usage of 201-400 units, the energy rate (excluding fuel adjustment and value-added tax) falls from 4.2218 baht to 4.1584 baht per unit, while usage of 401 units and above drops from 4.4217 baht to 4.3583 baht per unit. The commission also approved expanding the residential customer definition to include users without permanent house registration, provided they maintain continuous residential use, have at least six months of payment history, and complete verification with their local electricity provider. The commission held public hearings from July 24-31, 2025 before approving the changes on August 5, with formal notification to electricity providers on August 11 for implementation starting with September 2025 billing.

Thailand's Department of Internal Administration has ordered an urgent investigation into the distribution of five shotguns as raffle prizes at a celebration of Tambon Chief and Village Headman Day on Koh Phangan in Surat Thani province on August 13, 2025. The incident drew media attention after the event distributed the weapons to lottery winners during a ceremony marking the 134th anniversary of the tradition. The department has taken the matter seriously and issued an emergency order to Surat Thani province to halt the weapon handover and investigate all related facts, including actions by the district officer and officials involved in organizing the event and providing the firearms as prizes. Surat Thani has been given seven days to complete the investigation and report findings to the Internal Administration Department, which will then consider further action. If any violation of law or government regulation is found, strict disciplinary and legal penalties will follow in line with the Prime Minister's policy to strengthen firearms control measures across permitting, trade, ownership, and enforcement against illegal weapons.

The Pure Heart Foundation, partnering with the Community Radio Thailand PBS programme, presented a wheelchair to an 82-year-old elderly person as a royal tribute marking the birthday anniversary of Queen Sirikit, the Queen Mother, on August 12, 2567.

On August 13, 2567, Thiyanrat Nawamawat, chairperson of the Pure Heart Foundation, and Panisaa Khueankaeophakun, a senior reporter for Community Radio Thailand PBS, visited the community behind Thong Nopkhun Temple in Khlong San District, Bangkok. They presented a wheelchair valued at 2,000 baht to Manu Charoenphol, an 82-year-old patient with knee osteoarthritis.

The foundation's chairperson stated that after learning of Manu's situation through the Community Radio Thailand PBS programme, the foundation immediately visited and provided assistance to this patient. This aligns with the foundation's mission to help the poor, elderly, and families facing hardship, particularly by providing essential items that improve daily living convenience and safety while easing the burden on caregivers and families.

Manu's family had sought help through the Community Radio programme due to his degenerative knee disease, which caused him difficulty walking, frequent falls, and memory loss, severely impacting his daily life. His daughter had left her job to care for him full-time, leaving the family with insufficient income to cover household expenses. This assistance not only relieves the family's financial burden and improves their quality of life but also strengthens the community, enabling disadvantaged individuals to achieve sustainable self-reliance. The foundation is committed to serving as a bridge of compassion and generosity, driving Thai society toward genuine sharing and mutual support.

Thanavorn Pholwithai, rector and chair of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce's Economic and Business Forecasting Center, announced that the Thai Chamber of Commerce business confidence index for July 2025 stands at 41.5 points, up 0.1 points from the previous month but marking the lowest reading in 35 months—or three years. The business sector attributes the decline to a stalled Thai economy, sluggish tourism growth, and fragile purchasing power stemming from flat incomes and high household debt levels. Businesses also face unfair competition from foreign goods and services, particularly in retail and food service sectors, driving down commercial sales. Rising production costs for electricity and fuel continue to erode profit margins and strain liquidity, while access to credit remains problematic.

Looking ahead six months, most business operators expect economic conditions to worsen across all sectors except services, with no significant recovery expected until year-end. Consumer confidence, however, showed its second consecutive monthly improvement in July, rising from 50.7 to 51.8 points, buoyed by government relief measures and easing oil prices. Agricultural commodity prices such as rice have also begun to stabilize, though the index remains below 100, reflecting lingering concerns about slow economic recovery and persistently high living costs. Uncertainty around ongoing Middle Eastern tensions poses a further risk to consumer sentiment.

Despite the uptick in consumer confidence, which is expected to accelerate in the third and fourth quarters through ongoing government stimulus and budget disbursements, Thai businesses remain vulnerable to production cost pressures, fuel volatility, liquidity shortages, and aggressive dumping of cheap foreign goods. Officials called on the government to quickly implement protective measures for local businesses against unfair foreign competition, manage fuel costs more effectively, improve access to low-interest credit, and support debt restructuring for small and medium enterprises.

Against the backdrop of major shifts in the global economy, ESG has moved beyond corporate social responsibility. Organizations must now drive structural transitions to strengthen competitiveness and achieve sustainable growth in what is called the Beyond ESG era.

Prachathai Thurakit is convening Beyond ESG: Thailand Transition Toward Sustainable Growth, a flagship annual conference that brings together policymakers, government and private-sector leaders, and top experts to exchange insights on critical issues shaping the future of Thai business and the nation. These include energy transition, technology, new industries, finance, and human capital development.

Beyond ESG represents a shift from theory to action and business transition, moving toward building Thailand's future together.

Building on years of continuous ESG Forum events, Prachathai Thurakit is now elevating the conference to focus on the "transition economy." The larger question driving the event is how Thailand can navigate this transition to maintain its competitive edge globally and drive economic growth toward high-income country status within 12 years—as energy, environment, artificial intelligence, and human talent become the new drivers of national competitiveness.

With capital increasingly flowing toward businesses that create value and demonstrate sustainability, Beyond ESG is not the endpoint of sustainability but rather the beginning of building Thailand's future.

For Prachathai Thurakit's 50th year, the Beyond ESG: Thailand Transition conference will gather all sectors to find answers on how Thailand must transform to elevate its long-term competitive capacity and potential. The event is scheduled for September 3, 2026, from 12:30 to 16:30 at the Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok.