Thailand Morning News For March 20

Thailand morning news by AEC News Today is your one stop source for Thailand news on matters of governance and policies.

Armed With $11 Billion, Thai Oil Giants Hunt for Investments

The Asian energy companies sitting on the largest horde of cash outside China are ready to put it to use.
— Bloomberg

E-commerce competition to fuel growth
Thailand’s e-commerce market can expect to account for 25% of total retail sales by 2025, rising from below 5% now, say executives in the sector, driven by fierce competition among e-commerce operators…
– Bangkok Post

Thai police say plot to assassinate Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha uncovered
Thai police say they have uncovered a plot to assassinate Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha after seizing a weapons cache belonging to a fugitive anti-junta activist.
— The Sydney Morning Herald

10% more flights to arrive in Thailand during Songkran Festival
Aeronautical Radio of Thailand Ltd (AEROTHAI) has reported that 10% more flights will land in the kingdom this Songkran Festival.
– NNT

Industry Spotlight: Thailand’s Automotive Industry
Established over 50 years ago, Thailand’s automotive sector has developed into the biggest automotive hub in Southeast Asia and one of the largest in the world. As of 2016, Thailand stands as the 13th largest automotive manufacturer in the world.
— Asean Briefing

Tourism to food, Buddhist Thailand hunts halal gold
From hotels with segregated swimming pools to jelly made from seaweed instead of pig bones, Buddhist Thailand is chasing halal gold as it welcomes Muslim visitors and touts its wares to the Islamic world.
— Free Malaysia Today

Problem of producing cheap biofuel from cassava solved
The state’s research agency and energy policymakers have finally discovered a way to produce biofuel from cassava at a competitive cost, says a senior Energy Ministry official.
– Bangkok Post

Cheap money transfer system to boost cashless transactions in Thailand
Thailand launched a cheap electronic interbank transfer system for depositors in January, in a much awaited milestone since it unveiled a digital payment masterplan two years ago.
– The Straits Times

Yves Rocher plans rapid expansion
Yves Rocher, the French cosmetics company, says it will spend 200 million baht for faster expansion in Thailand over the next three years.
– Bangkok Post

How Thailand is making itself more appealing to Muslim travellers
INSIDE the cavernous dining hall of the five-star Al Meroz hotel in a Muslim suburb of Bangkok, an elderly man with a wispy beard recites verses of the Koran as a nervous-looking groom awaits the arrival of his bride.
— News

Thailand bribery rate is worse than Myanmar and Cambodia: survey
Transparency International has published its 2017 report of global corruption barometer entitled “People and Corruption : Asia Pacific.” It estimates that more than 900 million people across the 16 surveyed places had paid a bribe in the past year when trying to access basic services such as education or healthcare.
— The Nation

What Thailand can learn from Mexico on energy reform
AS HAS BEEN done for almost 80 years, Mexico last Saturday commemorated the so-called “Oil Expropriation Day”, a national holiday marking the nationalisation of the Mexican oil industry by the government of President Lazaro Cardenas in 1938. But this year’s celebration was particularly at odds with the energy reform that is taking hold in the oil-rich country.
— The Nation

Bangkok luxury condo price soars to new record
THE PRICE of a luxury condo in a prime location in Bangkok hit a record-high Bt720,000 per square metre recently.
— The Nation

Thai aviation growth soars past average
Thailand’s annual growth rate puts it at the top of the list of countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). The region’s aviation growth rate is higher than the global average, Aerothai…
— Bangkok Post

Thailand Still Troubled By Widespread Corruption According To Survey
Anti-Corruption Organisation of Thailand secretary-general Mana Nimitmongkol said yesterday that corruption in Thailand is still widespread and difficult to tackle. However, he said awareness among people to fight it has also increased, which is a good sign.
— Buriram Times

Experts make case for more people to be vaccinated against dengue
THAI MEDICAL experts have highlighted the efficacy and safety of Thailand’s first dengue vaccine.
— The Nation

Pick of rice market venue soon
The government is expected to decide on the venue for a central market for milled rice as a distribution channel for traders and farmers by mid-year, at a cost of 300-400 million baht.
— Bangkok Post

Feature photo: John Le Fevre

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Thailand morning news is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.

Thailand Morning News For March 20 added by John Le Fevre on March 20, 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.