Kenichi Yamato, Chief Executive Officer of Krungsri Ayudhya Bank, announced that Krungsri has signed an Asset Purchase Agreement to acquire auto and motorcycle loan portfolios from CIMB Thai Auto Limited and World Lease Limited, subsidiaries of CIMB Thai Bank. The acquisition is subject to contractual conditions and is expected to be completed by year-end 2025.

"This acquisition represents a strategic initiative to expand our customer base and strengthen Krungsri Auto's position as Thailand's leading auto finance provider, reflecting Krungsri Group's commitment to leveraging deep expertise in auto finance to drive sustainable growth," Yamato said.

Beyond portfolio expansion, the acquisition will enable Krungsri to deliver greater value to customers through enhanced access to diverse Krungsri Group products and services under the ONE Krungsri Collaboration strategy. This integrates internal cooperation and comprehensive digital platforms covering lifestyle and auto financing services in a single ecosystem, as Krungsri aims to provide seamless customer experiences.

ZEEKR PRIMUS has won the EXCELLENT DEALER AWARD, demonstrating excellence across all service dimensions and capturing the loyalty of Thailand's premium customers. The company is preparing to open a second branch in Chiang Mai to serve northern region customers.

Nattavut Tangkaravakul, chairman of Primus Group and TOA Venture Holding, revealed that following the official opening of the ZEEKR HOUSE PRIMUS showroom and service center in the Ratchapruek branch in mid-March, ZEEKR PRIMUS has achieved tremendous success by receiving the EXCELLENT DEALER AWARD from GEELY AUTOMOBILE INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION 2025 at the global GEELY AUTO GROUP dealership conference held in Hangzhou, China in 2026.

"This award represents the highest honor and pride for the entire ZEEKR PRIMUS team, reflecting our commitment to continuously elevate and maintain the highest service standards. It also confirms the strong partnership between us as a dealer and our parent company ZEEKR THAILAND. On this occasion, I would like to thank the parent company for their trust and confidence in ZEEKR PRIMUS's potential to serve valued customers and contribute to establishing a strong foundation as a leading automotive dealer in Thailand, leading to international recognition. Primus Group will continue to commit to continuous development to provide the best experience for all our customers," Nattavut said.

Importantly, ZEEKR PRIMUS has also been entrusted by ZEEKR THAILAND to oversee sales and after-sales service for ZEEKR customers in the northern region and Chiang Mai province. It is expected that the ZEEKR HOUSE PRIMUS CHIANG MAI showroom and service center will officially open in August this year.

Meanwhile, Jirapol Rujiwipat, Managing Director of Primus Prestige Company Limited and Primus Group, revealed that as a manager of ZEEKR PRIMUS, he feels greatly honored that our commitment to operations has achieved concrete success, as reflected in the EXCELLENT DEALER AWARD at this global GEELY AUTO GROUP dealership conference.

On May 5, Surathip Phanjarunakul, Minister of Tourism and Sports, revealed that Thailand's 2025 international tourism forecast has been revised downward. Foreign visitor arrivals are now projected at 30.07-33.20 million, down from the original target of 36.7 million, generating an estimated 1.36-1.51 trillion baht in revenue. This represents the best-case scenario under current circumstances, as Middle East conflicts and global economic challenges have impacted energy costs, food prices, and transportation expenses, pressuring global inflation and economic growth, while intensifying competition in the tourism market with airline fuel surcharges and reduced flight availability.

The ministry developed three scenarios to assess international tourism trends through year-end 2025:

1. Best Case: If Middle East conflict resolves by June, 33.20 million foreign visitors and 1.51 trillion baht revenue with minimal impact on nearby markets 2. Base Case: If conflict ends by September, 31.3 million foreign visitors and 1.42 trillion baht revenue with moderate impact on nearby markets 3. Worst Case: If conflict extends through year-end, 30 million foreign visitors and 1.36 trillion baht revenue with significant impact on nearby markets

As of April 4, Thailand had received 11,966,391 foreign visitors from January 1-April 3, 2025, generating 584,409 million baht in expenditures. The top five source markets were China (1,971,673), Malaysia (1,320,885), Russia (874,979), India (852,690), and South Korea (484,550). China remains Thailand's most important short-haul market overall.

Recently, short-haul market arrivals surged to 440,000 visitors, a 19.37% increase from the previous week, driven by extended holiday periods in multiple countries. Japanese visitors notably jumped to fourth place from eighth, with 32,000 arrivals during the Golden Week holiday period (April 29-May 6), representing a 105.13% increase. China and Malaysia's primary markets continued performing well, resulting in 601,610 total foreign arrivals this week, up 65,209 visitors or 12.16% from the previous week, averaging 85,944 arrivals daily.

James Jirayuth once drank heavily every night and barely slept for a year, but he managed to transform his physique—thanks entirely to his wife pulling him back from the brink. In an interview on "On the Way with Chom," he reveals the story behind his lean six-pack, opening up about his darkest period when partying every night left him sleep-deprived for a year, wrecking his health and triggering allergies. His wife's iron-fisted rules brought him back. He runs daily and hits the gym regularly, but his cholesterol has spiked—he may be on medication for life. His golden-body secret: accept that nothing comes easy, start with simple, doable tasks, build your own momentum, and willpower will take you further than you imagined.

