Thailand's Ministry of Finance releases January 2026 Regional Economic Sentiment Index pointing to six month expansion led by the East and Northeast

Thailand's Ministry of Finance published the Thailand Regional Economic Sentiment Index (RSI) for January 2026, indicating the regional economy is expected to continue expanding over the next six months, with the strongest momentum in the Eastern and Northeast regions supported mainly by the services sector. The release also reports results from a special survey assessing the “Quick Big Win” policy, which found the Blue Flag Expo project to reduce the cost of living, alongside the Blue Flag Border initiative, to be among the measures with the most positive current impact on the economy and people’s livelihoods. Regional future confidence readings were highest in the Eastern Economic Corridor at 83.7 and the Eastern region at 78.8, followed by the Northeast at 74.4, the North at 73.0, the South at 69.8, the Central region at 67.5, the West at 64.1, and Bangkok and the metropolitan area at 62.6, on a 0–100 scale where values above 50 indicate a “better than now” outlook. The survey’s ranking of measures also highlighted agricultural price-control interventions (Green Flag) and support for small and medium-sized enterprises, with SME support framed as important for enhancing liquidity; the narrative flagged factors to monitor including climate variability affecting tourism and agriculture, volatility in foreign tourist spending, high production costs and broader economic uncertainty, and exposure to global trade conditions and competition from low-priced imports.