[BANGKOK] The Stock Exchange of Thailand suspended all trading activities for the afternoon session on Friday (Mar 28) after a strong earthquake rocked Myanmar. It shook buildings and triggered evacuations in parts of Thailand and Vietnam, with a second temblor felt soon afterwards.
The quake measured 7.7 in magnitude, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), which said it was 16 km northwest of Sagaing, Myanmar at a depth of 10 km.
It struck at about 1.21 pm in Bangkok (2.21 pm, Singapore time) and was the strongest worldwide since 2023, according to USGS data compiled by Bloomberg. There was a second temblor of 6.4 magnitude around the same area, the USGS said.
Chinese authorities warned of the possibility of a tsunami, according to a report on state-owned CCTV. Witnesses in Bangkok said the shaking continued for more than a minute, with people fleeing onto the street.
“The chandeliers were swinging strongly,” said Vy Nguyen, who works in an office building in central Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and said it sounded as though the windows were cracking. “One of my guests crawled under the table, while I remained standing. I am still feeling dizzy now.”
In the Vietnamese capital Hanoi, hundreds of people rushed out of high-rise buildings after feeling the tremors. Some people in Hai Ba Trung district said they felt the shake twice.
A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU
Friday, 8.30 am
Asean Business
Business insights centering on South-east Asia’s fast-growing economies.
The earthquake was also strongly felt in Bangkok, where buildings visibly swayed and water from a rooftop swimming pool splashed onto the street. Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who was in a meeting in the resort town of Phuket, ordered immediate discussions on the quake.
Thai authorities have declared a state of emergency in Bangkok.
A 30-storey skyscraper under construction for government offices collapsed in Bangkok, trapping 43 workers, police and medics said.
The building in the north of the Thai capital was reduced to a tangle of rubble and twisted metal in seconds.
Bangkok’s BTS skytrain has also suspended services.
“Following the earthquake incident, the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) hereby announces the immediate suspension of all trading activities,” the bourse operator said on its website.
“The closure affects all markets, including SET, the Market for Alternative Investment, and the Thailand Futures Exchange, for (Friday’s) afternoon session.”
The benchmark SET index was last trading 1.05 per cent lower at an over one-week low of 1,175.45 points. It traded around that level most of the session as stocks remained pressured by new US auto tariffs. BLOOMBERG, AFP, REUTERS
