Thai Times

Covering the Thai Renaissance
Friday, Jul 25, 2025

Thailand's Energy Transformation and Economic Challenges Amid Global and Political Shifts

Thailand advances hydropower storage and grapples with economic shifts amid rising global gold demand and Trump's re-election impact.
With a major initiative underway, Thailand's Electricity Generating Authority (Egat) is set to transform three hydropower dams into energy storage systems using pumped storage hydropower technology, investing 90 billion baht to ensure a stable clean energy supply alongside solar and wind power.

Meanwhile, Thailand is also witnessing a significant surge in gold demand, leading the ASEAN region with an 11% growth in the third quarter of 2024, aligning with global investment trends and driven by high gold prices, as reported by the World Gold Council.

However, the Thai baht is under pressure, declining to a two-month low against the US dollar following Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election on November 5, 2024, with expectations of further weakening due to a stronger dollar and concerns over potential US Federal Reserve interest rate changes.

Trump's presidency is poised to impact Thailand's economy in various ways, presenting both opportunities, such as attracting high-tech investments, and challenges, such as potential declines in Thai exports to the US and China due to protectionist policies and stricter trade measures.

On a different note, Trump's re-election has remarkably increased the wealth of the world's ten richest individuals by a combined $64 billion, with Elon Musk's net worth jumping by $26.5 billion, highlighting the economic ripple effects of political shifts.

Lastly, a personal story from Vietnam emphasizes the unexpected consequences of a hospital error, as a father discovered his daughter was swapped at birth through a DNA test, leading to family tensions and eventually a reunion at a birthday party where suspicions were confirmed.
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