Thailand Morning News For August 18

TDRI urges investment expansion to ASEAN nations
The Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) has joined hands with the Board of Investment to organize the Thailand Overseas Investment Forum 2017, during which investors were advised to penetrate ASEAN markets.
— NBT World (video)

Thai second-quarter GDP growth seen cooling slightly on weaker investment: Reuters poll
Thailand’s economic growth is expected to have cooled slightly in the second quarter as public and private investment slowed, offsetting some of the boost from stronger exports and tourism, a Reuters poll showed.
— Reuters

Ministry seeks S44 order to clear startup barriers
The Finance Ministry will seek the government’s approval to invoke the powerful Section 44 of the interim charter to push the enforcement of a startup law as a tool to temporarily bypass laws considered stumbling blocks.
— Bangkok Post

Helping Hand Package to Startups
A REGULATORY “sandbox” for experimental undertakings is among measures the Finance Ministry is introducing to help startups succeed.
— The Nation

2,500 cops to throng court next Friday
More than 2,500 police will be sent to the Supreme Court where crowds of Yingluck Shinawatra supporters are expected to lend her moral support next Friday, the day the court hands down its ruling in the former premier’s rice-pledging case.
— Bangkok Post

Min of Labor approves work permits for over 180,000 foreign nationals
The Ministry of Labor has approved work permits for over 180,000 foreign workers from Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia, following the establishment of registration centers nationwide.
— NNT

Weatherman warns of flash flood in all regions except the Northeast
The Meteorological Department warned of flash flood, mudslide and overflowing of rivers in the northern, central, eastern and southern regions from today until Monday (Aug 21) as a result of widespread rain and heavy rain.
— Thai PBS

Journalists rap government’s ‘media interference’
Journalists have criticised the government for media interference after the director-general of the Public Relations Department asked TV stations to cover each minister during the mobile cabinet meeting in Nakhon Ratchasima early next week.
— Bangkok Post

Junta requests that media promote cabinet’s work
The junta has asked various news agencies to tail cabinet members during an upcoming Prime Ministerial visit to create content for the state television channel.
— Prachatai English

Prawit says reformers ‘deserve chance’
The reform committees, lambasted by critics as self-serving for the government, deserve public understanding and time to work, said Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon.
— Bangkok Post

Thailand Post plans logistics hub to serve EEC
THAILAND Post expects to generate Bt26 billion in revenue by the end of this year, with future growth to be supported by plans to set up a logistics hub in Chon Buri province to serve demand in the emerging Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC).
— The Nation

Thailand to host ASEAN’s biggest event for retail business
The Thai Retailers Association will organize the RetailEx ASEAN 2017–ASEAN’s biggest retail business convention and trade exhibition. Highlights of the event will include the presentation of retail store concepts in the future.
— NNT

Eight accused of royal defamation for burning royal arches
The public prosecutor has charged eight people with royal defamation for burning royal arches.
— Prachatai English

Public administrators urged to gain sound legal knowledge
The Deputy Prime Minister for Legal Affairs has stressed that it is crucial for all state administrative staff to familiarize themselves with the law so as to be able to exercise their power appropriately.
— NNT

Policy rate put on hold at 1.5%
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) yesterday (Aug 16) decided to put the policy rate on hold, at 1.5% to bolster economic expansion.
— Thai PBS

Quartet of factors to boost housing growth
New infrastructure projects, the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), smart city development in major provinces and senior living trends will help drive the growth prospects for the country’s residential development, says Deputy Finance Minister Wisudhi Srisuphan.
— Bangkok Post

PM delivers policy address on 2019 fiscal budget
The Prime Minister has delivered the government’s policy address on the 2019 fiscal budget, calling for adherence to the 20-year national strategy and the 12th National Economic and Social Development Plan.
— NBT World (video)

SME Development Bank launches SME-D Scale UP program
SME Development Bank and King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang have organized an opening ceremony for the “SME-D Scale UP program,” aiming to develop the country’s entrepreneurs from the S-curve target industries.
— NNT

IEAT eyes redesigning industrial estates to cater to SMEs
The Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) is ready to adjust its industrial estate development plans to better accommodate small and medium-sized entrepreneurs.
— NNT

Distributor DMHT toasts rejig of alcohol excise tax
Diageo Moet Hennessy Thailand Ltd, (DMHT), an importer and distributor of premium alcoholic drinks in Thailand, says it supports the alcoholic beverage tax scheme under the new Excise Tax Act.
— Bangkok Post

Prosecution cites agencies’ warnings on rice scheme to accuse Yingluck
IN ITS CLOSING statement in former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s case regarding her government’s rice-pledging scheme, the prosecution claimed she had failed to act to prevent damages and irregularities.
— The Nation