On Hyrox, he admits he wasn't satisfied with his performance. During the simulation, he thought it would be easy since he hadn't trained seriously. He'd only done PT sessions at Qubic gym, saw his wife and friends competing, but they'd only done one class together—he'd never trained properly. He believed he was strong from running, and everyone said runners have an advantage, so he figured he'd be fine. He was right about the advantage, but it turned out to be only half the battle. Initially, he thought he was fit enough, but once there, he realized foundation strength was lacking because he hadn't trained properly. The gym builds muscle mass and strength, but functional movements like lifting and carrying were weak. When he actually competed, he discovered he got anxious—the atmosphere was thrilling. Before starting, they brief you not to run the first lap, but everyone's talking loudly. He saw people taking off their shirts, stretching, and he didn't know why he'd entered such a competitive wave. He started at around wave five—basically page five—but he was the second-slowest in his group and everyone else was gone. The fun part was feeling like he might collapse from exhaustion, as if life suddenly felt easier or his fitness routine had become too easy. For Hyrox, it's a team event, but personally he finds the pair format fun—solo requires extreme strength and self-challenge, but mixing it works well. It's like running with a friend and playing alongside them; when tired, you rest, but you never actually get to rest.

On his physique now, he's happy but wants to push further. Overall, he might want fuller development, but getting bigger seems difficult due to genetics—going further would require heavy loading, which might be exhausting and he might not like himself at that size anyway. Diet and training must align closely. He uses the principle of doing simple things first, and when starting from an easy level, it's not too hard, but as levels increase, complexity grows. He needs to eat more and balance it with output, which requires lots of calculations. His first goal before improving his physique further is to see how he can maintain it, since this was his first time ever achieving abs in his life. He was curious how to get them, and when he first did, it was quite intense—time-limited training.

Prime Minister Anuthih Charnweerakul announced the issuance of a decree authorizing the Ministry of Finance to borrow 400 billion baht to address the impact of the Middle East crisis and support the country's energy transition. He noted that the Middle East conflict has severely impacted global energy prices and the economy. The energy crisis has cascaded into rising food prices and increased living costs for citizens.

The Prime Minister characterized this as an unavoidable emergency requiring urgent action to mitigate impacts on the public, sustain economic activity, accelerate energy restructuring, reduce vulnerability, and address the nation's pressing challenges. The government will deploy all available resources to navigate this crisis successfully, he affirmed, stressing that this is not a normal situation that can wait.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Ekkhanit Nitithanpraphasat acknowledged that current budgets are insufficient. The 2569 fiscal year budget currently stands at less than 500 million baht, with only 200 million baht remaining in the central reserve. Supplementary budgeting for 2570 would not arrive until October, which is too late.

Of the 400 billion baht loan, 200 billion baht will support low and middle-income citizens, farmers, and small and medium-sized enterprises. The remaining 200 billion baht will fund energy restructuring, facilitating the transition from fossil fuel dependency to renewable and alternative energy sources.

The Middle East conflict and resulting energy crisis have driven up global market prices—an external factor beyond Thailand's control. This has broadly impacted the public, as currently experienced. The government must inject budgetary support to mitigate effects, particularly rising living costs from energy, food, and essential consumer goods.

However, government borrowing will increase public debt, ultimately placing the burden on citizens through various taxes. Therefore, borrowing must be transparent with verifiable oversight, spent efficiently without waste, targeted accurately, and ensure no group is left behind.

As we enter a new era of data centers transforming from simple data storage warehouses into innovation factories in the age of AI influence, the question becomes: why is this happening? Thongchai Hanyavirojanikul, Marketing & Sales Manager for the Thailand cluster at ABB Electrification (Thailand) Limited, provides the answer.

First, let's understand ABB. It is a global engineering company primarily operating in electrical technology and automation (Electrification & Automation), providing design, distribution, and installation services for industrial electrical equipment, energy management systems, electric motors, inverters, and industrial robots, with emphasis on developing sustainable products and solutions.

ABB operates worldwide and has been doing business in Thailand for over 100 years, making Thailand significant in the Asia-Pacific region. Over the past 3-5 years, the company has begun targeting the data center industry, supplying energy infrastructure and electrical equipment to ensure data center stability and reliability.

ABB recognizes the growth potential of the global data center industry, which is experiencing particularly high growth in Thailand and Southeast Asia, with projected growth rates of 7.5-8.5% annually during 2025-2027 due to the digital economy transition.

Why are data centers important and how do they relate to daily Thai life? ABB executives explain that data centers are the critical backbone of digital infrastructure operating behind the scenes of modern Thai daily life, which is now inseparably linked to technology—what's called digital life. They support all types of online activities including applications, social media, banking and financial transactions, and streaming entertainment. All of this data must be stored in data centers to ensure security and rapid transmission of information in various formats to our communication devices.

Currently, global companies including Google and Amazon Web Services have already invested in building data centers in Thailand, and Microsoft is planning similar investments. This confirms that Thailand has become a strategic hub for digital infrastructure in Southeast Asia.

ABB serves as a global partner to Google, Amazon Web Services, and Microsoft in supplying electrical infrastructure and control systems to maintain data center stability at hyperscale levels, including in Thailand.

Thongchai noted that the emergence of artificial intelligence is causing data center growth to surge approximately fourfold. Importantly, AI has transformed data centers from mere data storage facilities into innovation factories. Operations are shifting from simple data storage to emphasizing powerful computational capabilities that drive AI innovation, requiring 4-5 times more electrical power and system capacity.

Thongchai further pointed out that this data center transformation in the AI era will advantage Thai SMEs and startups. The investment by global companies in data centers and the availability of more powerful data center infrastructure creates opportunities for new startups to develop innovations in new forms. These include startups capable of developing AI models for application across industries requiring high efficiency, as well as SMEs and startups creating infrastructure innovations and software development solutions.