Thailand morning news for January 4

Thailand morning news for January 4
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Thailand morning news

New Year road deaths up by 9.5%
The road death toll during the New Year holidays rose by 9.5% from last year to 463, even as the numbers of accidents and injuries fell.
— Bangkok Post

Government admits election delay
The election date will likely be delayed from Feb 24 to avoid having poll-related activities overlapping with those of the coronation ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said Thursday.
— Bangkok Post

DTAC boss outlines obstacles to 5G by 2020
Commercial 5G services will not be in available in Thailand before 2020 under the government’s plan, as the next-generation mobile system will require a massive infrastructure upgrade with a high degree of collaboration across industries.
— Bangkok Post

People stock up on food and basic supplies
PEOPLE IN the South have been stocking up on food and other necessities as they prepare for heavy downpours and widespread flooding brought by Pabuk tropical storm.
— The Nation (very annoying popups)

Inflation reached 4-year high in 2018
Thailand’s annual headline inflation rose to a four-year high in 2018, boosted by energy and house rent, but the rate still moved in the target range set by the government.
— Bangkok Post

463 die in New Year crashes
A total of 463 people died and 3,892 others were wounded in 3,791 road accidents over the New Year holiday’s so-called seven dangerous days (December 27-January 2), the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department’s Road Safety Centre announced.
— The Nation (very annoying popups)

5G services to be tested in EEC zone
The government will test run 5G services in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) in preparation for the development of S-Curve and new S-Curve industries.
— NBT World (video)

‘Don’t go to Thailand’ – another Chinese social media firestorm
Thai officials from the Tourist Assistance Centre (TAC) have visited the female Chinese blogger who lost her left arm in a road accident on the way from Bangkok to Ko Chang.
— The Nation (very annoying popups)

Cabinet approves draft decree on expropriation of land for railway construction
The Cabinet has approved in principle the draft royal decree on the expropriation of land for the project to construct the railways connecting the three major airports.
— NBT World (video)

Finance minister airs 2019 concerns
Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong sees interest rate hikes, capital mobility and political stability after the general election as economic concerns for 2019.
— Bangkok Post

Uncertainties shroud election date
The possibility of the scheduled February 24 election being postponed by one month is looming after the government insists that it wants no disruptions for the coronation ceremony in May.
— Thai PBS World

Pabuk closes Nakhon Si Thammarat airport
Nakhon Si Thammarat airport will be closed to all flights on Friday due to Tropical Storm Pabuk, said airport director Suksawas Sukwanno on Thursday.
— The Nation (very annoying popups)

Thailand: Demand for Koh Trong pomelo soars following GI award
After obtaining a Geographical Indication (GI) status in June, demand for the pomelo grown in Kratie’s Koh Trong commune has spiked.
— Fresh Plaza

Web scraping a new tool in revenue hunt
The Revenue Department plans to launch a trial run of web scraping, a technique used for extracting data from websites, in order to prevent tax avoidance by pure-online vendors.
— Bangkok Post

Villagers in Songkhla move to high ground ahead of Pabuk
Residents of a village close to the sea in Songkhla’s Singkanakorn district have moved their belongings to higher ground in preparation for tropical storm Pabuk, which is expected to land in the Southern region on Friday.
— The Nation (very annoying popups)

Channel for VAT refund added
The Finance Ministry has extended a payment channel that is eligible for the government’s value-added tax (VAT) refund scheme for shopping during Chinese New Year, adding QR code payment to debit cards as originally planned.
— Bangkok Post

Stronger baht ‘will hurt exporters and farmers’
MOST EXPORTERS are worried about the baht appreciating against the US dollar, fearing it will hit exports and farm incomes amid the slowing of both local and global economies.
— The Nation (very annoying popups)

TOT targets revenue from new deals
State telecom enterprise TOT wants to register 40 billion baht in revenue in 2019, a 14% increase from the year before, thanks to partnership deals with major mobile operators and a different business plan.
— Bangkok Post

BoI gears up to snare aerospace investors for U-tapao
The Board of Investment (BoI) has laid out a plan to attract aerospace investment at U-tapao airport in 2019 as part of the government’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) development.
— Bangkok Post

Krabi boats banned from leaving ports due to storm ‘Pabuk’
Krabi ferries and tour boats are being banned from leaving port while some national parks are being closed for tourist safety with the approaching tropical storm ‘Pabuk’.
— The Thaiger

Army officer accused of barbaric treatment of two dogs
An animal rights group is calling for an investigation into the case of two dogs allegedly tortured by an army officer at a military camp and then left to die.
— Bangkok Post

