The Nation ceases publication after 48 years
After 48 years on the newsstands, The Nation, Thailand’s leading English-language daily known for its independent and aggressive news reporting, publishes its last print edition today.
— Thai PBS World
Thai June headline inflation rate seen easing to 1.1%
Thailand’s annual headline inflation rate in June likely slowed from the previous month, but remained within the central bank’s target range for a fourth straight month, a Reuters poll showed.
— Reuters
Thailand cannabis clinic reaches limit upon opening
Chao Phraya Abhaibhubejhr Hospital has announced that its medical cannabis clinic, which opened on Monday, will not accept any more patients as the clinic had reached its limit.
— Asia One
Myanmar Migrants Released as Murder Convictions Overturned in Thailand
Two Myanmar migrants serving six- and eight-year sentences for the alleged murder of a Thai woman in Ranong, Thailand in 2015 won their appeal in a southern Thailand court Wednesday.
— The Irrawaddy
Stateless student wins consolation prize from US’s Genius Olympiad program
A stateless high-school girl, from Thailand’s southern province of Ranong, has won a consolation award from the Genius Olympiad program held recently in the United States.
— Thai PBS News
Thai e-commerce to hit $13bn by 2025
Thailand’s e-commerce market value is expected to surge to US$13 billion by 2025 from last year’s $3 billion on the back of strong global demand for Thai products.
— Bangkok Post
Thai govt to invest THB 5 bln in internet infrastructure expansion
Thailand’s Digital Economy and Society Ministry plans to invest THB 5 billion (approximately USD 162.7 million) for the upgrade and development of the country’s internet infrastructure.
— Telecompaper
Thailand’s export drops 5.8%YOY in May
Thailand’s export growth this year may be flat after Thailand’s outbound shipments in May recorded the sharpest drop in 34 months.
— Thailand Business News
Officials to elevate B10 to primary diesel
The Energy Ministry plans to announce the availability of biodiesel B10 as the primary diesel from November onward, replacing B7 in order to increase the use of crude palm oil and address Thailand’s environmental problems.
— Bangkok Post
Phnom Penh-Poipet train service launch unclear
No launch date has been decided on a passenger train service between Phnom Penh and Poipet city, which sits near the Thai border province of Sa Kaeo, as the government continue talks with concession-granted company Royal Railway on the service in the Cambodian side that would facilitate cross-border connection of railway services between the Kingdom and Thailand.
— Khmer Times
Progress on Phang Nga’s new international airport
The AoT (Airports of Thailand) planned international airport in Phang Nga, set to be part of a triangle of international airports serving the Phuket, Phang Nga, Khao Lak and Krabi tourist zones, is poised to move past another development milestone.
— The Thaiger
Sportsnet Holidays’ 2019 Thailand MotoGP Tours/Travel Packages
Go for the racing; stay for the incredible weather, food, culture and natural beauty that Thailand is famous for. If you’re looking for a very different MotoGP experience to Phillip Island without breaking the bank, look no further than the Thailand MotoG
— Motorcycle News
Six telecoms decry True cable lease
Six telecom companies have petitioned Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha against City Hall’s decision to lease underground cable conduits to True Corporation, claiming it will “destroy fair competition” in the internet and cable communications industry.
— Bangkok Post
Media share probes ‘fair’
Academics have leapt to the defence of the Constitutional Court in the wake of the court’s decision to allow 32 government MPs who are accused of breaching the charter’s rule on shareholdings in media firms to continue performing their duties.
— Bangkok Post
Brakes put on opening of illegal parlour
Legal action is being taken against a company which planned to open a new massage parlour on the site of a former fleshpot ordered shut down nearly three years ago.
— Bangkok Post
Japanese electric company organises training of optical fiber in Thailand
Thailand is one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia. The country is working hard to drive digital transformation and utilize innovation to become a cutting-edge economic powerhouse.
— Business Insider
200 year old durian and takien thong trees added to national heritage list
The Thai Ministry of Culture has declared one durian tree and one takien thong tree, both about 200 years old in Patoh district of the southern province of Chumpon, to…
— Thai PBS News
PM suggests people study Sunthorn Phu’s life, and works
Deputy Government Spokesman Lt. Gen. Werachon Sukondhapatipak said today that Prime Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha had suggested on the occasion of Sunthorn Phu Day on June 26th, that the people study the life and works of Sunthorn Phu, a renowned poet during four reigns in Siam.
