Booming car exports to the rescue

Auto boost: Thailand is Asia’s fourth-largest auto assembly and export hub for some of the world’s largest carmakers such as Toyota and Honda. — Reuters

BANGKOK: As tourism-reliant Thailand struggles with a collapse in foreign visitors, the country’s auto sector is picking up some of the slack with the value of car exports tipped to surge to a record this year as the global economy reopens.

The South-East Asian nation is Asia’s second-most popular tourist destination but its famous beaches, street markets and pagodas have been starved of business over the past year due to pandemic restrictions that have crippled global travel.