Toxic farm chemicals take a toll on lives
THE effects of widely used farm chemicals have led to at least 1,715 deaths over the past three years.
— The Nation
Change of chair will see the Anthem of Asean return to its roots (video)
When Thailand Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha assumes the role as Asean chair later this year the moment will be particularly poignant, the ‘Asean Anthem’ played at the proceedings being originally composed and written by Thais.
— AEC News Today (video)
BBL reins in lending on housing glut
Bangkok Bank (BBL), the country’s largest lender by assets, has tightened both mortgage lending and refinancing for condominium projects to guard against risks amid an oversupply in some areas, says a high-ranking executive.
— Bangkok Post
Flood situation in Ayutthaya industrial estates deemed normal: IEAT
The Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) considers the current flood situation in Ayutthaya’s three major industrial estates to be within a normal range, even if heavy rains continue.
— NNT
US, allies roasted as UN climate talks end in Bangkok
Developing countries rounded on the United States and its allies at emergency climate talks Sunday, accusing the world’s richest nations of stalling a deal aimed at preventing runaway global warming.
— Bangkok Post
Chinese poured $32.9 billion into Asia property last year, Thailand top destination
Mainland Chinese property buyers acquired real estate across Asia for $32.9 billion in 2017, up 352.4 per cent from $7.28 billion in 2016, a new report by Chinese property portal Juwai.com shows.
— Investvine
Prevent suicides – connect, communicate, care
A FASTER PACE of life is among factors contributing to the rising rate of suicide among Thais, according to Dr Boonruang Triruangworawat, director-gen
— The Nation
Thai film to retell cave rescue drama
A Thai film retelling the story of the Tham Luang cave operation will start filming in November, said its director and producer.
— Bangkok Post
DPM Wissanu: Election campaigns can only kick off after political restrictions unlocked
The Deputy Prime Minister for Legal Affairs told politicians that the election could be postponed from next February to May if they insisted that the 70-day period permissible for election campaigns is not enough.
— News Today (video)
Thailand Charges 12 Facebook Users for Sharing Briton’s Rape Allegation
Thai authorities released 12 people on bail Friday after arresting them for sharing a Facebook post about a British tourist who claimed that she was drugged and raped while on a beach holiday in southern Thailand, a lawyer said.
— Benar News
CP Land, MQDC upbeat on rise in contributions
PROPERTY, ALBEIT a relatively new business of Thai conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group (CP Group), contributes an average of Bt10 billion annually to the group’s revenue.
— The Nation
BIG budgets B4bn for capacity expansion
Bangkok Industrial Gas Co (BIG), Thailand’s largest industrial gas producer, has set aside almost 4 billion baht for a capacity expansion in the domestic market and a new gas separation plant in Myanmar.
— Bangkok Post
Social welfare cardholders to be exempted from VAT
The Ministry of Finance will seek cabinet approval for its latest scheme to exempt social welfare cardholders from the value-added tax (VAT).
— NNT
Korn to lodge complaint with PM over PTT’s power production investment
Democrat party deputy leader Korn Chatikavanij plans to visit the Government House Monday morning to lodge a complaint with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and the Energy Minister Siri Jirapongphan against PTT Public Company over the oil firm’s takeover of a private power producer.
— Thai PBS World
To err is unbankable
Just a month after customer data was reported stolen from Kasikornbank (KBank) and Krungthai Bank (KTB) by unidentified hackers, the local banking sector was dealt another blow on the Aug 31-Sept 1 weekend by an electronic system glitch that lasted several hours, leaving tens of thousands of customers stranded and d
— Bangkok Post
‘Widespread sale of wild animals on Facebook’
MORE THAN 1,500 wild animals are up for sale on Facebook every month, the wildlife trade-monitoring network Traffic said yesterday.
— The Nation
Row over spectrum set to hit 1m DTAC subscribers
MORE THAN 1 million mobile-phone subscribers of Total Access Communication (DTAC) group could experience service disruption if the company fails to get approval from the telecom regulatory body for its plan to allow DTAC continued use of the 850MHz band after its concession ends on September 15.
— The Nation
New kettle of fish
Santichai Jongkiartkajorn, 64, a farmer in Betong district of Yala province, has lived off rubber for years. He and his family endured harsh conditions over the past few years as rubber prices remained relatively low.
— Bangkok Post
Commerce Min expects 9% export expansion this year
The Ministry of Commerce says the country’s exports are likely to grow 9% this year as China remains Thailand’s largest trade partner.
— NNT
First reading of local election bills scheduled for mid-September
The first vice president of the National Legislative Assembly of Thailand (NLA) has disclosed that the 6 municipal election related bills will be tabled in mid-September.
— News Today (video)
CP Group looks to higher return from real estate
CP LAND PLC and Magnolia Quality Development Corporation (MQDC), the property arms of Charoen Pokphand Group (CP Group), will invest a total of Bt200 billion till year 2022 in the developments of residential, office, hotel, retail, meeting/exhibition centre and industrial estate projects nationwide.
— The Nation
Tourist arrivals on the rise
Thailand welcomed visitor arrivals of about 22.65 million from January to July 2018, up by 11% compared to the same period of 2017, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). Estimated visitor expenditure rose by 14.44% to 1.18 trillion baht.
