Thailand morning news for September 26

Before ‘Wild Boars’ rescue mission, four others were saved from Thai cave: Reports
Two British divers who helped rescue a Thai youth football team from a flooded cave had earlier saved four adults also stranded in the complex, according to a new report on a mission that gripped the world.
— Channel NewsAsia/ AFP

BOT raises free transfer limit for online banking users
The Bank of Thailand (BOT) has resolved to increase the limit on free money transfers for users of internet banking to 700,000 baht per transaction.
— NNT

Company executive jailed 9 years for selling fraudulent GT200 devices to royal guards unit
The top executive of a company that supplied the controversial GT200 remote substance detectors worth altogether nine million baht to the Royal Guards Regiment was on Wednesday sentenced to nine years imprisonment by the Don Meuang District Court after he was found guilty of fraud.
— Thai PBS World

Shipments seen keeping pace into 2019
The government expects the country’s export prospects next year to be on a par with this year’s performance.
— Bangkok Post

Democrats and Pheu Thai convene general assemblies ahead of general election
Two major political parties have organized their own general assembly to pave the way for the national poll.
— NNT

FDA revokes licences for two brands of mosquito coil
The Food and Drug Administration has revoked the licences for two brands of mosquito coil after finding unregistered chemicals in the products.
— Bangkok Post

Wake-up call on climate issued
THAI companies have been too slow to adapt to the consequences of climate change, say researchers who have welcomed plans by the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) to issue green bonds.
— The Nation

New terminal strays from plan
The Architect Council of Thailand (ACT) will submit a petition to the prime minister on Monday, detailing the irregularities it found in Suvarnabhumi airport’s planned passenger terminal, according to its president.
— Bangkok Post (annoying popups)

TRADE WAR: Supachai seeks focus on SMEs amid uncertainties
THAILAND, as an export-dependent economy, needs to adjust its strategic policies and support small and medium enterprises against uncertainties and the threat of global capital outflows, experts warned Wednesday.
— The Nation

ADB hikes Thai GDP outlook on strong H1
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has raised Thailand’s economic growth forecast to 4.5% this year and 4.3% in 2019 after robust growth of 4.8% in the first half amid improving economic prospects.
— Bangkok Post

Thailand sells rice to China for first time in six months
Thailand’s government on Wednesday said it had sold 100,000 tonnes of rice to China, the first such sale since March.
— Reuters

Armed forces instructed to ensure order in the country
All units of the Thai armed forces have been instructed to ensure order is maintained across the country.
— NNT

Political ban decision due in December
The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) is likely to hold a meeting in December to determine when the ban on political activities will be fully lifted, according to Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon.
— Bangkok Post (annoying popups)

Oversupply and imports strike coconut industry
In southern Thailand, many coconut suppliers are deep in debt. There are 40 million coconuts in stock and few buyers. Coconut lhong, or middleman-run warehouses in the Thap Sakae district in Prachuap Khiri Khan just south of Bangkok, have debts of more than 200 million baht (€5.2 million).
— Fresh Plaza

Health ministry joins efforts to promote birth-control awareness
A network of Thai organisations, led by the Public Health Ministry’s Department of Health and pharmaceutical giant Bayer Thai, joined an international campaign marking World Contraception Day on Wednesday, to promote awareness of effective birth control in order to cut down on unplanned and teen pregnancies.
— The Nation

PULO optimistic about new facilitator for peace talks with Thai authorities
A Southern Thai separatist group is optimistic about the appointment of a controversial former inspector general of police of Malaysia as the new facilitator for peace talks to end violence in southern Thailand, according to Malaysiakini.
— Thai PBS World

DTAC boss bets on customer focus and network expansion
TOTAL Access Communication (DTAC), with new chief executive officer Alexandra Reich at the helm, is banking on its greater customer focus, a rapid network expansion and its cross-functional teamwork to better serve customers and grow its business.
— The Nation

Laws on licenses and permits to be updated in Oct
The government plans to revise outdated laws on licenses and permits next month to help reduce the private sector’s costs of complying with the processes required by law.
— NNT

Starved of Funding, BACC Unable to Pay its Bills
The director of a popular downtown public arts venue said City Hall has made good on its vow to defund the Bangkok Art and Cultural Centre, or BACC, by refusing to pay its utilities.
— Khaosod English

9 billion baht fund to be sought from Central Fund to help small rubber farmers
The board of Rubber Authority of Thailand will ask for 9 billion baht from the government’s Central Fund to help about 300,000 rubber planters who each owns not more than 10 rai of rubber plantation in the wake of falling natural rubber prices.
— Thai PBS World

Government’s decentralization committee approves criteria for budget allocations
The government-appointed committee in charge of the decentralization of power to local administrative organizations has approved a set of criteria related to the allocation of budget in 2019 fiscal year.
— NNT

Jail birds: Thailand considers prison for feeding pigeons
The Thai capital is considering jailing people who feed pigeons in public to try to eliminate the risk of bird flu and other diseases, officials said on Wednesday (Sep 26).
— Reuters

Hospital apologises for nurse’s violent handling of old patient
The management of Buddhachinnaraj Phitsanulok Hospital in Phitsanulok province has apologised for a nurse’s violent handling of a patient in his 90s in an intensive care unit.
— The Phuket News

Greed unravelled the trio’s grisly plot – Phrae double murder
The bodies of 64 year old Alan Hogg and his 61 year old wife, Nod Suddaen, wee unearthed yesterday morning following a short investigation where greed brought the plot unstuck for the killers.
— The Thaiger

Asean tobacco atlas reveals how Thailand is fighting back against killer
Among more than 7 million people killed by tobacco-caused diseases globally each year, more than 500,000 occur in Southeast Asia according to the fourth edition of the Asean Tobacco Control Atlas released yesterday by the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) on the occasion of the 3rd UN High-Level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases taking place in New York today.
— The Nation

Feature photo World Bank

This week’s Thailand morning news feature photo acknowledges International Day for Universal Access to Information, September 28.

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 27 added by John Le Fevre on September 27, 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.