Thailand Morning News For February 12

Proposed Kra Canal not current government project: Thailand
The Thai Government has made it clear that the proposed Kra Canal project is neither a priority currently nor does it have a policy on the proposed man-made waterway which will link the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.
— Channel NewsAsia/ Bernama

Scores defy Thai junta with rally demanding elections
Scores of Thais on Saturday (Feb 10) gathered in defiance of a junta ban on protests to call for a return to democracy, as public anger mounts over prolonged military repression.
— Channel NewsAsia/ AFP

New welfare benefits total B12bn in 4 months
Almost 12 billion baht was disbursed during the first four months of the government’s welfare and subsidy scheme for the poor, according to the Comptroller-General’s Department.
— Bangkok Post

Chinese New Year to see turnover of more than 480 billion baht
The Ministry of Tourism and Sports has joined forces with both the public and private sectors to fully provide safety and convenience for about 900,000 foreign tourists expected in Thailand during the Chinese New Year period.
— News Today (video)

Japan is still interested in Bangkok-Chiang Mai high-speed train project
The Ministry of Transport has denied as untrue foreign press and social media reports that Japan has decided not to invest in the Bangkok-Phitsanuloke section of Bangkok-Chiang Mai high-speed train project.
— Thai PBS

EGAT told to find new sites for coal-fired power plant projects
The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) has been ordered by the Energy Ministry to look for new locations for the construction of coal-fired power plants after the government put on hold two coal-fired power projects in Krabi and Thepha district of Songkhla for three years.
— Thai PBS

Rainmakers consider seeding Bangkok sky as PM2.5 returns to ‘safe’ level
The Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation Department is preparing to seed clouds above Bangkok in an attempt to ease the capital’s smog problems.
— The Nation (annoying popups)

Police inspection of forest areas along Thailand-Myanmar border
The deputy police commissioner-general has inspected areas of forest on the border between Thailand and Myanmar, leading a force to destroy opium poppy fields and insisting on the monitoring of illegal forest destruction and wildlife poaching.
— News Today (video)

TCG increases credit guarantee limit for micro entrepreneurs
The Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation (TCG) has raised the credit guarantee limit for micro businesses including small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
— News Today (video)

Draft Financial Institutions for the People Act to be completed in 6 months
The drafting of the Financial Institutions for the People Bill will be finished in six months, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.
— NNT

Hotel group chases revenue increase
THAILAND-owned hotel brand Grande Centre Point Hotels (GCP) has set a 2018 revenue target of between Bt2.4 billion and Bt2.5 billion, Kitti Worrabanpott, managing director of the brand owner LH Mall & Hotel Co Ltd, said yesterday.
— The Nation

The coming battle for e-commerce
With the Bank of Thailand issuing regulations to govern financial institutions engaged in the e-marketplace, the domestic e-commerce arena is poised for local firms to battle it out with foreign e-commerce behemoths.
— Bangkok Post

Green buildings pay out in more than just
THE BENEFITS of constructing “green” buildings goes beyond reducing environmental impacts to also chalk up social and financial gains, according to Armelle Le Bihan, founder of Thailand-based Green Building Consulting & Engineering.
— The Nation

Dep Agriculture Minister launches campaign to promote technology in agriculture
The Deputy Agriculture Minister has officially launched a new campaign to promote the use of technology for agricultural purposes.
— NNT

Student intern blows the whistle on poverty centre’s alleged Bt6.9 embezzlement scam
AN ONGOING investigation has found that several officials at the Khon Kaen Protection Centre for the Destitute have allegedly embezzled Bt6.9 million of state funds using forged signatures after an intern exposed alleged wrongdoing at the facility.
— The Nation (annoying popups)

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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 February 12 added by John Le Fevre on February 12, 2018
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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.