The UOB Business Outlook Study 2026 reveals that over 70% of Thai SMEs are deploying AI in their operations, outpacing the regional average and helping them reduce costs and boost operational efficiency. More than 80% are planning to expand internationally over the next 2-3 years, with ASEAN emerging as a key market for both growth and risk mitigation. Released on June 29, 2026, the survey gathered input from 265 business owners and senior decision-makers across various industries nationwide, marking UOB's first semi-annual publication of the study in seven years to better track rapidly changing global and geopolitical conditions affecting business.

Thai SMEs are leading the region in technology adoption, with over seven in ten survey respondents implementing AI in their businesses—above the regional average—and over eight in ten already using digital solutions. Among AI-adopting businesses, 58% reported reduced operating costs while 44% cited improved operational efficiency, demonstrating AI's tangible business value. However, rising operating costs remain the top concern for Thai SMEs, followed by ASEAN market uncertainty, high interest rates, and economic slowdown. These pressures are particularly acute for sectors with high operational costs and complex supply chains, such as manufacturing, construction, and consumer goods.

Despite these challenges, businesses prioritize long-term competitiveness over short-term cost-cutting, ranking ESG (37%), customer base expansion (33%), and digital transformation (27%) as higher business priorities than cost reduction (25%) over the next 1-3 years. UOB Bank Thailand Deputy CEO Veeranong Jiranakorn noted that Thai businesses are operating in an increasingly complex environment where cost pressures, supply chain disruptions, and geopolitical uncertainty are no longer temporary challenges but structural changes requiring fundamental business model adaptation.

On June 29, 2026, Deputy National Police Chief Trairong Phiwphan, speaking as the spokesperson for the National Police Office, announced that following news reports of a Thai female flight attendant being detained by Australian authorities, the National Police Office has coordinated with the Australian Federal Police (AFP) office in Thailand. The AFP has confirmed that the individual is indeed in detention and is currently undergoing Australian legal proceedings.

According to preliminary information provided by the AFP, the person has no prior criminal record in Australia. She is currently being held at Dame Phyllis Frost Correctional Centre, a women's correctional facility in Victoria state, while awaiting the conclusion of Australian legal proceedings.

The National Police Office will maintain close coordination with relevant domestic and international agencies to monitor case developments, investigate the facts of the matter, and pursue appropriate legal action.

LAMPANG — A speeding sedan veered off a curve and slammed into a used car dealership in Lampang on June 29, 2026, damaging five vehicles before the driver died at the scene. Police also found suspected methamphetamine pills inside the wrecked car.

Rescue workers were dispatched to a used car lot on Chamathewi Road (Old Lampang–Hang Chat Road) in Bo Haeo subdistrict, Mueang district, after the 191 emergency call center received reports at around 12:51 that a sedan had overturned and crashed into the dealership, trapping the driver.

At the scene, rescuers found the dealership's steel roof structure had partially collapsed from the impact. The silver Nissan Almera, registered in Lampang, was severely damaged and wedged against vehicles on display.

A man believed to be 35-40 years old was found unconscious behind the wheel with critical injuries. Rescue workers used hydraulic cutting equipment to free him and performed CPR, but he was pronounced dead shortly afterward.

A witness told police the sedan had been traveling at high speed, with two other vehicles following closely behind. The witness slowed down and pulled to the roadside, sensing danger. The sedan then failed to negotiate a curve and crashed into the dealership without hitting any other moving vehicles.

During an inspection of the wreckage, officers found a blue zip-lock bag containing approximately seven methamphetamine pills scattered inside the passenger compartment and near the rear door. The area was sealed off while investigators, forensic officers, prosecutors and a forensic pathologist examined the scene.

The crash damaged five vehicles in total, including the Nissan involved in the accident, an Isuzu SUV, a pickup truck parked beside the road, and two vehicles displayed inside the dealership.

Police are continuing to document evidence, verify the identity of the deceased and vehicle owner, and investigate the source of the suspected drugs found in the car.

Ms. Sirinart Ruedhimol, a 17-year-old Grade 9 student at Ban Nangua School (Charoenwitthayakarn) under Phetchabun Primary Educational Area Office 1, has been praised for her heroic rescue of a motorcycle driver struck by a truck trailer on June 17. The incident occurred around 8:00 a.m. on the bypass road between Samnak Man and Ban Tok in Nangua Subdistrict, Mueang District, Phetchabun Province, as the student was riding to school. She noticed a parked truck trailer and locals waving for help, and upon turning back discovered the victim with his right leg severed near the knee and left leg severely deformed.