PM: There will be new public buses in BKK by New Year
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has confirmed that the government will provide new public buses before this New Year holiday. He said the government welcomes criticism about new bus routes in Bangkok.
— NBT World (video)

Ban Chang Smart City Project
Areas in industrial districts are often thought of as polluted places. However, that belief could be changed if a project, called Ban Chang Smart City, is successful. The project is being subsidized by both the public and private sectors in realizing its aims. Kwankamol Prurapark has more details of the progressive plan.
— NBT World (video)

AIS Next G boasts 1Gbps speed
The largest mobile operator, Advanced Info Service (AIS), in collaboration with Korea Telecom and Samsung, has rolled out AIS Next G, which claims to be the first high-speed network offering 1 gigabit per second (1Gbps) in Asean.
— Bangkok Post

Suspected Thai militants turn stolen cars into bombs – police
Suspected militants raided a car dealership in southern Thailand and turned two of the cars into bombs, police said on Thursday, adding that a “new generation” of Muslim separatists was operating in the insurgency-plagued region.
— Reuters

No unusual speculation seen in Thai baht – c.bank chief
Thailand’s central bank has not found any evidence of unusual speculation in the baht, the governor said on Thursday, as the currency hovered at more than two-year highs against the U.S. dollar.
— Reuters

DPM inspects aid measures for flood victims in Kalasin
Deputy Prime Minister Narong Pipatanasai visited the flooded Kalasin province and inspected aid measures for flood victims.
— NNT

NLA unanimously passes National Human Rights Commission Bill
The National Legislative Assembly (NLA) on Thursday (Aug 17) unanimously endorsed by 199 votes the National Human Rights Commission Bill.
— Thai PBS

Burapha conference focuses on health, farming, oceans
Marine science, health and agriculture were the focus of more than 100 projects presented at the 6th Burapha University International Conference in Pattaya.
— Pattaya Mail

PMO minister promotes non-use of styrofoam containers
Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Minister Ormsin Chivapruck promoted the non-use of food containers made from styrofoam to save the people’s health and environment.
— NNT

KTB offers special credit programs to flood-affected customers and SME operators
BANGKOK, 1 August 2017 (NNT) – Krung Thai Bank (KTB) is offering financial assistance to customers and SME operators affected by the recent flooding incident, through measures including interest rate cuts or loan extensions and exemptions.
— NNT

BoT: 32 mn numbers use PromptPay
The Bank of Thailand (BoT) has reported that 32 million mobile phone numbers have registered to use PromptPay with the accumulated transaction value worth more than 150 billion baht.
— NNT

Company disqualified from rice auction submits evidence against other businesses
Executives of TPK Ethanol Co Ltd have asked the state to review the qualifications of two other companies bidding on unconsumable grade government rice, after it was blocked from bidding despite having similar credentials.
— NNT
UDD asks NACC to revive 2010 crackdown case
Core members of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) led by Nattawut Saikuar on Thursday (Aug 17) filed a petition with the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) asking it to revive the case on the government crackdown on red-shirt protesters in 2010.
— Thai PBS

Two arrested with 4m meth pills in Chiang Rai
Police from the Provincial Police Region 5 on Thursday (Aug 17) arrested two men with 4.1 million methamphetamine pills and 200 kilogrammes of ketamine from a house in Mae Sai district.
— Thai PBS

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Thailand morning news by AEC News Today is your one stop source for Thailand news on matters of governance and policies affecting Asean business communities. It is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.

Thailand Morning News For August 18 added by John Le Fevre on August 18, 2017
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John Le Fevre

Thailand editor at AEC News Today

John is an Australian national with more than 40 years experience as a journalist, photographer, videographer, and copy editor.

He has spent extensive periods of time working in Africa and throughout Southeast Asia, with stints in the Middle East, the USA, and England.

He has covered major world events including Operation Desert Shield/ Storm, the 1991 pillage in Zaire, the 1994 Rwanda genocide, the 1999 East Timor independence unrest, the 2004 Asian tsunami, and the 2009, 2010, and 2014 Bangkok political protests.

In 1995 he was a Walkley Award finalist, the highest awards in Australian journalism, for his coverage of the 1995 Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) Ebola outbreak.

Prior to AEC News Today he was the deputy editor and Thailand and Greater Mekong Sub-region editor for The Establishment Post, predecessor of Asean Today.

In the mid-80s and early 90s he owned JLF Promotions, the largest above and below the line marketing and PR firm servicing the high-technology industry in Australia. It was sold in 1995.