Thailand Approves Flood Relief Package Amid Global AI Chip Demand Surge

Key summary

Thailand's cabinet approved a THB10.5 billion flood-relief package on October 20 to support households and businesses affected by severe flooding, complementing previous assistance of over THB5 billion. The measures include debt-payment suspensions, soft loans, tax relief, and customs-duty exemptions. Simultaneously, global technology markets face a divide between surging demand for AI computing and infrastructure cost concerns. Chinese technology groups have placed orders exceeding US$35 billion for export-compliant NVIDIA RTX PRO 5500 graphics cards, with combined list prices reflecting high demand despite US export restrictions on advanced processors. Reuters reported that three of China's largest tech companies ordered more than 3 million such cards, while total orders from Chinese customers exceeded 6 million units against a global production capacity limit of approximately 3 million units in 2027. The products are primarily intended for AI inference. In Australia, data-centre investment risk is being sharply repriced.