Without hesitation, Sirinart used the victim's shirt to apply a tourniquet and stop the bleeding while keeping him conscious through continuous conversation to prevent him from losing consciousness. She called emergency hotline 1669 and police hotline 191 to report the incident. Within approximately 10 minutes, an ambulance from Phetchabun Hospital arrived and transported the victim to safety. The victim is now in stable condition under close medical supervision.

Sirinart revealed that the victim's condition was critical when she found him, barely able to speak. She emphasized that if she hadn't turned back or if emergency services had been delayed, the outcome could have been tragic. Two elderly residents who witnessed the accident had no mobile phones and could only watch helplessly. Sirinart learned her life-saving techniques from first aid training at her school and from her former nurse sister. She felt immense relief upon learning the victim would survive, grateful that her training and quick response made a difference in saving a life.

Every trader has experienced it: a clear entry signal arrives, the entry point looks perfect, and the order executes flawlessly on the chart. But when the actual price comes back, it's slipped by a few pips—or the order never filled at all. There's no obvious reason, no market news, just the silent friction of an order execution environment never designed to operate at peak efficiency in those critical seconds when you need it most.

The problem is most traders evaluate brokers based on visible features like advertised spreads or platform appearance, without questioning whether those conditions actually hold during live trading. Yet research on retail execution quality has long shown that slippage and order rejection rates can significantly erode traders' theoretical advantages, particularly for high-frequency and news-driven strategies.

When accumulated over a year of trading, the difference between consistent fills and slipped prices is no longer a negligible figure. It becomes the single variable that determines whether a strategy actually scales or not. This is why experienced traders view execution quality as the primary factor when evaluating brokers.

Volatility is the real test.

Almost every broker performs adequately in calm markets with tight liquidity and orderly price movement. The true measure of an order execution system is how it behaves during central bank announcements, CPI releases, non-farm payroll data, and geopolitical shocks—periods when liquidity fragments and quote delays spike across the market.

During these times, the price impact hidden in a single order multiplies rapidly. Brokers that built their infrastructure on the assumption of calm markets typically push that burden onto traders through wider spreads, requotes, and order rejections.

Inki Cho, senior financial markets strategist at Exness, explains: "The 30-second window around major economic data releases is where execution infrastructure separates from execution marketing. That's when order books thin out and every broker's order routing logic is tested in public."

Designing systems for the worst case

Historically, industry responses to volatility have been reactive—widening spreads or tightening rejection criteria to protect brokers rather than clients. A more prudent approach starts from the opposite assumption: the most difficult conditions should form the basis of design, not be treated as exceptions.

This is where Exness comes in. In unstable market conditions, the critical question isn't just how fast a broker can display prices, but whether prices, liquidity, and order execution remain coordinated enough to keep markets genuinely tradable when volatility rises. In such an environment, what matters is how well the displayed price, available liquidity, and final order execution remain aligned under pressure.

This becomes especially important during high-impact news periods, when execution quality typically deteriorates across the industry. In those moments, even well-timed entries can be undermined if spreads widen significantly.

On June 28, 2569, Deputy Inspector Thanit Thaipakdi of Sattahip Police Station in Chon Buri received a complaint from 71-year-old Nang Anu after she was defrauded by scammers posing as a durian seller on social media. She transferred 700 baht but never received the goods.

Nang Anu explained that she spotted a post selling durians from a popular Facebook page in the Sattahip area and ordered 2 kilograms for 700 baht, providing her phone number in the comments. A person then contacted her via Line messaging app, sending durian photos and order details that matched her information exactly, making her believe she was dealing with the legitimate seller. The scammer claimed to have many customers and asked her to wait for delivery, later saying the durians were left at her home and sending a QR code for payment. Her grandson helped scan and transfer the 700 baht.

Upon returning home, Nang Anu found no durians. When she contacted the real seller, she discovered they had never received the money and the person who contacted her via Line was not them. She realized she had been defrauded by scammers exploiting information from the Facebook order.

Although not concerned about losing the money, Nang Anu wanted her experience to serve as a warning to the public, especially elderly people, as the scammers use sophisticated methods and detailed knowledge of orders to deceive easily. She advised people buying online to carefully verify the seller's identity and avoid transferring money to individuals contacting them through private channels without confirmation from the official shop.

Investigators have registered her complaint and are gathering evidence to identify and prosecute the perpetrators. Police also urged the public to check the credibility of online shops before transferring money and to make purchases through platforms with buyer protection systems to reduce the risk of fraud.