Thailand Morning News For April 26

Car sales this year to exceed 900,000 units
The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) says the country’s automobile industry is picking up both in production and sales with sales target end of this year to exceed 900,000 units.
— Thai PBS

Nong Khai teen becomes 8th rabies casualty this year
A 15 year old girl from Nong Khai province has become the nation’s eighth rabies casualty this year after contracting the disease from a puppy scratch late last year and not seeking medical attention.
— NNT

AMLO to seize assets worth over Bt200 million
THE ANTI-MONEY Laundering Office (AMLO) committee has resolved to temporarily seize assets worth more than Bt200 million in relation to three key cases, AMLO acting secretary-general Pol Maj-General Rommasit Viriyasant revealed yesterday.
— The Nation

AoT wants to replace old Don Mueang terminal
Airports of Thailand Plc wants the AoT board to agree to demolishing the old, disused terminal at Don Mueang and replacing it with a new, larger facility to cope with the ever-growing number of international passengers.
— Bangkok Post

How Thailand’s new sprawling digital park will accelerate its startup dreams
Thailand’s startup scene has seen exponential growth, from a measly three funded startups in 2012 to more than 90 funded startups in 2017, with over US$280 million dollars in raised funds.
— TechInAsia

Continuing haze points to failure of Asean agreement
THE FAILURE in the implementation of the Asean Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution (AATHP) has led to the prolonged and severe haze season in the northern region of Southeast Asia, while the goal of a haze-free Asean by 2020 was far from achievable, environmentalists said yesterday.
— The Nation

Japan drafts Thailand to sell Trump on TPP
Japan’s point man on the Trans-Pacific Partnership will visit Thailand in early May as the Southeast Asian nation looks to join the sweeping trade pact, with Tokyo hoping that fresh entrants will help bring the U.S. back on board.
— Nikkei Asian review (paywall)

Tap water and electricity fees at apartments come under legal control as of May 1
Starting on May 1, electricity and tap water fees at hostels, apartments or rented rooms in residential buildings will come under legal control which prohibits owners of the premises from overcharging the utility fees.
— Thai PBS

Thailand Seizes ‘Hidden Cobra’ Command-and-Control Servers
The Thai government says it has seized servers used by a group that’s been tied to cyber espionage attacks, while preserving the servers for review by law enforcement agencies.
— Information Security Media Group

Workforce needs upgrade to suit Alibaba
Thailand must narrow its education gap and digitise its workforce in order to take full advantage of Alibaba’s planned investment, says Saovaraj Rattanakumfu, a senior researcher at the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI).
— Bangkok Post

Authorities prepare potential industrial areas in EEC
The Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) has prepared potential industrial areas to accommodate investment in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), which covers the three eastern provinces of Chachoengsao, Chonburi, and Rayong.
— Pattaya Mail

New renewable plants to receive B2.4 feed-in tariff
Energy policymakers announced new renewable power generators will have the same feed-in tariff as fossil-fuel power generators, 2.40 baht per kilowatt-hour, because their production cost is equal to or lower than their traditional peers. The new rate is effective for new power plants immediately.
— Bangkok Post

Chiang Mai people to rally against judges’ housing project on Sunday
Opponents against judges’ housing project at Doi Suthep will hold a rally at Tha Pae Gate this coming Sunday (April 29) to convey a message to the judiciary about how the people of Chiang Mai think about the project.
— Thai PBS

Pattaya official thinks garbage figures are rubbish
Officials in Pattaya have called in the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to conduct an assessment of how much garbage accumulates in the resort city each day, after disputing figures supplied by a private firm.
— Bangkok Post

Mastercard eyes biometric poverty cards
Mastercard, a leading global payments and technology company, has suggested the Thai government add biometric-based authentication when issuing welfare cards for the poor to reduce possible fraud.
— Bangkok Post

CIA’s legacy of torture lives on in Thailand
In February 2015, security forces in southern Thailand hauled in a 26-year-old Muslim man and demanded he confess to participating in a violent separatist insurgency. Officers tied him to a chair, covered his face with a shirt and poured water into his mouth until he choked.
— The San Francisco Examiner

Internet providers warned to refund their customers in case of service disruption
Internet service providers have been warned to refund or to give discounts to their customers in case their services are disrupted otherwise they may have their licenses temporarily suspended, said Mr Takorn Tantasith, secretary-general of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, on Tuesday (April 24).
— Thai PBS