— NNT
Illegal hotels already under amnesty, get new amnesty
Operators of illegal hotels are being urged to take advantage of the nationwide order by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on June 12 for illegal hotel operators to register with local authorities. The order also waives any prosecution for operating illegally if they do register with local authorities.
— The Phuket News
Saha scales back as baht goes up
Consumer spending remains far from improved in the first half of the year as the gloomy export outlook weighs on economic growth.
— Bangkok Post
Fuji Xerox closing Thai recycling plant
Japanese photocopier maker Fuji Xerox Co. is closing a recycling plant in Thailand due to the country’s import ban on electronic waste, amid globally tightening regulations in the cross-border garbage trade.
— Bangkok Post
16,467 kilograms of drugs destroyed on International Day against Drug Abuse
16,467 kilograms of drugs were destroyed on the annual International Day against Drug, valued around 20 million baht. The Police Magazine Thailand reported yesterday, the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, that drugs has been destroyed by Ministry of Public Health …
— The Thaiger
New aviation licences in the works
A draft of a commercial aviation regulation that will allow the issuance of a licence for flights other than scheduled passengers services — such as private sightseeing or chemical spraying — is being deliberated for approval by the Transport Ministry.
— Bangkok Post
International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking
Thailand held several activities across the nation, marking the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking yesterday.
— NBT World (video)
TCEB and THA go musical with new ‘Say No’ to plastic call on MICE industry
The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) and Thai Hotels Association (THA) have turned to the power of music to send a friendly yet serious message to the MICE industry in Thailand to ‘Say No’ to plastic.
— AEC News Today/ PR Newswire
New, shorter road to Luang Prabang now open
A new sealed road from the Thai border to the Lao province of Luang Prabang has opened to traffic, reducing travel time from Nan province to Luang Prabang from nine to five hours.
— Bangkok Post
Agencies push Pattaya as Mice centre
The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) has joined with the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) Office and Pattaya City to develop the resort destination into a Mice Metropolis.
— Bangkok Post property
New PP plant slated for Southeast Asia
Leading Southeast Asia polypropylene producer, HMC Polymers plans to construct a fourth polypropylene (PP) plant at its Map Ta Phut site, Rayong Province Thailand, bringing HMC’s total PP production capacity to over 1 million tonnes annually and maintaining position as Southeast Asia’s largest PP producer.
— Plastics Today
FDA: permits to advertise marijuana does not benefit foreigners
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has stressed that the draft regulation on obtaining a permit to advertise medicinal cannabis of the Ministry of Public Health does not benefit local or foreign entities looking to commercialize marijuana medicines, as many parties have expressed concerns.
— NBT World (video)
Songkran rise spotted for Visa use
Visa cardholders made 15% more transactions and spent 6% more during Songkran this year than they did last year, adding to signs that digital payment is on the rise.
— Bangkok Post
Billionaires on digital changes and death
Digital disruption and workforce management are challenges at the forefront of billionaire families’ minds, requiring tycoons’ successors to turn their skills towards administrative upheaval.
— Bangkok Post
DPM Somkid officiates goods fair in Bangkok
The Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs has officiated a goods fair at the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) headquarters in Bang Khen District of the capital, which is being held from now to June 28th.
— NBT World (video)
Thailand Cybersecurity 2019
With Digital Transformation, cybersecurity has become one of the fastest growing areas of risk.
— NBT World (video)
Fast train coming
Construction of the new double-track railway linking Khon Kaen to Nakhon Phanom will start next year, according to the Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith.
— Bangkok Post travel
Heirs grace Forbes forum
Heirs of billionaires and tycoons are warning of threats and challenges to digital disruption changes and workforce management when transferring operations from fathers to sons, according to Forbes Thailand Forum 2019.
— Bangkok Post
Thailand’s automotive production expected to reach 2.2 million
Car sales this year are likely to go up thanks to the improved purchasing power of many people, in line with recent better prices for agricultural products.
— Thailand Business News
13 awards given to research, innovation science projects
The Thailand Science and Research Innovation (TSRI) on Wednesday gave awards to 13 research and innovation projects, among them a shirt that can tell a person’s health condition from body smell, and a computer 3-D model that can help restore historic sites.
— Bangkok Post
Media shareholding tit-for-tat continues
Some government MPs have asked the Constitutional Court to rule on the qualifications of 33 opposition MPs, mostly those from the Future Forward Party (FFP), for alleged media shareholding.
