Thai Companies Navigate Data Center Project Suspensions Amidst Regulatory Review

Thai companies are facing a period of strategic adjustment as the government temporarily suspends new permits for data center projects pending regulatory review, a move that is particularly impacting the technology infrastructure sector. In the healthcare sector, Bumrungrad Hospital PCL (BH) is expanding its preventive healthcare business across Asia and investing significantly in new hospital development, especially in Phuket, to capitalize on growing medical and wellness tourism. As of September 7, 2026, the company's year-to-date performance stands at +22.5%. For the hotel and hospitality industry, Central Plaza Hotel PCL (CENTEL) is focusing its future expansion on Thailand's secondary cities, seeing year-to-date gains of +25.7% as of September 7, 2026, benefiting from the recovery in Thai tourism. Ditto (Thailand) PCL (DITTO), a provider of document management and digital transformation services, plans to continue bidding for new projects in the third quarter of 2026 to replenish its backlog of THB4.83 billion. The company has seen a year-to-date increase of +22.0%. In renewable energy, Gunkul Engineering PCL (GUNKUL) has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with the Philippine government for a 784.1MW floating solar project, achieving remarkable year-to-date growth of +168.4%. This surge is driven by the themes of renewable energy and power supply for data centers. Within the financial sector, Kasikornbank PCL (KBANK) is observing strong loan demand from data center projects both domestically and internationally, while adhering to financing criteria aligned with its economic and environmental sustainability objectives. The bank's stock has risen +28.0% year-to-date. In the power production segment, Gulf Development PCL (GULF) and B.Grimm Power PCL (BGRIM) have downplayed potential negative impacts from the National Economic and Social Development Council's (NESDC) decision to suspend 166 new data center projects. GULF operates and is developing data centers in Samut Prakan and the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), while BGRIM is constructing a data center in the EEC. The NESDC's decision could affect the future development of these companies' data center ventures. GULF has seen year-to-date gains of +49.1%, and BGRIM has risen +39.0%. In the shipping sector, Precious Shipping PCL (PSL) has secured a long-term charter contract of 12-14 months, resulting in a year-to-date increase of +70.2%. The diverse corporate activities highlight Thailand's dynamic economy and the significant impact of regulatory changes on business operations.