Finance Ministry insists no plan to tax gold bar trading
The Finance Ministry has dismissed reports of a gold trading tax, saying exports are not the cause of the baht’s strength. Rising values reflect higher gold prices, not greater volumes.
Foreign media reports that Thailand is considering a tax on online gold bar trading to curb the baht’s appreciation are unfounded, a senior Finance Ministry source told Krungthep Turakij.
The official confirmed there are no plans to introduce such a measure and argued that gold trading is unlikely to be the main factor behind the recent strength of the baht.
Concerns over unusual gold exports to Cambodia were also downplayed. The source said higher export values this year reflect the global surge in gold prices rather than an increase in physical volumes. Cambodia’s weak riel currency, the official added, has led investors to favour stable assets such as gold and US dollars.
“If money laundering were the issue, there are easier channels and other asset classes than a tangible commodity like gold,” the source noted.
According to Commerce Ministry data, Thailand’s gold exports in the first seven months of 2025 jumped 69% year-on-year to 254 billion baht (about US$8 billion), coinciding with a nearly 40% rise in global gold prices.
Cambodia has emerged as an increasingly important market, with exports soaring to 71.3 billion baht between January and July 2025, making it Thailand’s second-largest destination after Switzerland. Other key markets included Singapore, Hong Kong, Laos, the United States, Indonesia, the UAE, Japan and India.
Gold shipments to Cambodia have risen sharply in recent years: 8.6 billion baht in 2021, 55.8 billion in 2022, 12.6 billion in 2023, and 106 billion in 2024.