— Bangkok Post
Lenzing to build lyocell fibres plant in Thailand
Lenzing is set to build a lyocell fibres plant in Prachinburi, Thailand. The plant will have a capacity of 100,000 tons and feature investments of around €400 million. Over the next years, it plans to invest more than €1 billion in new production facilities for lyocell fibres. Lenzing makes specialty fibres made from the renewable raw material wood.
— Fibre2Fashion
Thai model launches picture books to confront sex education taboos
A Thai model who has spoken out about sexual harassment said on Tuesday that she will publish a series of children’s books to teach young people about sex in a country where sexual abuse is rarely discussed and teenage pregnancies have rocketed.
— Reuters
TAT starts promoting Phuket to Isarn
Representatives from some 50 Phuket tourism business operators this week joined a road show to Isarn, Thailand’s Northeast, to promote travel to Phuket.
— The Phuket News
Stateless student overcomes hardship to attend school
Thanongsak, a teenage Karen youth, gets up at 5am and has to wade across a creek to catch a bus and travel 30 kilometres along a bumpy mountain road to school – but never misses a class.
— Bangkok Post
Alleged monopoly on underground cable conduits
Telecom operators, including AIS and DTAC, on Thursday accused the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) of allowing the other major operator, True, to monopolise underground communication conduits in Bangkok.
— Bangkok Post
SEC warns investors over Tian Tian Ventures investment
The Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) has warned investors planning to put money in Tian Tian Ventures stock as the US ride-hailing firm has not been allowed to solicit investors in Thailand.
— Bangkok Post
Thailand prepares for heavy rain nationwide
Thailand is bracing itself for more rain this week, with heavy falls expected in northern, northeastern, central, eastern and southern areas.
— Pattaya Mail
Somkid: Delay forming govt depressing GDP growth
The delay in the formation of the new government caused the Bank of Thailand to lower its 2019 economic growth forecast from 3.8% to 3.3%, Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said on Thursday.
— Bangkok Post
Trying to find a pulse in Thailand’s economic health
Thailand’s economy is south-east Asia’s wounded soldier as the newly elected Thai government tries to boost confidence and stimulate the economy after five years of military rule. Certainly the past 12 months have been the most challenging.
— The Thaiger
How and What Thailand gains by deployment of 5G
Consider that 4G is today embedded in our daily lifestyles compared to not so many years ago when technology was only present in highly innovative gadgets, how much more transformative can it be if technology is further upgraded to enhance lifestyle at all levels even more.
— Bangkok Post
Asia Rice-Indian demand perks up, Thai prices rise on stronger baht
Rice export prices in India edged higher this week, helped by an uptick in demand, while a strong Thai baht propped up prices in the world’s second largest rice exporter amid subdued consumption.
— Successful Farming
Thai airline president convicted of manslaughter in Paris
The former president of a defunct Thai airline was convicted in absentia of manslaughter and sentenced to four years in prison in Paris yesterday for a 2007 crash in Phuket that killed 90 people.
— Coconuts (paywall)
Thailand progresses defence industrial investment plans
The Thai government has outlined a plan to establish ‘special economic zones’ focused on supporting defence industrial development.
— Jane’s 360
FPO predicts weakened revival in second half
The Fiscal Policy Office (FPO) is set to jump on the forecast-cutting bandwagon next month, as the second-half economy is expected to rekindle but the pace is likely to be weaker than earlier expected.
— Bangkok Post
TBMA: Offshore fund checks unnecessary
Offshore fund inflows into Thai bonds cannot be largely classified as speculation for short-term gains, as most non-resident inflows go to long-term debt securities, says the Thai Bond Market Association (TBMA).
— Bangkok Post
SEC warns investors about Energy Earth’s coal mines
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has cautioned investors to take into account the valuation of two Indonesian coal mines reportedly owned by embattled Energy Earth before resuming investment in the company’s shares.
— Bangkok Post
Cops ‘did best’ to find ‘Rambo Isan’
Despite rumours, police are not at odds with prosecutors over a failure to bring former red-shirt co-leader Suporn Atthawong to hear his indictment for taking part in leading a raid on the 2009 Asean Summit in Pattaya, according to deputy national police chief Srivara Ransibrahmanakul.
