Thailand Morning News For February 14

First home-grown ICO in presale debut
Thailand’s first initial coin offering (ICO) issued by a SET-listed company will test the waters Wednesday, but plans to launch additional domestic ICOs may not be easy to navigate until the regulatory framework becomes clearer, says an investment consultant.
— Bangkok Post

Phuket beachfront businesses at Layan, Leypang ordered: ‘Get out, or be demolished’
Vendors who do not vacate the beachfront plots they occupy at Layan and Leypang on Phuket’s west coast in defiance of a Supreme Court judgement face having their businesses demolished after March 5.
The Phuket News

BOT digs in against digital currencies
THE BANK of Thailand (BOT) is pressing the country’s financial institutions to steer clear of involvement in transactions that relate to cryptocurrencies.
— The Nation

Labour Minister Migrant workers must register before March 31st
The Ministry of Labour has instructed its agencies nationwide to call on employers and entrepreneurs to bring their migrant workers to register with the state before March 31st, 2018, in their bid to legally stay in the country.
— News Today (video)

PM eyes rain ‘relief’ from dust menace
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has assured Bangkok residents the government is trying to offset harmful dust levels over the city by calling on the help of artificial rain.
— Bangkok Post

Gen Prawit asks NACC for one more week to clarify about his wristwatches
Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon has asked for another week to clarify to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) about the sources of his expensive wristwatches and a diamond ring.
— Thai PBS

Pol Gen Srivara visits Loei to probe Karnasuta family’s land ownership
Deputy National Police Chief Pol Gen Srivara Ransibrahmanakul on Tuesday (Feb 13) led a team of officials from several agencies to Loei province to investigate alleged massive land encroachment by companies associated with Italian-Thai Development Plc boss Premchai Karnasuta.
— Thai PBS

MiFID II limits smaller firms
Many small and mid-cap listed firms will experience difficulty in meeting foreign investors through roadshow events once the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II) comes into effect, due to the use of investors’ preference selection.
— Bangkok Post

Six locals a day get HIV, says City Hall
More than 2,000 people in Bangkok are new HIV infected person each year, or around six people a day, according to City Hall’s Health Department.
— Bangkok Post

Department of Disease Control campaigns to prevent spread of avian flu during Chinese New Year
Department of Disease Control is campaigning to prevent the spread of bird flu during the Chinese New Year period by encouraging both businesses and consumers to take the necessary precautions.
— News Today (video)

KBank expands K Plus app offerings
Kasikornbank (KBank) has launched an e-commerce platform on its mobile banking app, K Plus, in a move to broaden services and fend off banking competition from platform giants.
— Bangkok Post

Boxing fever grips Thailand’s boys but doctors raise health concerns
Loud cheers erupt as two boys trade punches at a boxing ring in Thailand’s northeastern province of Buriram.
— Reuters

22.7-million-baht building at Laem Talumpuk non-hunting area under probe
The installation of air-conditioners in an open-air building at Laem Talumpuk non-hunting area in Nakhon Si Thammarat province prompts an investigation into suspected corruption in the 22.7-million-baht construction project.
— Thai PBS

AP Thailand joins push for electric cars with national charging network
Residential design firm AP (Thailand), BMW Group Thailand, GLT Green Thailand, which specialises in EV and plug-in hybrid charging technology, and Central Group are promoting electric vehicles with the installation of charging pods at AP’s newly completed condominiums.
— The Nation

Masii.com completes $2.43m Series A round to accelerate growth
Masii.com, a Bangkok-based online comparison platform for financial products, has completed a 77 million baht ($2.43 million) Series A round to accelerate its growth and scale up new verticals.
— DealStreetAsia

Biggest U.S. force in years joins Thai military exercise
The biggest U.S. force in years joined an annual military exercise in Thailand on Tuesday despite controversy over the Thai junta’s invitation to neighboring Myanmar’s army, which has been accused of ethnic cleansing.
— Reuters

Thai Airways looks to order more jets as tourist arrivals surge
Thai Airways International PCL will seek board approval this month to purchase new jets amid a surge in tourist arrivals that has boosted demand, the airline’s top executive said on Tuesday.
— Reuters

Construction of Phuket ‘eyesore residences’ halted again as officials deem land claim illegal
Construction of the luxury residence at Krathing Cape, overlooking Nai Harn Bay on Phuket’s southwest coast, has been ordered to stop following an inspection yesterday (Feb 12) that deemed the site to be on protected forest land.
— The Phuket News

Thailand demonstrators in hunger strike to protest coal power plants
In Thailand, protesters are staging a hunger strike outside the United Nations headquarters in Bangkok. Their demands are for the government to shut down two coal-fired power plant projects.
— Channel NewsAsia (video)

Giant tubes washed ashore in Pathiu district
Officials in Pathiu district of Chumphon province have been trying to trace the source of 14 giant tubes, believed to be crude oil pipelines, which were washed ashore in the district.
— Thai PBS

Feature photo i.gunawan

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 February 14 added by John Le Fevre on February 14, 2018
View all posts by John Le Fevre →

Bio
Latest Posts

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.