Bangkok at a Glance
Working in Bangkok
Bangkok is the motor of Thailand's economy.
Working in Bangkok, expatriates will participate in the commercial activity of Thailand’s economic center and a pivotal location for Southeast Asian business. The national GDP has even overtaken those of Malaysia and the Singaporean tiger, and the people working in Bangkok are definitely the motor of Thailand’s economy. Indeed, the laborers, employees, and executives working in Bangkok create an annual gross domestic product which dwarfs that of Thailand’s poorest province.
Working in Bangkok: Economic Climate
The country’s political crisis of the past few years and the recession that hit the global economy at first led analysts to dire predictions about the immediate future of Bangkok’s urban economy. However, it seems as though the majority of people working in Bangkok was not affected too much by the anti-government protests. At the end of 2010, the Thailand Stock Exchange was on the upswing, and after the general election of 2011, it was time to be optimistic about working in Bangkok.
But then, in autumn 2011, major flooding from a heavy monsoon season reached the capital and disrupted the lives of thousands residing and working in Bangkok. The exact extent of the vast damage to Thailand’s economy is not even clear yet. For example, major industrial estates in Pathum Thani, directly to the north of Bangkok, were severely affected. The local microelectronics industry was also hit very hard: In fact, most hard-disk drives are produced by factory laborers working in Bangkok’s metropolitan region, so that the global IT industry has to cope with a HDD shortage to last for most of 2012.
Working in Bangkok: Fields of Employment
Expats working in Bangkok are likely to be either part of an intra-company transfer or to find a position with the Thai branch of a multinational company such as Unilever, Tesco Lotus, or Sony. Bangkok is also home to Thailand’s stock exchange and a major financial hub in Southeast Asia.
It should thus not come as a surprise that quite a few expatriates working in Bangkok are employed in the finance sector. Most of them are working for one of the commercial banks that have their regional headquarters in Bangkok.
Working in Bangkok is also an attractive option for specialists from telecommunications, transport (esp. airlines and shipping), or the field of tourism. The latter in particular is an important employer for those working in Bangkok.
Working in Bangkok: Major Industries
As far as industry is concerned, working in Bangkok’s manufacturing plants focuses, to a large extent, on processing the crops of Thailand’s agriculture and forestry or creating some of Thailand’s popular arts and crafts. Convenience food, processed rice, and lumber are among the most important products made by people working in Bangkok, as are gemstones and jewelry.
Moreover, Bangkok is a center of textile production as well as of the petrochemical industry. With regard to high-tech products, expats could also be working in Bangkok’s electronics industry or in the field of solar energy.
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