— Bangkok Post
Junta’s national reform plan branded just a pile of paper by Opposition
Thailand’s national reform master plan, drawn up by the incumbent military backed government, came under heavy criticism from opposition MPs in the lower House today, branding the plan just a…
— Thai PBS News
Prawit keen to continue loan-shark purge
LOP BURI: Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon says he will carry on cracking down on illegal loan-sharking if he stays on in the next government.
— Bangkok Post
Lost and found: 5.4 million meth pills and ‘ice’ discovered in Chiang Mai cave
5.4 million methamphetamine pills and 185 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine have been found hidden in a cave north of Chiang Mai.
— The Thaiger
NCC counts on stopgap events hall
NCC Management & Development, the venue management firm and operator of Queen Sirikit National Convention Center, expects a new convention hall at Samyan Mitrtown to offset income lost while rebuilding QSNCC.
— Bangkok Post
Ex-monk acquitted of abusing girls
The Criminal Court has acquitted a former monk of a charge of molesting three girls between the ages of 12-14 more than 10 years ago.
— Bangkok Post
Thailand’s prostitution laws out of step with reality
Despite firm denials that prostitution is a ‘thing’ in Thailand and the high-level narrative that prostitution in the Land of Smiles is just an outdated type-cast, the evidence to the contrary remains obvious, in plain sight, any night of the week.
— The Thaiger
Property Perfect sells over 50% of “YU Kiroro” condominium in Japan
Property Perfect showcases the sale of its first condominium project in Japan, “YU Kiroro”, marking the milestone sales of 1.8 billion baht, or over 50% of available units.
— Bangkok Post property
Thai PM to join G20 Osaka summit as ASEAN chair
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is leaving for Osaka on Thursday to attend the G20 summit which has become a highly-anticipated event this week in the wake of the lingering trade…
— Thai PBS News
Anitech aims to be first mover in Thai IoT sector
Smart ID Group, a Bangkok-based IT accessory maker, has launched Southeast Asia’s first smart power strip under the brand Anitech in a bid to capitalise on growing demand for wireless power strips.
— Bangkok Post
Thailand prepares for ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting
The ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting this year will be taking place in Thailand on 10th-12th July, marking a significant step towards further enhancement of military cooperation between ASEAN countries.
— NNT
Facebook’s Libra may qualify for withholding tax
Facebook’s Libra traders will be liable for a 15% withholding tax if the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) identifies the stablecoin as a digital asset, says the head of the Revenue Department.
— Bangkok Post
Chanchai found guilty of defamation
The Criminal Court on Thursday handed down a suspended prison sentence to Chanchai Isarasenarak, a former deputy chairman of a subcommittee on corruption with the defunct National Reform Steering Assembly, for defaming King Power Co and four other companies in the group.
— Bangkok Post
Party cops drug case flak
The Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB) has solid evidence to prove involvement of a former Seri Ruam Thai Party candidate in the Taiwanese drug network busted on June 15, said Pol Maj Gen Phonchai Charoenwong, deputy commissioner of the bureau.
— Bangkok Post
Electricity outage in Pa Khlok
The Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) Thalang branch has announced that the electricity supply will be temporarily shut off in parts of Pa Khlok on Friday (June 28) as work is carried out on installing new high-voltage cables.
— The Phuket News
Car makers optimistic about sales
Car makers are confident that there will be healthy growth in the local market for the rest of the year despite pressure from the US-China trade dispute.
— Bangkok Post
Baby dugong ‘Mariam’ to stream on Facebook
The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources is planning a 24-hour live Facebook broadcast of superstar Mariam — a six-month old female orphan dugong — claiming it will be the world’s first case study on how to look after the rare marine mammal species.
— Bangkok Post
Stateless teen beats odds to go to school
Thanongsak, a teenage Karen youth in Kanchanaburi wakes up at 5am to wade across a creek to catch a schoolbus and travel 30km along a bumpy mountain road to school. However, he never misses a class.
— Bangkok Post
PM, JETRO Bangkok discuss investment, industrial promotion
The Thai Prime Minister discussed bilateral cooperation between Thailand and Japan with incoming President of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) Bangkok, Atsushi Taketani, who paid the former a visit at Government House yesterday.
— NBT World (video)
Feature photo ASEAN-Thailand Secretariat
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. Due to The Nation‘s habit of hijacking urls and diverting them to promotion pages we no longer include it in our clippings.
Thailand morning news for June 28 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)
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- 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