Thailand Morning News For May 7

BoT: All sectors of Thai economy expand in March
The Bank of Thailand (BoT) reports that the country’s economy grew 4% in the first quarter of 2018 with expansion recorded in all sectors in the third month.
— News Today (video)

Thailand becomes world’s No.1 rice exporter
The Department of Foreign Trade (DFT) says that Thailand has become the world’s No.1 rice exporter during first four months of this year.
— Chiang Mai Mail

WANTED – start-ups for Paypal’s incubation programme
PayPal has launched the PayPal Incubation Programme to help encourage Thailand’s fintech start-up ecosystem to expand throughout the Southeast Asia region.
— The Nation

JBIC pledges airport link loans
The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) pledges to extend soft loans to finance Thailand’s 224.54-billion-baht high-speed railway linking three major airports and other infrastructure projects in the government’s highly touted Eastern Economic Corridor.
— Bangkok Post

Network lauds decision to return Doi Suthep site to national park
THE Chiang Mai people’s network was yesterday satisfied with the decision to return the site of the controversial residential project for court officials at the foot of the Doi Suthep Mountain to the Treasury Department.
— The Nation

Thailand remains on US’s IP watch list
The Ministry of Commerce has revealed that Thailand is still on the US’s intellectual property watch list despite its continued efforts to crack down on violations of intellectual property rights.
— News Today (video)

PM briefed on Gov’t 4 0 policy implementation
The Prime Minister has summoned permanent secretaries of all ministries to follow up on the implementation of government 4.0 policy.
— News Today (video)

Thailand exports more than 3 million tons of rice in first four months
The Department of Foreign Trade (DFT) has reported that the nation’s rice exports had increased the target quantity to ten million metric tons, reflecting a spike in global demand.
— News Today (video)

Thailand a future hub for auto software
THAILAND has a lot of potential to become a hub of automotive software development in the Asia Pacific region, Koichi Okoshi, president and chief executive officer of Toyota Tsusho Nexty Electronics (Thailand) Co Ltd (NETH) said.
— The Nation

Govt in race against time to update data privacy law
Experts call for quick action amid growing ecommerce, data breach fears and upcoming tough new EU legislation
— The Nation

Education Min keen to produce 6,000 skilled workers per year
The Ministry of Education is determined to produce no fewer than 6,000 skilled workers on a yearly basis.
— News Today (video)

Bangkok land prices up 5% in a year
Bangkok land prices have risen 5.3 percent in the past 12 months, according to the latest research from Thailand’s Agency for Real Estate Affairs (AREA).
— Thailand Property News

Thailand’s drowning in a sea of plastic
In February last year, a patch of plastic trash almost 10 kilometres long was seen floating off the coast of the Gulf of Thailand in Chumpon province, prompting a wake-up call about the plastic pollution problem which has become increasingly serious in recent years.
— The Thaiger/ The Nation

Bangkok condo prices still rising
Bangkok condo prices were still rising during the first three months of the year, albeit at slower rates than in recent years.
— Thailand Property News

U-tapao airport buses launched
Three bus routes linking U-tapao with three eastern provinces have been introduced to serve passengers and promote the international airport in Sattahip.
— Pattaya Mail

Police to press charges against schools falsifying papers for illegal foreigners
Police will press charges against a number of international and language schools for allegedly falsifying documents on behalf of foreigners.
— NNT

Cash-rich Thai oil explorer PTT eyes overseas assets worth up to $1b
Thailand’s PTT Exploration & Production Pcl is ready to shell out as much as $1 billion on an overseas petroleum asset this year, and possibly more, as it tries to prop up growth amid falling reserves.
— DealStreetAsia/ Bloomberg

7 arrested in illegal hotel raids
Pattaya-area authorities arrested seven managers or owners of hotels operating without a license.
— Pattaya Mail

Gov’t to use more than 11,000 tons of rubber this year
The Rubber Authority of Thailand has forecast that the government will increase demand for rubber by at least 11,000 tons this year.
— NNT

Belkin expects 30% Thai revenue growth in 2018
BELKIN expects to generate revenue growth above 30 per cent in the Thai market by the end of this year. The firm will also come out next month with two new wireless fast chargers to support premium smartphone accessories.
— The Nation

Foreigners snapping up Bangkok luxury condos
In chic central Bangkok, a foreign buying binge is fuelling a red-hot market for ultra-luxury real estate.
— The Straits Times (annoying popups)

Huge herd of wild elephants pillage Buri Ram plantations
A large herd of more than 60 wild elephants has been recorded on video clips by officials of the Dong Yai Wildlife Sanctuary in this lower northeastern province.
— Bangkok Post

Feature photo Judith Scharnowski

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 May 7 added by John Le Fevre on May 7, 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.