Thailand Morning News For May 15

Thailand Morning News For May 15
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Thailand morning newsThai banks’ loans seen up 5-6 pct this year – c.bank
Commercial banks in Thailand are likely to see a loan growth of 5-6 percent this year, a central bank official said on Monday, down from the 6-8 percent rise projected in February, as more companies are now raising funds through stocks and bonds.
— Reuters

Embrace tech or see millions of jobs vanish, TDRI chief warns
Thailand Research Development Institute president Somkiat Tangkitvanich warned on Monday that Thailand could lose three million jobs over the next 20 years if it is unable to adapt to and utilise disruptive digital technology.
— The Nation

Thai Asian Physics Olympiad team returns to hero’s welcome
Thai students who took one bronze medal and seven certificates of honor at the 19th Asian Physics Olympiad in Hanoi, Vietnam have returned to a hero’s welcome in the Kingdom.
— News Today (video)

New Taiwanese tech companies set sights on Startup Thailand
Fifteen startups in Taiwan will participate in Startup Thailand 2018, the biggest tech conference in Southeast Asia, later this week to explore business opportunities in Thailand, the Executive Center for the Asian Silicon Valley Plan announced Monday.
— Focus Taiwan

SMEs urge migrant quota rethink
Thailand’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are continuing to suffer as policymakers place a quota on the number of migrant workers who can be employed at a company.
— Bangkok Post

Department of Foreign Trade to expand Thai rice markets in Malaysia, Indonesia
The Department of Foreign Trade has cooperated with the Thai Rice Exporters Association to expand Thai rice markets in Malaysia and Indonesia.
— NNT

Crypto-tax ‘will hit economy’
Taxation threatens to hamper startups, sec is told, as it seeks to regulate digital assets.
— The Nation (annoying popups)

Bank of Thailand seen holding key rate again to help growth
The Bank of Thailand is expected to leave its policy interest rate near the record low again on Wednesday to support still patchy economic growth at a time that inflation remains subdued.
— Bangkok Post

PM asking parents not to resort to informal loans
The Prime Minister has implored parents not to borrow money from loan sharks to acquire school supplies for their children.
— News Today (video)

Thailand enacts new law on cryptocurrencies
Thailand put a new law in place yesterday to control and regulate cryptocurrency transactions and initial coin offerings.
— The Straits Times (annoying popups)

Efforts to reclaim encroached land on Doi Suthep continue
Representatives of more than 50 organizations and networks gathered on Monday to discuss solutions to address the controversial housing project for judges on the lower slopes of Doi Suthep.
— NNT

Migrants ‘need protection’
A report from the International Labor Rights Forum, released on Friday, has said that forced labour and other abuses of foreign workers on board fishing vessels in neighbouring Thailand are likely to continue unless the government and industry actors take a different approach to resolving the problems they face.
— The Phnom Penh Post

Siemens plans high efficiency power
GERMAN technology powerhouse Siemens, which has been involved in power generation in the Thai market for nearly 40 years, sees high-efficiency power plants as the trend for the country’s energy sector, which could lower electricity price and also be environmentally friendly.
— The Nation

Rainy season set to be wetter this year
Thailand could see 10% more rainfall than usual during this year’s rainy season with Andaman coastal provinces and eastern areas being warned of particularly heavy downpours, says the Thai Meteorological Department (TMD).
— Bangkok Post

Wildlife trafficking kingpin jailed
The Samut Prakarn Provincial Court last Friday (May 11) sentenced 41-year-old Vietnamese-Thai national Boonchai Bach to two years and six months in prison for wildlife related crimes, following his arrest on January 18 for rhino horn trafficking.
— The Phuket News

State chews over plastic bag levy
The government is considering a levy on shopping bags to reduce plastic consumption and pollution, says a source at the Finance Ministry.
— Bangkok Post

Crying out for help
As the most one million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh spend their first Ramadan away from home, NUHCR and its partners appeal for support from Thais.
— The Nation

AIP’s food waste training course offered in Thailand
Food waste is a global issue, with an estimated one-third of the food grown for human consumption lost or wasted between farm and fork, and one of the best ways to tackle this problem is through education.
— Food Processing

Tech could beat welfare corruption, experts say
DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES – particularly blockchain, digital ID, and e-money – are being proposed by a research institute as the best sustainable solution for dealing with corruption and other problems in distributing social welfare.
— The Nation

Police reform committee to draft special laws to facilitate police work
The Police Reform Committee is to draft special acts to streamline police investigations and enable officers to do their jobs more effectively.
— News Today (video)

Is Thailand calling time on Western expats
For decades, Thailand has been one of the most popular Asian destinations for expats, but some are now suggesting the ‘good old days’ are well and truly over.
— Emigrate

Risk of chemical-caused illness among farmers on upward swing, study finds
THE PERCENTAGE of farmers at risk of developing health problems from their farm chemicals has risen over the past few years, according to the results of a large-scale study.
— The Nation

RPT-Myanmar’s Yoma to debut in baht
Yoma Strategic Holdings is poised to become the first company from Myanmar to sell bonds with a baht-denominated offering that underlines Thailand’s appeal as a regional funding hub.
— Reuters

Property market tipped to grow 5% after strong first quarter
THE property market is expected to expand at least 5 per cent this year, according to the consensus from the listed developers that have posted double-digit growth for the first quarter compared with the year-earlier period.
— The Nation

Uproar over Pattaya beach wastewater
The Pollution Control Department is preparing to inspect the wastewater being released by hotels and buildings in Pattaya after netizens cried foul over photos shared online showing visibly polluted water being released at Pattaya beach.
— Bangkok Post

Vietnam lags behind Thailand in use of blockchain in agriculture
Thai pepper is sold at VND150,000 per kilogram in the world market, while Vietnamese pepper is VND90,000. Deputy director of the Vietnam Agriculture Academy Dao The Anh said that Vietnam’s products will find it difficult to access high value chains if they do not use advanced technology.
— VietnamNet Bridge

 

Feature photo Asian Development Bank

 

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.

 

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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.

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