Thailand Morning News For March 6

Thailand Confident of Shedding IUU Fishing Tag (video)
A team of EU officials is scheduled to visit Thailand next month to inspect the country’s efforts to reign in its seafood and fishing industries to conform with EU fishing regulations. To say that Thai officials are more than a little confident that it will be the last such visit under threat of penalty is somewhat of an understatement.
— AEC News Today

Prayut charts course to beat EU’s import ban
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha asked the public to be patient as the government seeks to do away with Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing.
— Bangkok Post

THE GAMBIA GOVERNMENT APOLOGISES TO THE KINGDOM OF THAILAND OVER COMMENTS MADE BY TOURISM AND CULTURE MINISTER
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad of the Republic of The Gambia regrets the unfortunate comments made by the Minister of Tourism and Culture, in which he referred to the Tourism Sector of Thailand in a negative manner during televised TV Programme aired on 12 January 2018, a statement from Gambia’s Foreign Ministry read.
— Freedom Newspaper

UNODC admires Thailand’s improvement in Corruption Perceptions Index
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has expressed admirations for Thailand’s improvement in the Corruption Perceptions Index, said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Prajin Juntong.
— NNT

Prayut threatens to arrest mass of migrant workers
PM enraged as Employment Department ‘sluggish’ in registering almost 700,000 foreign labourers
— The Nation (annoying popups)

13 provinces are ‘rabies red zones’
Thirteen provinces have been declared “rabies red zones” after the deadly disease recently spread to several parts of the country, resulting in three deaths over the past two months.
— Bangkok Post

Freak storm to hit all parts of Thailand during March 6-9
The Thai Meteorological Department issued a warning of freak storm in regions of the country tomorrow (Tuesday) until Friday, with the possibility of hail storm in some parts of the northern and northeastern regions.
— Thai PBS

First duty-free cars arrive in Vietnam from Thailand
Over 2,000 Honda cars from Thailand — the first batches of cars to enjoy zero percent import duty under the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) — have been imported to Vietnam.
— The Jakarta Post

CIMBT envisions massive profit uptick to B12-15bn
CIMB Thai Bank (CIMBT) aims to dramatically boost its pre-provision operating profit (PPOP) to a range of 12-15 billion baht, hoping to meet its goal of upgrading to a mid-tier bank under its mid-term business plan through 2021.
— Bangkok Post

French investors wary over fair play on projects
FRENCH companies are keen on a share of the action from the proposed massive investments to upgrade Thailand’s rail system, but have voiced concerns over whether they will have a level playing field to compete for business.
— The Nation

AIS buys into Rabbit-Line Pay in B787m deal
Advanced Info Service Plc, the country’s largest mobile phone operator, has bought into Rabbit-Line Pay Co Ltd, an e-money and e-payment provider.
— Bangkok Post

Thailand’s CP Foods’ sales grow in 2017 on back of overseas business
Thailand’s CP Foods’ 2017 sales hit THB 501.507bn (US$15bn), up 8% year-on-year thanks to its growing overseas business operations.
— Food Navigator-Asia

FTI: Steel dumping risk
Thailand risks becoming a “dumping ground” for steel from exporters flagged in the Trump administration’s tariff measures, warns the Federation of Thai Industries.
— Bangkok Post

Thai retailer Central plans $1.5 billion store expansion at home and overseas
Thailand’s largest retailer, Central Group, plans to invest around $1.51 billion to substantially expand its store footprint locally and overseas, and is aiming to grow sales by 14 percent this year, its chief executive said on Monday.
— Reuters

SCB feeling out US tech giant tie-up
Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), the country’s second-largest lender by assets, is in talks with a US-based technology giant for a possible business partnership as part of efforts to guard market share amid rising use of online banking.
— Bangkok Post

EGCO gears up for Bt12 bn investment spree
ELECTRICITY Generating Plc (EGCO) has set aside an investment budget of more than Bt12 billion for this year with the aim of generating a return on the investment of at least 10 per cent, the company’s president Jakgrich Pibulpairoj said yesterday.
— The Nation

Phuket officials stumble in enforcing Supreme Court beach evictions
Officials today were confused as who should take the first step in clearing vendors illegally occupying plots within 178 rai of beachfront land and Layan and Leypang beaches, on Phuket’s scenic west coast, in upholding beach evictions ordered by the Supreme Court.
— The Phuket News

EC Somchai advises state organizations to share data with public
Election Commissioner Somchai Srisutthiyakorn has called on governmental agencies to share data with the general public in order to promote public participation in politics and state-run activities.
— News Today (video)

Welfare ‘ghost accounts’ used for emezzlement
An investigation into the embezzlement of funds to help the underprivileged at welfare centres across the country has found that many of those registered for benefits were not entitled to state subsidies of any kind.
— Bangkok Post

Parents urged to be closer to teens as suicide rate reaches 170 a year
The Department of Mental Health has found an average 170 Thai teenagers commit suicide each year, with most doing so due to relationship problems, advising parents and guardians to closely watch their children.
— NNT

Feature photo Patrik M. Loeff

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 March 6 added by John Le Fevre on March 6, 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.