Thailand Morning News For February 22

Export growth highest in 62 months
The value of exports rose by 17.56% year on year in January, the largest increment in 62 months, Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong said on Wednesday.
— Bangkok Post

Thai January car sales jump 16.2 pct y/y – federation
Thailand’s domestic car sales rose 16.2 percent in January from a year earlier to 66,513 cars, helped by an economic recovery, improving consumer confidence and launches of new car models, the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) said on Wednesday.
— Reuters

No Impunity: Encroaching Thailand Properties Will be Torn Down (video)
People who are encroaching on Thailand’s beaches, forests, and waterways beware. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) and its responsible agencies is coming for you. That was one of the takeaways delivered by Thailand government spokesperson Lieutenant General Sansern Kaewkamnerd at a ‘meet the press’ function in Bangkok on Monday.
— AEC News Today (video)

Small comfort in new graft rank
Thailand is doing a little better in the fight against graft, falling to 96th place in the latest Corruption Perception Index from 101st place a year ago.
— Bangkok Post

Thai January exports jump 17.6 pct y/y, beat forecast
Thailand’s customs-cleared annual exports rose at their fastest pace in more than five years in January, widely beating forecasts, thanks to strong global demand.
— Reuters

PM Prayut assures sufficient water supply for agricultural use during drought
The Prime Minister has assured that farmers working inside all irrigation areas will have sufficient water supply during the drought season.
News Today (video)

Thailand’s Jan tourist arrivals up 10.87 pct y/y – ministry
International tourist arrivals in Thailand rose 10.87 percent in January from a year earlier, led by visitors from China, Malaysia, Russia and South Korea, the government said on Wednesday.
— Reuters

$15 bn in frame for bilateral trade with Cambodia
THAILAND and Cambodia are working towards the goal of trade flows between the neighbours reaching US$15 billion in 2020, a jump of almost 10 per cent from the US$6.16 billion booked in 2017, a senior Thai trade official said on the eve of the sixth meeting of the Joint Trade Committee (JTC) today.
— The Nation

BOT releases report on Thailand’s financial services
The Bank of Thailand has released its latest report on the country’s financial services.
— NNT

Prawit has two weeks to clarify 25 pricey watches
The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) will give two weeks to clarify all the 25 pricey wristwatches Gen Prawit Wongsuwan wore on different occasions.
— Thai PBS

Cabinet OKs SEA for Thepha coal power project
The Cabinet has agreed with a nine-month time frame to conduct a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for the controversial Krabi-Thepha coal power plant project. If the SEA approves the project, an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) will be re-launched.
News Today (video)

Joint committee proposes new election time of 0800-1700
The joint committee set up to resolve draft election laws has proposed longer hours for vote casting at future elections
— NNT

Thai mall operator profits up 47 percent on tourism boom
Thai retail property developer Central Pattana Pcl (CPN) reported net profit of 13.6 billion baht ($432.3 million) for its 2017 fiscal year on Wednesday, up 47 percent from a year earlier.
— Reuters

Monorail road plan enrages Kasetsart
Kasetsart University chiefs have urged the government to kill moves for an expressway to follow the planned Brown Line monorail route from Kae Rai to Lam Sali.
— Bangkok Post

ITD boss Premchai summoned to face a new charge in Kanchanaburi on Thursday
Italian-Thai Development Plc boss Premchai Karnasuta has been summoned to report himself to the police inquiry officers at the Provincial Police Region 7 in Kanchanaburi tomorrow (Feb 22) to face an addition charge of cruelty against animals.
— Thai PBS

PM urges farmers to develop independently
Promoting the government’s scheme to help farmers, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said during a trip to Nakhon Pathom they must learn to develop independently.
— Bangkok Post

Thammasat University discusses solutions to BKK air pollution
Experts say particulate matter in Bangkok still exceeds acceptable levels and have advised residents to avoid outdoor activities.
News Today (video)

Transport Minister: Bangkok to soon look better with 11 active electric rail routes
The Transport Minister has assured the public that Metropolitan Bangkok will look much more modern when 11 electric rail routes become active in the forseeable future.
— NNT

Banking agents pegged to lift finance access
Banking agents will increase consumer access to financial services by 34%, with more than 200,000 of them potentially setting up shop nationwide, says the central bank’s think tank.
— Bangkok Post

EGAT to promote energy efficient refrigerants
The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) is working with financial institutions to promote environmentally friendly appliances.
News Today (video)

PTT raises IRPC stake after 7-year wait
PTT Plc has acquired an additional stake in IRPC, the Government Savings Bank’s (GSB) petrochemical business arm, for 13.8 billion baht after seven years of negotiations.
— Bangkok Post

Min of Commerce launches 61st Bangkok Gems and Jewelry Fair
Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce has invited businesses from across the world to take part in the 61st Bangkok Gems and Jewelry Fair, promoting continuous growth for the industry.
— NNT

New Bangkok-Pattaya train service to make day trips possible
A new Bangkok-Pattaya train service that will allow tourists to make day trips to the Thai coastal city will be introduced in March, the DPA news agency reported on Wednesday (Feb 21).
— Channel NewsAsia

Thailand moves up in Russia’s sights
RUSSIA sees Thailand as a key focus for the country in Asia as part of its strategy to boost trade and other ties with Southeast nations, said Alexei Gruzdev, Deputy Minister of Economic Development.
— The Nation

Phuket in talks with Siemens, Bombardier over $1-billion airport rail link
Thailand’s province of Phuket is in talks with Siemens and Bombardier over a contract to supply a rail connection to the island’s international airport, German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported on February 19.
— Investvine

IMAX opens virtual reality centre in Bangkok in first for the region
BANGKOK IMAX Theater Co Ltd, a subsidiary of Major Cineplex Group and the licensed operator of IMAX theatres in Thailand, yesterday opened the IMAX VR centre in Bangkok as the first such virtual reality (VR) centre in Southeast Asia.
— The Nation

TU posts 14.6% profit surge as 2017 sales hit record high
SET-listed Thai Union Group (TU), the world’s biggest canned and frozen tuna exporter, Tuesday reported a fiscal 2017 net profit of 6 billion baht, up 14.6%, propelled by record-high sales.
— Bangkok Post

Jungle cats and protected bird species seized from suspected online wildlife traders
Officials from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plants Conservation seized two jungle cats and many protected bird species n a raid of two houses in Bangkok and Uttaradit’s Phichai district on Wednesday (Feb 21).
— Thai PBS

Yellow shirts jailed for storming NBT TV station
The Supreme Court on Wednesday sentenced 84 yellow-shirt protesters who stormed the state-run NBT television station in 2008 to jail terms ranging from three to eight months, upholding a verdict by the Appeals Court.
— The Nation

Season 16 – Drug Epidemic (Southern Thailand)
The Thai military believes separatist groups in the Deep South are using drugs to lure in new recruits; Get Real investigates whether or not insurgents are to blame for Southern Thailand’s drug problem.
— Channel NewsAsia

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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 February 22 added by John Le Fevre on February 22, 2018
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John Le Fevre

Thailand editor at AEC News Today

John is an Australian national with more than 35 years experience as a journalist, photographer, videographer and copy editor.

He has spent extensive periods of time working in Africa and throughout Southeast Asia.

He has covered major world events including the 1991 pillage riots 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.