Thailand

Thailand, a country located in Southeast Asia, is bordered by Myanmar to the north and northwest, Lao PDR and Cambodia to the east, Malaysia and the Gulf of Thailand to the south, and the Andaman Sea to the southwest. A unified Thai kingdom was established in the mid-14th century. Known originally as Siam, the country was renamed Thailand (Land of the Free) in 1939. Thailand’s population is currently 70 million, its capital city is Bangkok, its currency is the baht (THB), and the official language is Thai.

Thailand is Southeast Asia’s second largest economy after Indonesia. With a well-developed infrastructure, a free-enterprise economy, and generally pro-investment policies, Thailand historically has had a strong economy. However, since 2019, the economy has declined due to weaker demand for exports reflecting the impact of US-China trade tensions, slowing public investments, the COVID-19 pandemic, and a drought impacting agricultural production. In 2020, the Thai economy declined by 6.1% compared with a growth of 2.3% in 2019. While increases were seen in the manufacturing, construction, agriculture, and financial sectors, severe decreases were encountered in the accommodation, transport, wholesale, and retail sectors. For 2021, the current expectation is an increase of 1.2% based on the recovery in the global economy, government expenditure, improvements in domestic demand, and the low growth base in 2020. A growth of 3.5% to 4.5% is forecast for 2022. 

PwC has had a presence in Thailand for 62 years. Our client base includes some of the largest Thai and multinational companies as well as government institutions. Our close interaction with both economic and state bodies allows us to keep up with the fast-changing business environment. We have over 2,000 people working in our Bangkok-based office.