— Pattaya Mail
Google maps out a digital Thailand
Tech giant is offering solutions to help businesses and individuals improve their prospects
— The Nation
Energy Ministry: EA of southern coal power plant will take 9 months
The Ministry of Energy made known that the environmental impact assessment of a southern coal power plant will conclude in 9 months.
— News Today (video)
European firms wooed for creation of financial hub in EEC
Thailand plans to attract leading European financial institutions to help develop a financial centre in the country’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) to forge a financial link with Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV).
— The Nation
Industry minister hands awards to SMEs
Industry Minister Uttama Savanayana has presented awards to outstanding small and medium enterprises at the “SME One Fest 2018.”
— NNT
Thai-Lao business meeting to yield 62 million baht in trade
The latest Thai-Lao business matching conference will result in 62 million baht’s worth of two-way trade, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
— Pattaya Mail
What’s holding back artificial intelligence in this country?
The pursuit of artificial intelligence is over 60 years old. But a recent explosion in available data and computational power has finally made AI a kind of new electricity for the current industrial era. For Thailand to keep up with the AI revolution, the most critical factor is to ensure data-science students can access some of this data and use it to solve real-world business cases.
— The Nation
Rights issues from transborder investments in focus at forum
Some projects, Tuenjai said, had been endorsed by the Thai government, hence it was the government’s duty to come up with a national plan to deal with human rights issues arising out of such activities, with risk assessments as well as monitoring included.
— The Nation
Skills training by Chanthaburi for Cambodian workers
The Chanthaburi Office for Skills Development recently organized a vocational skills training program for Cambodian workers in Pailin Province.
— News Today (video)
[EXCLUSIVE] ‘Businessman arrested in Thailand not linked to Najib, Jho Low’
THE businessman arrested in Thailand by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over the SRC International Sdn Bhd case is not linked to former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and financier Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low.
— New Straits Times
PM gives guideline to fix labour shortage in fishing
Lt Gen Sansern said that, according to Gen Prayut, the problem must be tackled urgently since Thailand is one of the world’s leaders in the fishing industry, making a huge yearly income from it.
— Bangkok Post
Thailand & Laos discuss reducing trade and investment barriers
Thailand and Laos have engaged in negotiations to reduce trade and investment barriers, with the aim of creating a logistics network that will boost bilateral trade to 11 billion US dollars by 2021, up from 6.1 billion dollars last year.
— News Today (video)
EC ready to hold elections
Ittiporn Boonprakong, Chairman of the Election Commission of Thailand (EC), has reiterated that the forthcoming election will be staged on February 24th at the earliest.
— NNT
Land dispute hits Thai court
A Thai civil court has accepted a class action suit filed by Cambodian land victims from Oddar Meanchey province against sugar producer Mitr Phol.
— Phnom Penh Post
US, allies roasted as UN climate talks end in Bangkok -video
Experts from around the world have been locked in discussions this week in Bangkok, aiming to reach a comprehensive rulebook for countries to implement the landmark Paris Accord on climate change.
— Bangkok Post
Poll shows Gen Prayut favourite choice for premiership
Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha has emerged as the most favourite choice for prime minister after the next elections in a new poll conducted by Suan Dusit Poll.
— Thai PBS World
Public ‘losing say’ in the media
Thiptrai Salawong, of the Thailand Development Research Institute, said that in assessing where power behind the media is concentrated, financiers ranked first, the government second and media practitioners third.
— Bangkok Post
Tham Luang rescue saga: From struggle to celebrations
The Tham Luang Cave rescue efforts during June 23-July 10, 2018 involved thousands of people from all over the world. They included divers, rescue workers, police officers, soldiers and volunteers from at least a dozen countries.
— Thai PBS World
Kaeng Krachan National Park to enhance tourism safety measures
Officials at Kaeng Krachan National Park are instructed to take close care of visitors, following an accident that a tourist slipped and fell down at Pa La-U waterfall.
— NNT
Online shopper buys B37,000 luxury bag, gets water bottles – video
“I decided to transfer the money quickly because I knew that many shoppers were lining up to buy brandname products,” the buyer told the Bangkok Post.
— Bangkok Post
Motorcycle repair shop damaged by bomb in Songkhla
A fire broke out in front of a motorcycle repair shop in Chana district of this southern province early on Sunday following a bomb explosion, damaging six motorcycles and the shop front.
— Bangkok Post
Land title deeds for cooperative estate members in Mukdahan
The deputy director of the Cooperative Promotion Department recently delivered land title deeds and certificates of utilization to 100 members of the Don Tan Cooperative Estate.
— News Today (video)
Sri Lankan drug trafficking suspect nabbed in Bangkok
A Sri Lankan man wanted for drug trafficking in his home country has been arrested in Bangkok, four years after he first fled to Thailand, Bangkok Post reported.
— Daily Mirror
Two elephants found dead in Kaeng Krachan park
A wild elephant and its baby were found dead near a reservoir in Kaeng Krachan national park in Phetchaburi province.
— Thai PBS World
Children + Heroes + Safety = PEACE Festival held in Yala
The Association of Children and Youths for Peace in the Southern Border cooperated with its network parties to organize Children + Heroes + Safety = PEACE Festival, which reflects the situation in the three southernmost border provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani, and Yala.
— NNT
Feature photo Max Pixel
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 September 10 added by John Le Fevre on
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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