Thailand Morning News For May 18

Telecoms, media see profits slide
LISTED telecom, media and entertainment firms reported a drop in first-quarter net profit even though some of them recorded revenue growth, as their costs rose from both network installation and higher licence fees.
– The Nation

State big data system en route
The government plans to set up Thailand’s first big data state management system to help the state contend with fast-growing pools of data saved in a variety of formats.
– Bangkok Post

Junta eyes power to access private computer systems
Thailand’s junta is mulling a new cyber law that would grant authorities the power to access any private sector computer system, a tool they say is needed to defend against hackers.
– Coconuts Bangkok

LNG global supply glut may persist until 2020, says Thailand’s PTT
A global supply glut in liquefied natural gas will persist for the next two to three years, the CEO of Thailand’s state-run oil and gas giant PTT told CNBC.
– CNBC

Thai Junta Looks to Allow Foreigners to Set up Universities in Special Economic Zones
Thailand’s Military Cabinet is planning to allow foreigners to set up universities in Special Economic Zones in an effort to address skill shortages.
– Chiang Rai Times

Chinese buying up property
Thai property continues to entice Chinese buyers with relatively low prices and good returns.
– Bangkok Post

Supachai sees property bubble ahead
Domestic private investment remains low, with most of it concentrated in the property sector, which could cause a bubble, says Supachai Panitchpakdi, a former director-general of the World Trade Organization and secretary-general of the UN Conference on Trade and Development.
– Bangkok Post

Police confirm explosion at National Theatre was bomb
THE deputy national police chief yesterday confirmed that the incident in front of the National Theatre on Monday was an explosion caused by a bomb.
– The Nation

Central bank and 16 banks join hands to address household debts
The Bank of Thailand, in cooperation with 16 commercial banks, the Thai Bankers Association and Sukhumvit Asset Management Company, have signed an agreement of cooperation to help solve household debts of individuals who do not have guarantee.
– Thai PBS

DSI to press charges against unscrupulous importers of luxury cars
The Department of Special Investigation will press charges with public prosecutors against importers of knock-down luxury cars who falsely declared them as car spare parts in order to avoid higher import taxes.
– Thai PBS

Thailand struggling to gird itself for cyberthreats
Thailand’s cybersecurity and critical infrastructure protection are still in an emerging stage, lacking domestic laws and a national security framework, says leading global cybersecurity firms.
– Bangkok Post

Cambodian embassy official offers help to prevent illegal logging
A Cambodian labour attache has offered to cooperate with Thai authorities to prevent illegal logging of the highly-priced Siamese rosewood by Cambodian illegal immigrants.
– Thai PBS

Ban Phai city mayor Premsak now dismissed from position
Ban Phai city mayor Dr Premsak Piayura has been dismissed from his position after a disciplinary committee has finally ruled him guilty of detaining and stripping a 64-year-old senior local journalist of his clothes.
– Thai PBS

PM upset with nurses’ objection to government’s employment plan
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha hit back at the Federation of Nursing Profession and some nurses for rejecting the government’s plan to upgrade the status of nurses to that of civil servants within three years.
– Thai PBS

Unithai Shipyard to operate the largest floating dock in Thailand
Unithai Shipyard and Engineering Limited, Thailand’s premier shipyard, continues to develop and strengthen the yard’s capacity and capabilities in ship repair services in response to client needs.
– Hellenic Shipping News

BOT links with commercial banks and asset manager to set up debt-solving clinics
THE BANK of Thailand has joined forces with 16 commercial banks and Sukhumvit Asset Management Co (SAM) to set up clinics to clear up non-collateral debt problems with several creditors amid high levels of household debt.
– The Nation

Grass-roots efforts help clean up trash-filled Thai beaches
Even the remotest depths of the world’s oceans are not immune to plastic pollution. Research recently published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution revealed alarming levels of toxins in crustaceans living in the Marianas Trench, the deepest known ocean trench.
– Nikkei Asian Review

Minor developing 3 Phuket projects
MINOR International (MINT), a hotel and restaurant operator listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, expects consolidated annual core revenue growth of between 15 and 20 per cent this year, its founder and chairman William Heinecke has said.
– The Nation

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Thailand Morning News For May 18 added by John Le Fevre on May 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.