44 accused of fiddling student fund
The Education Ministry has accused Rojana Sinthi and 43 associates of embezzling money from a multi-million-baht fund for poor students, with one grantee also having allegedly been duped by the gang.
— Bangkok Post
Commerce Ministry sees risks and opportunities in US China trade war
The Ministry of Commerce has begun to plot out ways to handle escalating trade barriers between the United States and China, which have spurred fears of a trade war between the two economic giants.
— News Today (video)
Investors tapped for telecoms upgrade
THE Digital Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund (DIF) will raise its registered capital to Bt53.237 billion through a public offering of 3.831 billion units as a means of financing its third round of investment in telecommunications infrastructure in the face of rising Internet usage.
— The Nation
Toyota to begin battery production for hybrid cars in Thailand in 2020
Toyota Motor Corp. will establish a production base for hybrid vehicle batteries in Thailand, aiming to start operations at the beginning of 2020, sources said Tuesday.
— The Japan Times
Organic startups head to China exhibition
The Industry Ministry aims to support 10 Thai startups in selling organic products to the Chinese market.
— Bangkok Post
OECD launches initial country review
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has released its report on the first phase of the Multi-dimensional Country Review (MDCR).
— News Today (video)
In ageing Thailand, developers race to supply locals and elderly expats
At 79, Thai businessman Boon Vasin’s latest US$500 million venture is a bet on a market he knows well: looking after Thailand’s rapidly growing population of old people.
— Channel NewsAsia
Cabinet okays escrow draft bill
The cabinet on Tuesday approved a draft Escrow Account Act that extends coverage to all types of contracts on top of existing capital-market-related transactions, product and service purchases, and real estate deals.
— Bangkok Post
Fears grow about Premchai sentence
Conservationists fear that a legal loophole might spare construction titan Premchai Karnasuta, one of the suspects in the notorious Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary poaching case, from having to serve a prison sentence.
— The Phuket News
Healthy condo price growth in outskirts
Growth in selling prices for new condo units in Nonthaburi province outstripped growth in Bangkok for the first time in the first quarter of 2018, owing to a drop in condominium supply along the Purple Line.
— Bangkok Post
BTS eyes 200% jump in operating revenue
BTS Group Holdings Plc (BTS) expects operating revenue to surge by up to 200 per cent for the 2018 fiscal year, chiefly from its mass transit business, chief executive officer Kavin Kanjanapas said yesterday.
–The Nation
Manhunt on for six suspects in the Sungai Golok attacks
Army offices and local police are now hunting down six men for suspected involvement in last night’s attacks in Narathiwat.
— The Thaiger
Axing of energy licences rubbished
The Waste to Energy Trade Association (WETA), a body under the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), has denounced policymakers for curbing the development of waste-to-energy projects, saying alternative energy sources are the key to reaching the government’s goals of low emissions and energy independence.
— Bangkok Post
Doi Suthep buildings can’t be demolished, PM says, urging public use
PRIME MINISTER General Prayut Chan-o-cha has urged those opposing the controversial residential project for court officials at the foot of Chiang Mai’s Doi Suthep mountain to consider using the buildings for some public purpose rather than demolishing them.
— The Nation
NBTC board urged to leave auction decision to new team
THE NATIONAL Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) office will propose to the agency’s board today that the task of considering the draft auction rules for 1800MHz licences be left to the incoming NBTC commissioners.
— The Nation
King Power to buy ‘crooked building’ MahaNakhon
King Power International Group, Thailand’s leading duty-free retailer, is to acquire the remaining units and the observation deck of the MahaNakhon tower from financially beleaguered Pace Development Corporation Plc for over 10 billion baht.
— Bangkok Post
Finance chief moved to NESDB to shepherd 20-year govt plan
THE Cabinet has approved the transfer of Somchai Sajjapongse, the Finance Ministry permanent secretary, to the post of secretary-general at the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) to take charge of the country’s 20-year strategic development blueprint.
— The Nation
Section 44 to rescue digital TV operators
The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) on Tuesday approved a proposal by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) to invoke Section 44 to rescue embattled TV digital operators and allow the Public Relations Department to broadcast adverts.
— Bangkok Post
Frank and AXA partner to offer immediate protection for the online smart traveller
AXA Insurance on Tuesday announced a partnership with Frank Insurance Broker to deliver an easy travel-protection solution for online international travellers purchasing via Frank.co.th, whether journeying for vacation, business or study overseas.
— The Nation
BMTA must pay B1.1bn to Bestlin
The Central Administrative Court ordered Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) to pay more than 1.1 billion baht to Bestlin Group and its allies for unlawfully terminating a procurement contract for 489 new gas-fuelled buses.
— Bangkok Post
Underground Pattaya casino raided
Seventeen people were arrested when authorities raided an underground casino in South Pattaya.
— Pattaya Mail
Index Living Mall unveils long-term energy-saving plan
Index Living Mall on Tuesday announced a long-term plan to save energy, with an investment of more than Bt300 million to install a solar-roof system at its premises, starting at six factories and branches that require a high power supply.
— The Nation
Feature photo John Le Fevre
Find our previous morning news feature photos in the AEC News Today Morning News Feature Photos gallery where you will find a pictorial display of daily life throughout the Asean Economic Community (AEC).
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.
John Le Fevre
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.
Latest posts by John Le Fevre (see all)
- COVID-19 in Asean: update for July 26 — 16 mln case barrier breached, Vietnam records community transmission – July 26, 2020
- COVID-19 in Asean: update for July 25 — new high for daily infections, 16 mln infection barrier to break today – July 25, 2020
- COVID-19 in Asean: update for July 24 — Asean tops 230,000 cases, nudges 90,000 active – July 24, 2020
- Thailand morning news for July 24 – July 24, 2020