Since the US has faced an inflation rate hit 8.6% which is the highest in 40 years, the FED has consideration to increases the interest rate, and the latest update on the interest rate is rose to 0.75% after they had seen the inflation report of May.           Accordingly, How will this impact Thailand? The signal to increase the interest rate is the same as the FOMC meeting recently. The governor of the Bank of Thailand, Dr. Sethaput Suthiwatanaraput said about monetary policy “The interest rate in Thailand is the lowest in the region, but inflation in Thailand is the top rank in the region, so the monetary policy that they use considerately.” This quote was analyzed that the interest rate in Thailand will increase exactly, at present the interest rate is 0.5% but the inflation rate hit 7.1% which is the highest 13 years ago. On 8 June 2022, during the meeting The Monetary Policy Committee has a 4:3 solution to keep the interest rate at 0.5%, the votes were

    On August 28, 2021, the bank of Laos was cautious about the usage of unregulated cryptocurrencies, as in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin, which are not physical currency. The notice was issued that citizens of Laos are prohibited by law from purchasing or selling cryptocurrencies, and the Laos people must regard the risks of cryptocurrencies before investing in or purchasing them. However, some Lao businesses continue to choose cryptocurrencies as payment for products and services.     After that, on September 8, 2021, the government of Laos authorized 6 companies to be able to trade and mine cryptocurrencies viz Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin. The companies had been authorized to can mining and trading in Laos such as Wap Data Technology Laos Phongsubthavy Road & Bridge Construction Co. Sisaket Construction Company Limited Boupha Road-Bridge Design Survey Co., Ltd. The Joint Development Bank Phousy Group     The Office of the Prime Minister has issued notification No. 1158/SAN on September 9, 2021, as regards the 6 companies signing the agreement with a company that provides maximum anti-tariff conditions to be used

    Activity should be picked up in 2022, with the China-Laos railway—once initial hitches are ironed out—boosting exports of tourism and goods. Meanwhile, recovering global demand should further be driving activity.      However, a possible becoming even worse than the public health situation, the escalated external debt seems trouble, domestic rising inflation, and currency depreciation are crucial unfavorable risks. FocusEconomics (Economic Reporter) consensually Forecast panelists project GDP to expand 4.6% in 2022, shrinking 0.2 percentage points from last month’s forecast, and 4.9% in 2023. Source: https://www.focus-economics.com/countries/laos Image Source: https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202112/1240434.shtml Published 25/05/2022 By Ashley Jones

          Since Russia has invaded Ukraine, which affects financial institutions in Russia that were banned from the western world, Putin announced that the countries that banned Russia have to pay for gas in Russian currency, and Gazprom, which Russia owns, has already cut off supplies to Poland and Bulgaria until they pay in Russian currency.           Bulgaria said that they will increase the amount of gas from Azerbaijan, for Poland has connected a new pipeline with Norway’s gas field which it will complete within October 2022, and also they will increase its gas supply from Lithuania. The EU could receive gas from Qatar, Algeria, or Nigeria but there are practical difficulties to expand their production. The researcher’s analysis said that “It’s harder to substitute gas because we have these big pipes that are taking Russian gas to Europe.” However, it doesn’t mean it is impossible to avoid using gas from Russia, other countries such as the US which export gas the same as Russia, and the EU has proposed a plan to