Thai SMEs urged to utilise FTAs to expand into new markets

11 Sept 15:40 Key points summarised by AI

The Commerce Ministry is providing concrete support and guidelines for Thai SMEs to leverage Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and expand into promising overseas markets.
The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) — comprising Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein — is highlighted as a key new market, with the Thailand-EFTA FTA expected to take effect in early 2027.
Thai SMEs are advised to focus on high-quality, value-added products and services that meet international standards to successfully penetrate markets like EFTA.
Thai exporters have already demonstrated significant utilization of existing FTA trade preferences, reaching 1.57 trillion baht in the first half of this year, an increase of 7.33%.
The Department of Foreign Trade actively promotes FTA benefits and runs programs, such as 'Boost Up SMEs to FTA Markets,' to help businesses explore new markets and build international networks.

Thailand’s FDI reaches Bt271bn as high-tech projects expand

Yesterday 10:54 Key points summarised by AI

Thailand's foreign direct investment (FDI) surged by 26% year-on-year to Bt271 billion across 971 projects in the first nine months, with a significant portion (494 projects) driven by high-tech industries.
Growth was spearheaded by sectors like digital technology, AI, electric vehicles, and clean energy, largely concentrated in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), with China, the US, Singapore, Japan, and Hong Kong as the top five investment sources.