Thailand Morning News For February 7

Thai economy to receive boost from mid-year state budget
The Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking (JSCCIB) has indicated that the Thai economy will benefit from an influx of 150 billion baht from the mid-year government budget.
— NNT

Strong baht, higher wages may slow Thai 2018 export growth to 3.5 pct-shippers
Thailand’s exports may grow at a much slower pace of 3.5 percent this year due to a strong baht and higher wages, after expanding nearly 10 percent in 2017, a group of Thai shippers said on Tuesday.
— Reuters

Government asked to postpone wage hike for one year
The Thai National Shippers’ Council (TNSC) has called on the government to consider postponing the wage hike plan for a year, allowing businesses to have more time to adjust to the rising costs.
— NNT

ITD tycoon in crosshairs after arrest
Construction tycoon Premchai Karnasuta could face a maximum of 28 years in jail if he is found guilty of illegally poaching wildlife in the World Heritage Thungyai Naresuan sanctuary in Kanchanaburi province.
— Bangkok Post

SMEs fret over wage hikes, energy costs
Small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) optimism fell for the three months to March as firms worry that the imminent minimum wage hikes and rising energy costs will push up their operating costs, according…
— Bangkok Post

Deputy Education Minister meets on education reform for the EEC
The Deputy Minister for Education traveled to Rayong to meet with a committee handling reform of education in the eastern region to accommodate the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) with plans to have the effort reviewed by the Cabinet.
— NNT

Thai rights news conference called off after police warning
A news conference by a Thai rights group was called off on Tuesday following a police warning not to hold the event or risk violating a junta ban on public gatherings.
— Reuters

Web watch targets 50 sites with South, ISIS links
Authorities are keeping a close watch on around 50 websites with alleged links to the Islamic State (IS) for possible connections with violence in the restive South, a senior police officer said Tuesday.
— Bangkok Post

Independent schools now under government supervision
The Independent Commission for Education Reform has agreed to change the terminology of independent schools to those under government supervision as suggested by academics.
— NNT

Criminal defamation trial against 14 migrant workers who reported abuse begins in Thailand
Thai authorities must take decisive action to protect freedom of speech and migrant worker rights, says Finnwatch as trial against 14 migrant workers from Myanmar on criminal defamation charges begins in Bangkok on 7th February 2018.
— Finnwatch

Shares sink for 2nd day
Local stocks slid for a second straight day as foreign investors were rattled by steep Wall Street losses and opted to shift to lower-risk assets.
— Bangkok Post

Bio-economic joint venture in the offing
Global Green Chemical Plc (GGC) and Kaset Thai International Sugar Corporation Plc (KTIS) have kicked off the country’s first bio-economic industrial complex in Nakhon Sawan with a total investment of 40 billion baht.
— Bangkok Post

Charoen to invest in Russian poultry sector
Thailand-based agricultural holding Charoen Pokphand Foods (CPF) plans to invest up to RUB2.5 billion (US$44.5m) to build two poultry breeding units in Russia this year.
— GlobalMeat News

US Navy sails in for Cobra Gold exercises
US Navy ships have arrived in Chon Buri’s Sattahip district for the 37th annual Cobra Gold military exercise which will kick off next week.
— Bangkok Post

Phuket airport GM addresses hours-long queues
Phuket International Airport General Manager Petch Chancharoen told The Phuket News today (Feb 6) that Airports of Thailand (AoT) are in the process of resolving long departure queues, which they say have been brought on due to a shortage of immigration officials, after claims from some passengers that they waited over three hours in queues yesterday (Feb 5).
— The Phuket News

Limiting tourists on the most popular islands
Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) held a meeting today (February 6) to discuss the excessive numbers of tourists visiting famous islands at the Pearl Hotel.
–Phuket Gazette

Peace TV faces 15-day broadcast ban
The Thai media regulator has suspended the broadcasting licence of a TV station run by the red shirts. This is the fourth time the channel has been banned under the junta.
— Prachatai English

TAT aims to lure more Japanese visitors
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is engaging the Japanese market through a series of activities and events, hoping to draw more than 1.6 million Japanese arrivals to Thailand this year.
— Bangkok Post

Feature photo Baolau

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.

Thailand Morning News For February 7 added by John Le Fevre on February 7, 2018
View all posts by John Le Fevre →

Bio
Latest Posts

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.