China’s Silk Road push in Thailand may founder on Mekong River row
CHINA’s plan to blast open more of the Mekong River for bigger cargo ships could founder on a remote outcrop of half-submerged rocks that Thai protesters have vowed to protect against Beijing’s economic expansion in Southeast Asia.
– Asian Correspondent
FCCT ‘ordered by NCPO’ to cancel panel discussion on missing plaque
The Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand (FCCT) has cancelled its panel discussion titled “Memories of 1932: The Mystery of Thailand’s Missing Plaque”, scheduled for Wednesday night, “on the orders of the National Council for Peace and Order”.
– The Nation
Journalists criticising military should be executed: NRC member
The junta’s National Reform Council (NRC) has given the green light to a controversial bill that would subject the Thai media to a licensing system. During the debate over the bill, one council member argued that journalists reporting criticism of the military should be executed by firing squad.
– Prachatai English
Prayut promises forum on media bill
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has promised to arrange a forum to hear the views of members of the media on the controversial media bill that aims to regulate the industry.
– Bangkok Post
Property Watch: Thailand at a crossroads in property investment
Thailand is and will remain an attractive property market to invest in. The geography lends itself well to a good quality of life, especially if income to support that lifestyle isn’t an issue.
– Phuket Gazette
B6bn budget approved for bus and train services
A budget of almost 6-billion-baht has been approved by the cabinet to subsidise public train and bus services, according to government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd.
– Bangkok Post
Welcome to the Club: Beijing to Make Sure Thailand Gets Three Chinese-Made Subs
Thailand’s military is determined to go through with its controversial plan to reintroduce submarines into the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) by purchasing three modified Type 041 subsurface ships from China. Political analyst Yang Mian told Sputnik China that the West has been partially responsible for domestic opposition to the arms deal.
– Sputnik
Report identifies Thailand MICE power
Research and Markets has released its latest report “Thailand MICE Industry & Forecast to 2022” that forecasts the country will host more than 1.3 million MICE travellers by 2022.
– TTR Weekly
Competition set to hit mobile profit
Thailand’s mobile service revenue is expected to maintain single-digit growth in 2017 on the back of strong data communications and video streaming usage.
– Bangkok Post
Thailand’s unemployment rate to go below 1%
Thailand’s unemployment rate is decreasing gradually with expectation that it will drop to below one percentage point from 1.3% in the past five years.
– Thai PBS
PromptPay on track for 30m users this year
THIRTY MILLION people are expected to sign up for the PromptPay money-transfer service by the end of this year. The projection coincides with findings that the number of users of mobile-banking services reached 21 million last year.
– The Nation
EDC terminal installation race heats up
Competition among banks to install electronic data capture (EDC) devices is intensifying, with some offering lower merchant fees than the ceiling 0.55% set under the government’s EDC pool, as well as cashback to attract business operators to use their card-swiping terminals.
– Bangkok Post
Thai’s top industry grouping raises 2017 export forecast
A grouping of Thailand’s top industry bodies on Tuesday raised its 2017 export forecast to 2-3.5 percent from 1-3 percent on stronger-than-expected first-quarter and improved global demand.
– Nasdaq/ Reuters
Chartered van operators call for exclusive law
Operators of chartered van services are calling on the government to enact a new law that would allow them to exclusively govern their operations.
– Bangkok Post
Private sector sees export growth rising by up to 3.5 per cent
A PEAK grouping of private-sector financial organisations has raised its forecast for this year’s export growth to 2-3.5 per cent amid a pick-up in the global economy. But the Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking (JSCCIB) warns that uncertainties over the trade policies of the United States remain a major risk.
– The Nation
Isuzu to double heavy truck production in Thailand, boost exports
Isuzu Motors Ltd. is preparing to double its heavy-duty truck production capacity in Thailand this year in hopes of increasing exports to Southeast Asian markets.
– The Japan Times
Bullish on South Africa, Taiwan & Thailand? This ETF is Delivering a 4.5% Dividend Yield
A favorite among investors seeking dividends, the SPDR S&P Emerging Markets Dividend ETF (EDIV) provides a 4.46% dividend yield to its investors. The fund tracks the performance of the Dow Jones Emerging Markets Select Dividend Index and offers exposure to dividend-paying stocks in emerging markets.
– Frontera
TOURISM COUNCIL FORECASTS 3.7% RISE IN ARRIVALS
The Tourism Council of Thailand has forecast as much as Bt1.8 trillion in tourism revenue this year.
