Commentary: The heat is on Thailand to not just muddle through

KUALA LUMPUR, 23 JULY 2026 —

Headline: Commentary: The heat is on Thailand to not just muddle through Lead: SINGAPORE: Thailand’s economy, one of Asia’s brightest stars over a generation ago, has congestion issues. Problems are piling up with very poor timing, made worse by the strains on global business ... Body: Problems are piling up for Thailand's once booming economy and decision-makers need to rise to the occasion, says Daniel Moss for Bloomberg Opinion.

SINGAPORE: Thailand’s economy, one of Asia’s brightest stars over a generation ago, has congestion issues.

Problems are piling up with very poor timing, made worse by the strains on global business from the Iran war. Decision-makers, already beset by disappointing growth, enormous demographic challenges and a tourism industry that’s come down to earth, need to rise to the occasion.

Failure risks confining one of Southeast Asia’s anchor nations to the ranks of permanent also-rans, a place in the sun that’s fun to visit and will enjoy good years - when world conditions are favourable. But not one strong enough to wrestle down long-term challenges, let alone return to anything like the frothy heights that preceded the late-1990s Asian financial collapse, and never reached again. Source: RSS Published: 2026-05-06T22:58:00.000Z Region: ASEAN Topic: Economy (AI-assisted rewrite, based on the original source)