Thailand Morning News For February 19

Prayut govt gets low score in performance rating: Suan Dusit Poll
The government under Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has received a score of only 5.35 points out of 10 for its overall performance, an opinion poll conducted by Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, or Suan Dusit Poll, revealed on Sunday.
— Bangkok Post

EEC investment to boost Thailand’s GDP growth by 5%: official
The projected substantial investment in eastern provinces under the government’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) project would help boost the country’s economy by 5 percent in 2018, according to EEC.
— NNT

Optimism for Q4 growth results
Economic growth in the final quarter last year likely fared better than the previous quarter’s 4.3%, with full-year growth expected to at least meet the central bank’s forecast of 3.9%, say economists.
— Bangkok Post

Thai properties high on Chinese tourists’ Lunar New Year holiday shopping lists
Thailand is now the third most popular property market for Chinese, helped by low prices and high rental yields
— South China Morning Post

Employers to begin garnishing wages to repay student loans
EMPLOYERS of former students with outstanding loans will face demands starting in June to garnish the wages of their employees for outstanding sums related to the Student Loan Fund.
— The Nation (annoying popups)

Banks look to capitalise on agent services
Banks are keen to apply for banking agent licences, allowing them to expand financial services at lower cost as more traditional branches close.
— Bangkok Post

Somkid backs Government’s move to boost investments through EEC
The Deputy Prime Minister for economic affairs has indicated that the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) is the key to bolstering investments in the nation.
— News Today (video)

Commerce Ministry keen to help SMEs expand production bases
The Ministry of Commerce will assist Thai small and medium enterprises in their endeavors to expand their production capacities to meet the demands in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam, also known as the CLMV region.
— News Today (video)

Japanese firm hails Thai embrace of robotics
Robotics in Thailand is thriving on rising demand in Asia and around the globe as automation helps reduce manufacturing costs and the space needed at factories, says a Japanese electronics executive.
— Bangkok Post

Army under fire for defamation lawsuits against media, rights group over torture
A MEDIA outlet and a human rights defender have been sued by the army for defaming the Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) Region 4 and Fourth Army Area for alleging torture inside a military base.
— The Nation

Education Ministry to set wage standards for vocational interns
The Ministry of Education is preparing to work on wage standards with the agencies involved, to increase security for vocational students.
— NNT

Pro-election activists vow to organize major rallies in March and May
In defiance of the authorities, the pro-election activists today (Feb 17) unveiled series of demonstrations between February-May with two major rallies in Bangkok to demand the government to hold the election this year.
— Thai PBS

Thailand decorates Myanmar’s army chief amid Rohingya crisis
Thailand awarded Myanmar’s army chief a royal decoration on Friday amid allegations of crimes by Myanmar security forces against Rohingya Muslims that have prompted international condemnation.
— Reuters

Ties forged in ‘brotherhood’
During a three-day visit to Thailand, Sen Gen Min Aung Hlaing, Myanmar Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services, talked to reporters Wassana Nanuam and Kornchanok Raksaseri on the occasion of his receiving a second royal decoration from Thailand, the Knight Grand Cross (First Class) of the Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant.
— Bangkok Post

Laem Chabang expansion edges closer
CONSTRUCTION of a new phase of the deep-sea port at Laem Chabang is expected to get under way soon if a study into the environmental and health impacts of the project – a key plank of the Eastern Economic Corridor initiative – clears the final scrutiny in the next six months.
— The Nation

Powering the EV surge
The government is keen on transforming Thailand into a global production hub for electric vehicles (EVs), offering measures to encourage local car factories to build this new generation of automobiles, but uncertainty persists about how to generate demand in the domestic market.
— Bangkok Post

Ao Po Grand Marina gets dragged into Premchai investigations
Italian-Thai Development president Premchai Karnasuta is subject to another encroachment investigation as a firm in which he is major shareholder is accused of encroaching on mangrove forests and the public sea in Phuket.
— The Nation (annoying popups)

Most poll respondents believe Premchai will escape unpunished
Most respondents to an opinion poll believe that Italian-Thai Development Plc boss Premchai Karnasuta will escape punishment.
— Thai PBS

Thailand is South-East Asia’s leader in renewable energy
Thailand has emerged as South-East Asia’s leading developer of renewable electricity, with providers obliged to guarantee minimum levels of supply.
— Star2.com

Commerce Ministry to promote more rice production to serve foreign markets
The Commerce Ministry is planning to promote the production of a new type of rice to serve growing foreign demand.
— News Today (video)

FTI plans farm support model
The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) plans to launch a new business platform to help local rice farmers increase agricultural prices and household incomes.
— Bangkok Post

Govt on track on migrant workers regulation
The government is working to solve the issue of illegal migrant workers in Thailand to have it completed within the set timeframe, focusing on joining hands with related agencies and authorities from the countries of origin.
— NNT

60 Thai policemen under probe for receiving hongbao
Thai police have launched an investigation on 60 policemen from Bangkok’s four police stations for receiving hongbao from an alleged gambling outlet owner.
— Chanel NewsAsia

Transport ministry urges acquisition of minibuses
The state-run Transport Co Ltd has been instructed to intensify efforts to acquire 64 rental minibuses to replace the existing inter-provincial vans on short-distance routes in the interests of public safety.
— Bangkok Post

GITSDA asked to keep track of floating garbage in the Gulf with its satellite
Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development (GISTDA) has been asked by the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources to keep track of floating garbage in the Gulf with its Sentinel-2 satellite so that officials of the department can deal with it immediately.
— Thai PBS

Leaving the money at home
Banks leap into the future with QR code sales and app-based loan approvals as they withdraw from bricks and mortar storefronts.
— The Nation (annoying popups)

Thailand in process of drafting strategy on development of human resources
Thailand is in the process of drafting a new strategy designed to develop the country’s human resources to help achieve further growth.
— News Today (video)

Economic Intelligence Center details economic benefits of EEC
The Economic Intelligence Center has presented a report detailing the economic benefits of the Eastern Economic Corridor.
— News Today (video)

Phuket Governor urges stricter enforcement of coral protection measures
Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong yesterday (Feb 16) convened a meeting of government officials where he urges strict enforcement of coral protection laws on Racha Island, south of Phuket.
— The Phuket News

Phuket Opinion: Patong, you’re swimming in it
Full praise to Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) Permanent Secretary Dr Wijarn Simachaya for blasting point-blank at the heart of the issue of raw sewage flowing into Patong Bay this week – exposing thousands of tourists to potential infection from a toxic cocktail of faeces and whatever else is dumped into the Pak Bang Canal in Phuket’s busiest tourism town.
— The Phuket News

Take shark fin off the menu for good
Thailand once again is under the international spotlight. A global report has pinpointed Thailand as a country with high consumption of shark fin, which is popular in Chinese food and traditional medicine but which raise conservation concerns.

Feature photo John Le Fevre

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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 19 added by John Le Fevre on February 19, 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.