This is a business brief by JETRO released on August 15, 2025, regarding the business sentiment survey of Japanese companies in Thailand.
Survey Results Overview
According to the "2025 First Half Thailand Japanese Company Business Sentiment Survey" published by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce Bangkok (JCC) on August 1, the business sentiment Diffusion Index (DI) of Japanese companies in Thailand shows a continuous improvement trend. It improved from minus 21 in the first half of 2024 to minus 11 in the second half of the same year, further recovering to minus 7 in the first half of 2025. The outlook for the second half of 2025 is expected to recover to minus 2, showing clear signs of recovery despite remaining in negative territory.
Industry-Specific Trends
Manufacturing improved significantly from minus 16 in the previous period to minus 3, with the food industry particularly performing well due to falling raw material prices and increased exports. Meanwhile, the automotive-related industry continues to face sluggish business sentiment due to weak domestic sales. Non-manufacturing deteriorated from minus 7 in the previous period to minus 10, with retail particularly affected by decreased tourists from China and other countries and cooling domestic consumer sentiment.
Market Environment and Future Outlook
While the first half of 2025 saw positive effects from exports, sluggish durable goods consumption and decreased foreign visitors were negative factors. The transportation and communication industry also deteriorated due to reduced import volumes from weak domestic consumption and declining automotive-related sales. Looking ahead, despite concerns about the impact of US tariffs, government policies and expectations for recovery in domestic durable goods consumption are expected to continue the trend of narrowing negative margins and improvement.
The article shows that Japanese companies in Thailand are on a gradual recovery trajectory, with government policies and expectations for consumption recovery serving as driving forces for business improvement.