Thailand Morning News For March 12

MOAC: Thailand gained over 200 billion baht trade surplus in 2017
Thailand posted 200 billion baht in trade surplus from the export of agricultural products to ASEAN countries in 2017, with a trade surplus is also expected in 2018, says official.
— NNT

Probe exposes widespread fraud
Alleged irregularities in the 493-million-baht budget allocated last year for underprivileged people has not only led investigators to the masterminds but also exposed extensive fraud committed by state officials.
— Bangkok Post

Thai Police Red Faced as Ankle Shackles Snap & Suspect Flees Court (video)
Thai police have been left red faced after a prisoner wearing a heavy steel ankle shackles managed to escape from custody while attending a hearing at the Nan Provincial Court
— AEC News Today (video)

Bangkok and Nonthaburi declared temporary rabies epidemic zone
Bangkok and Nonthaburi have been declared a temporary rabies epidemic zone for March 6 until April 4 by the Department of Livestock Development (DLD).
— Thai PBS

Migrant worker checks hit new snag
Hundreds of thousands of migrant workers who have been temporarily allowed to work in the country are at risk of becoming illegal as labour authorities struggle to meet a deadline in three weeks to register more than 1.6 million workers.
— Bangkok Post

Report of embezzlement of destitutes’ fund in six southern provinces to be ready this week
Anti-graft officials are expected to wrap up their investigating report about the embezzlement of fund for the destitute in six southern provinces for submission to the Public Section Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) by the end of this week.
— Thai PBS

Service Performance Index up 9.2% in Jan
Trade in Services Performance and Potential Index (TSPPI) rose 9.2% in January for the 13th consecutive month.
— NNT

Industrial estates buoyed by EEC law
The approval of the new Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) law in late February will help drive the industrial sector and boost the residential market, property experts say.
— Bangkok Post

55 political parties registered after 6 days
The Thai Sanduchon Party is the latest political party to submit registration documents to the Election Commission (EC), bringing the tally to 55 after day six of the registration.
— NNT

Deputy Premier Wissanu admits Thai laws obsolete
Deputy Prime Minister for Legal Affairs Wissanu Krea-Ngam has conceded that many laws in force in Thailand are outmoded.
— NNT

Police chief orders a probe into alleged cheating of BPP’s per diem in Deep South
A committee is to be set up to investigate alleged cheating of per diem and risk allowances for border patrol policemen serving in three southernmost provinces.
— Thai PBS

Bt1-tn budget for alternative energy
ENERGY FIRMS plan to expand their investments by more than Bt1 trillion in alternative energy and in adopting a new business model from 2018 to 2022 to ensure |long-term business growth is sustained.
— The Nation

Royal rainmaking operations start in lower Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son
The royal rainmaking operation has started in forest areas in lower Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son.
— NNT

‘New kind’ of corruption feared
THE RECENT corruption scandal involving state-run protection centres for the destitute has revealed a worrying form of graft that is much harder to investigate, an anti-corruption watchdog has said.
— The Nation

Navigation in Mekong River warned as water level recedes
The Marine Office in Chiang Rai province has warned operators of cargo and cruise boats between Chiang Rai and South China in the Mekong River to be extra cautious as the the water level has receded considerably in recent days, stranding several cargo boats in the river.
— Thai PBS

Windfall tax likely to deflate property bubble
The land windfall tax is expected to help fend off a property market bubble as developers take care to avoid tax liabilities that will come into effect if the value of unsold residential units exceeds 50 million baht.
— Bangkok Post

PM Prayut speaks of risks in cryptocurrency
The Prime Minister is warning investors to beware of the risks associated with cryptocurrency in order to prevent losses
— NNT

SUPERNAP DATA CENTRE POISED FOR EEC GROWTH
The market opportunities for data centre services in Thailand and the Asean bloc are immense, according to Sunita Bottse, managing director of the advanced data centre operator Supernap Thailand.
— The Nation

Pro-election group wants NCPO to be disbanded
Pro-election activists rallied at the soccer field of Thammasat University late Saturday afternoon (March 10) to demand the dissolution of the National Council for Peace and Order and the transformation of the government of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha into an interim government tasked with holding a national election this November.
— Thai PBS

Face masks to be distributed to cities affected by air pollution
Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health has convened a meeting to discuss the ongoing air pollution in nine provinces and is preparing to hand out 290,000 pollution resistant masks to people in all affected areas.
— NNT

CAT eyes bigger slice of digital services business
CAT Telecom has announced that it is focusing on digital services, with revenue from this area expected to be around Bt1.4 billion by the end of this year.
— The Nation

NBTC: No spectrum auctions until late 2018
Total Access Communication (DTAC) has been dealt a fresh blow, with the planned auctions of its expiring mobile spectra pushed back indefinitely until the new board of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) takes the helm later this year.
— Bangkok Post

Purchase of energy from solar rooftops expected to be deregulated in April
The Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency is expected to propose to the National Energy Policy Committee headed by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha next month a project to buy power generated from solar rooftops of households and commercial buildings.
— Thai PBS

PM satisfied with Thailand’s 8th rank in Best Country for Investment
The government is satisfied with Thailand’s 8th rank for best country to invest in 2018 announced by the US News, emphasizing the country’s recovering economy.
— NNT

CGH to inject B1bn for revamp
CGH, formerly known as Central General Hospital Group, plans to spend at least 1 billion baht over the next three years to expand and invest in medical facilities.
— Bangkok Post

Trump’s trade war antics start worrying Thailand
Moves of the US administration to impose new tariffs and duties on a variety of imported products leaves Thailand worrying about its potential to continue profitable business with one of its most important trade partners.
–Investvine

Commerce to help steel industry after US imposed high import tariffs
The Ministry of Commerce says it is now working to find a solution to the steel industry after US President Donald Trump has decided to impose high import tariffs on steel and aluminum that will have a long-term detriment to Thailand’s steel industry.
— Thai PBS

Fire at Pattaya nightspot rips through bars as tourists flee: Reports
At least two tourists were sent to hospital as several people fled for their lives after a fire spread through Pattaya’s Walking Street on Saturday (Mar 9), media reports said.
— Channel NewsAsia

Feature photo Max Pixel

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 March 12 added by John Le Fevre on March 12, 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.