From seizure to destruction
Office of Narcotics Control Board secretary-general Niyom Termsrisuk walks reporters through the measures taken with illegal drugs confiscated by police, during a demonstration at the agency’s Narcotics Analysis and Technical Service Institute in Bangkok on Thursday.
— The Nation (very annoying popups)

MRO takes centre stage as sector expands
Thai aerospace is ready to take off with the huge opportunity of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services, but airline competition will continue to intensify as low-cost carriers broaden their networks.
— Bangkok Post

Consultant predicts strong office market
The office space market will continue to be robust over the next two years, with rents breaking historical records and demand expected to rise after the 2019 general election, according to property consultant Knight Frank Thailand.
— Bangkok Post

Tourists flee Thai islands as Tropical Storm Pabuk closes in
Tens of thousands of tourists have fled some of Thailand’s most popular islands and resort areas as Tropical Storm Pabuk closes in and threatens to batter the southern part of the kingdom with heavy rains, winds and seven-metre (22-foot) waves.
— The Nation (very annoying popups)

REIC: Residential purchases to reduce speed
Residential developers should be more cautious with new supply launches in Greater Bangkok in 2019 as the absorption rate declines, leading the number of unsold units to exceed the five-year average, says the Real Estate Information Center (REIC).
— Bangkok Post

Wood export rules revisited
The government is considering extending its grip on the exports of wood products and mai khud lom — trees grown to a certain size and dug from the ground to be replanted in other places for andscaping — to build confidence of trading partners and increase shipments.
— Bangkok Post

Analysts: Election to sour sentiment
Investment sentiment in Thailand’s capital market may turn negative if the general election is delayed until the end of the second quarter or the second half, says the Investment Analysts Association (IAA).
— Bangkok Post

Bangkok Airways cancels Samui flights
Bangkok Airways has cancelled all Samui flights on January 4 amid warnings of torrential downpours caused by the approaching Tropical Storm Pabuk.
— The Nation (very annoying popups)

Construction outlook steady
The construction market is expected to maintain its growth prospects in the next few years, helped primarily by major public sector infrastructure projects.
— Bangkok Post

Brown Line monorail gets nod under PPP framework
The 22-kilometre Brown Line monorail project linking Khae Rai in Nonthaburi and Lam Sali in Bangkok worth 48.38 billion baht will be developed under the public-private partnership (PPP) model.
— Bangkok Post

Illegal workers, employers fined over Bt15m in past 6 months
EMPLOYERS and migrant workers have paid more than Bt15 million in fines for illegal employment over the past six months.
— The Nation (very annoying popups)

Nectec develops blockchain for elections
Thailand can use blockchain technology for elections, with a hybrid model that combines e-voting in close groups and traditional voting, as Thais still need time to build up digital literacy.
— Bangkok Post

Election wins votes as boost for consumer spending for quarter
THE road to the general election set for February 24 is expected to boost consumer spending and encourage healthy inflation growth for the first quarter of 2019, said Pimchanok Vonkorpon, director-general of the Trade Policy and Strategy Office (TPSO).
— The Nation  (very annoying popups)

SCB, KBank take cue from BoT, hike fixed-deposit rates
Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) and Kasikornbank (KBank) have raised their fixed-deposit rates by 25 basis points, following in the footsteps of Government Savings Bank (GSB), which partly passed through the central bank’s higher rate in December.
— Bangkok Post

Officials to keep an eye on food prices
The Commerce Ministry pledges to shore up key farm products this year if their prices fall below targets set by the ministry.
— Bangkok Post

Delta adding production lines for Chinese demand
SET-listed Delta Electronics Thailand, the maker and distributor of power management solutions and electronics components, plans to add new production lines this year at Bangpoo Industrial Estate, xpecting to get more orders from Chinese customers.
— Bangkok Post

KBank looks to startup tech to support the digital bank
KBANK China has plan to inject Bt8 billion in Chinese startups within the next five years in order to utilise disruptive technology to support the digital bank.
— The Nation  (very annoying popups)

BoT urges talks before passbook halt
The Bank of Thailand is demanding commercial banks discuss whether they intend to cancel physical passbooks in the future because it wants to ensure banks will offer proper services to customers.
— Bangkok Post

KPMG tells firms to up digital game
According to research from KPMG International, the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) requires transformational change at a pace the majority of manufacturers are not matching.
— The Nation  (very annoying popups)

Thai unis struggle to keep up
The year 2019 will be a challenging year for over 300 Thai universities as they struggle with two major challenges.
— Bangkok Post

 

Feature photo John Le Fevre

This week’s morning news photo focuses on the death, pain, and loss that typically occurs at this time of year on Asean roads due to drunk driving, speeding, and a failure to wear protective helmets when travelling on motorbikes.

 

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.

 

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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.

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