– The Nation
Thailand, UN set meet on transnational crime
Enforcement, justice, economic and diplomatic leaders from Southeast Asia have gathered at the United Nations in Bangkok to discuss regional integration and crime challenges, as well as improvements to border management to help secure the region.
– The Manila Times
Bangkok malls ratchet up the tempo
WHAT CAN YOU SELL Thailand’s eight million online shoppers that they cannot already get from a myriad of e-commerce sites? At least one property developer in Bangkok thinks it may have found the answer – sell them a good time, all under one roof.
– The Nation
Vietnam state investment arm SCIC partners Thai Kasikornbank
Vietnam’s government investment arm SCIC, the state investor in the country’s biggest firm Vinamilk, has inked a deal with Thai Kasikorn Bank to unlock more investment opportunities in Vietnam.
– Deal Street Asia
Thailand B2C E-Commerce Market 2017 – Research and Markets
Key findings from this publication suggest that, following Indonesia, Thailand contains the second biggest economy in the Southeast Asia region, and also ranks second in E-Commerce sales. The expansion of E-Commerce in Thailand is furthered due to improved Internet penetration, with nearly half of the population having Internet access in 2016.
– CEN
Tesco Lotus Pushes Food Exports From Thailand To UK
TESCO LOTUS, in collaboration with the Department of Inter-national Trade Promotion, has been hosting a “Taste of Thailand” festival at the Tesco Kensington store in the heart of London to promote a variety of quality Thai products bearing the Thailand Trust Mark, as well as exotic fruits from Thailand.
– Buriram Times
Grab expands services in partnership with Bangkok’s motorbike taxi riders
RIDE-HAILING service Grab yesterday began a two-wheeled service in partnership with Bangkok’s army of motorbike taxi riders – known collectively as Win.
– The Nation
WTTC Summit raises profile of events sector in Thailand
The recently concluded World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) Global Summit from 26-27 April in Bangkok impressed world leaders in the tourism industry. This is the first time that the WTTC Global Summit has been held in Southeast Asia
– Travel Trends Today
Taxi cooperatives to face stricter rules
The Cooperative Promotions Department has urged taxi entrepreneurs to make sure that taxi cooperatives operate in line with the law after it found that some taxis had been rented out to drivers without licenses to serve the public.
– Pattaya Mail
CP private jets’ arm secures permit for Phuket Airport base
Siam Land Flying Co (SLF), the private jet charter subsidiary of Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group, recently secured a final permit from Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) to develop fixed-base operator (FBO) facilities.
– Phuket News
Thailand to host world’s biggest wedding planners congress
The Tourism Authority of Thailand is set to welcome the world’s largest gathering of professionals involved in the luxury wedding industry at the fourth annual Destination Wedding Planners Congress (DWP).
– Emirates 24/7
ATTA outlines its policy direction
Association of Thai Travel Agents says the association will play a key role to help the country’s tourism industry grow as well as boost its members’ business.
– TTR Weekly
Thailand: Rights Lawyer Feared ‘Disappeared’
The Thai government should immediately disclose the whereabouts of Prawet Prapanukul, a prominent human rights lawyer and critic of the monarchy, who has been missing since security forces raided his Bangkok home on April 29, 2017, Human Rights Watch said today. Authorities have not acknowledged his arrest and detention, raising grave concerns that he is the victim of an enforced disappearance.
– Human Rights Watch
Thailand: Shareholders approve Dusit Bangkok Hotel’s $1.06b redevelopment
Dusit Thani Pcl has secured approval from its shareholders to co-invest with Thailand’s largest retail developer Central Pattana Pcl in a mixed-use development project worth 36.7-billion-baht ($1.06 billion).
– Deal Street Asia
The Board of Investment of Thailand: EEC Jumpstart Brings Thailand Closer to Become Key ASEAN Investment and Technology Hub
The Thai government emphasized on its readiness to jumpstart the new regional’s economic hub, the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), as infrastructure development under the EEC Scheme, including the capacity expansion of U-Tapao International Airport, is progressing as planned.
– PRNewswire
MUSHROOM-PICKING COUPLE’S PRISON TERM REDUCED TO 5 YEARS
A middle-aged couple appealing harsh punishment for picking mushrooms from a protected forest had their sentences reduced by 10 years by the Supreme Court on Tuesday
– Khaosod English
Travelling on the house
The welcome mat for extreme budget travellers is wearing thin in Thailand, according to a VoiceTV report based on social media comments.
– TTR Weekly
Thailand king takes control of five palace agencies
Thailand’s new king was granted control on Tuesday over five state agencies that oversee royal affairs and security, the latest move by an increasingly assertive monarch to consolidate power.
– Z News
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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