Phayao university bans seminar on student movements
Citing an order from the military, a private university in Chiang Mai has called off a public seminar on the role of student movements in Thai politics.
— Prachatai English

PTT eyes airport rail link
PTT Plc, the national oil and gas conglomerate, is conducting a feasibility study for a high-speed railway linkage between three major airports in Bangkok and Chon Buri worth 200 billion baht.
— Bangkok Post

Thailand remains a ‘benchmark’ for Philippines agriculture
THAILAND is still a good benchmark for the Philippines especially in terms of agriculture industry development, an official said.
— SunStar

Tests uncover Viagra in stars’ diet products
A precursor used to make methamphetamine, or ya ba, mercury and even Viagra were among ingredients found in substandard dietary supplement products and cosmetics promoted and sold by celebrities, the Dietary Supplement Industry Club said Wednesday.
— Bangkok Post

New Bt37-billion motorway in South planned to boost trade with Malaysia
THAILAND plans to build a 62km motorway in the southern province of Songkhla to the border with Malaysia in a bid to boost bilateral trade and cross-border tourism that is currently worth an estimated Bt500 billion per year, Transport Minister Arkhom Termpitayapaisit said yesterday.
— The Nation

Officials reject KTB-TMB merger talk
After a week of mounting speculation over a potential consolidation between Krungthai Bank (KTB) and TMB Bank, KTB’s president and TMB’s chairman both dispelled the rumours Wednesday, saying there is no merger discussion plan.
— Bangkok Post

PACC to probe suspected corruption in blanket procurement
The Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) is to investigate suspected corruption in the procurement of blankets for poor people by the centres for the protection of the destitute of the Department of Social Development and Welfare.
— Thai PBS

Thai farm products will see price improvement in next six months
Thai farm products will see improvement in prices within the next six months of this year, according to Mr Kobsak Pootrakool, the Minister attached to the Prime Minister’s Office.
— Thai PBS

CBD condos see improved take-up rate
The residential condominium market in Bangkok’s central business district (CBD) remains positive as the take-up rate rose significantly because of reduced supply in the first quarter this year.
— Bangkok Post

Rama IX Ecology Museum expected to open doors mid 2019
The Rama IX Ecology Museum construction project at the National Science Museum in Pathum Thani province has progressed by 90 percent and is expected to begin operation in the middle of next year.
— News Today (video)

SCG bearish based on baht projections
SET-listed Siam Cement Group (SCG), Thailand’s largest cement maker and industrial conglomerate, is concerned its revenue is unlikely to hit its growth target of 5-6% to 472-477 billion baht because of the baht’s strength.
— Bangkok Post

Swimmers warned not to touch whale sharks or face legal action
Swimmers are warned not to touch whale sharks while they are swimming in the sea off Chumphon province otherwise they may face jail term of up to four years and/or a maximum fine of 40,000 baht.
— Thai PBS

TAT to team up with Alibaba to establish online Thailand tourism platform
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is in the process to enter into a partnership with Alibaba, and its online travel subsidiary Figgly.com, to develop an online platform promoting Thai small tourism operators and emerging destinations to Chinese travellers.
— TAT News

Southern highway connecting Hat Yai and Malaysia proposed
The Department of Highways has held a seminar to gauge private sector interest in a highway linking Hat Yai and Malaysia.
— NNT

Phuket luxury villa sales surging
Phuket appears to be on an upward swing in the property market following a few years languishing with slower sales.
— The Thaiger

KMITL showcases students’ innovations, strikes deal with Alibaba
King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL) has organized an innovation fair to display students’ work, while an agreement has also been signed with Alibaba Group on the production of a technology workforce.
— NNT

BMA adds more private clinics to primary healthcare network
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has added more private clinics to its primary healthcare network.
— NNT

Yasothon to celebrate Rocket Festival 2018
he Bang Fai or Rocket festival, is held annually in the middle of May, just before the start of the rainy season
— NNT

Police ask District Officials to close Tulip Hotel for 5 years, Fine owner 18 million baht for Foreign Sexy Orgy
We previously reported this week on the Tulip Hotel management organizing a sex orgy with multiple foreign men and women in a conference room from multiple countries including the US, Canada, Cambodia, Thailand and more.
— The Pattaya News

Central Pattana to build Thailand’s first outlet shopping mall
Central Pattana Plc, Ltd is planning to build Central Village Department Store close to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport to serve as a shopping hub for South East Asia.
— NNT

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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 April 26 added by John Le Fevre on April 26, 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.