The Southeast Asian country has witnessed a huge influx of electrical and electronic waste in recent years. Old mobile phones, computers, circuit boards and fridges are being shipped to the country and processed, often in unlicensed industrial sites. We explore why this has happened, who is behind it, and find out what the Thai government is doing about it. We join the Thai industry ministry on a raid of an unlicensed Chinese-owned recycling plant, and talk to a Thai farmer who says his cassava crop has been blighted by pollutants from an unlicensed smelter. We also hear from Thais about their own electronics recycling habits. If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: businessdaily@bbc.co.ukPresented and produced by Gideon Long
Additional reporting and translation by Wilawan Watcharasakwej in Bangkok (Image: Officials look at a mound of e-waste at a site near Bangkok, Thailand.)Since this programme was first broadcast, the Chinese embassy in Thailand has responded to the BBC request for comment with a statement saying: “China has always required overseas Chinese enterprises to abide by the laws of the host countries and operate in accordance with laws and regulations”. It said China supports Thailand in its efforts to strengthen regulation and create “a fair, stable and predictable investment and business environment”.
Folgen von Business Daily
2000 Folgen
-
Folge vom 17.06.2025Thailand’s battle against e-waste
-
Folge vom 16.06.2025Thailand and Malaysia: Growth under pressureThailand and Malaysia both depend on exports to countries like China and the US for economic growth. The Southeast Asian nations are now potentially facing some of US President Donald Trump’s most punishing tariff rates. We look at some of their key industries, like rubber and manufacturing, that are threatened by the situation. Will both countries have to reinvent their economies? If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: businessdaily@bbc.co.ukProducer/presenter: Ed Butler(Photo: Duang Chai, a rubber farmer in Chonburi, eastern Thailand)
-
Folge vom 15.06.2025Thailand: An economy on hold?From rice to rubber, manufacturing to tourism, Thailand is one of Southeast Asia’s most important export-driven economies. And its trading partners include China and the US. But the country's been struggling to bounce back from the effects of the Covid pandemic. Ever since US President Donald Trump first introduced tariffs against China in 2018, Thailand's also found itself having to tread carefully between the demands of the two economic superpowers. We hear from food producers, exporters and ordinary working people, about the choices ahead. Will Thailand now have to decide between Washington and Beijing if it is to survive a global trade war? If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: businessdaily@bbc.co.ukPresented and produced by Ed Butler(Image: Bangkok's Chinatown. A neighbourhood packed with market stalls, gold shops, and restaurants. Credit: Getty Images)
-
Folge vom 12.06.2025Business Daily meets: Activist investor David WebbDavid Webb has spent decades campaigning for the rights of ordinary investors in Hong Kong. Since arriving in the city from the UK as a young investment banker 30 years ago, he’s taken on tycoons, exposed corporate wrongdoing, and pushed for transparency in one of the world’s most complex financial hubs. Now, as the activist investor’s life comes to an end following a terminal cancer diagnosis in 2020, he's been reflecting on his life in the corporate world. He's spoken to the BBC's Martin Yip.If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: businessdaily@bbc.co.ukPresenter: Martin Yip Producer: Niamh McDermott (Image: David Webb, activist investor and founder of Webb-site.com, speaks during a farewell event at the Foreign Correspondents' Club in Hong Kong on 12 May 2025. Credit: Getty Images)