Hopewell Holding wins final court battle over controversial project
The Thai Ministry of Transport and the State Railway of Thailand have been dealt a devastating blow as the Supreme Administrative Court today overturned the Administrative Court’s verdict and ordered…
— Thai PBS News
EC expected to rule on Thanathorn’s fate on Tuesday
The Election Commission (EC) is expected to deliver a ruling tomorrow (Tuesday) on the fate of Future Forward party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit over his alleged shareholding in a media company.
— Thai PBS News
Heavy Songkran Tourism Ruins Large Swathes of Trang’s Coral: Official
An influx of tourists over Songkran combined with poor management seriously damaged huge chunks of coral in a protected area of Trang province, officials said Monday.
— Khaosod English
Exports flag on external headwinds
Thailand’s exports remain in the doldrums, with the performance in March dropping after an unexpected increase in February.
— Bangkok Post
Election re-runs in five provinces go smoothly
The re-run elections at six polling units in five provinces went smoothly on Sunday though the voter turnout was lower than in the March 24 election.
— NNT
Navy launches operation ‘Remove Seastead’
Royal Thai Navy ships HTMS Sriracha and HTMS Rin departed Phuket this morning (Apr 22) to begin the operation to remove the controversial “seastead” from its location some 42km south of Phuket.
— The Phuket News
Court orders SRT to stump up
The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) may need to devise a new debt-restructuring plan, after a court ordered it and the Transport Ministry to pay almost 12 billion baht in compensation to Hopewell (Thailand) Co for scrapping a mega-transport project 20 years ago, a rail agency source said.
— Bangkok Post
Somkid urges agencies to maintain momentum
The government is requiring state agencies to speed up their work despite the lull in activity during the formation of a new government, hoping to maintain economic momentum and attain 4% GDP growth this year.
— Bangkok Post
Thailand to ink deal on Thai-Lao line
Thailand will sign a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) on the Nong Khai-Vientiane Railway Connecting Line with China and Laos later this week at the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) in Beijing.
— Bangkok Post
Cambodia-Thailand bilateral trade to develop further
Cambodia and Thailand have agreed to develop more strategies to boost bilateral trade, cross border development and investment to achieve a target of USD 15 billion in trade between the two ASEAN neighbors by 2020.
— NBT World (video)
Tax perk for property buyers on the cards
The Revenue Department has proposed a tax deduction for property buyers as part of a seven-measure package to prop up economic growth during the transition to a new government.
— Bangkok Post
Confidence index edges down in March
Business sentiment fell again in March after recovering in February, with the business sector fretting over the country’s unclear political outlook.
— Bangkok Post
‘OTOP to the Town’ fair welcoming shoppers at Future Park Rangsit
The Department of Community Development has held an OTOP to the Town event, attending big suburban shopping malls and inviting the general public to shop for quality products that help distribute wealth to local communities.
— NBT World (video)
Revenue Department seeks more authority
The Revenue Department must be allowed to request information from business operators to prevent avoidance of a levy on foreign-based online platform operators earning income in Thailand, says its chief.
— Bangkok Post
Japan keen on investing further in hybrid car industry in Thailand
Japanese companies are interested in investing more in hybrid car manufacturing in Thailand, the National News Bureau of Thailand cited Hiroki Mitsumata, president of the Bangkok branch of the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), as saying.
— investvine
Irregularly Hot Summer This Year: Hail, Fires, Heatstroke
This summer’s unusually hot weather is already causing droughts, summer storms and forest fires, with one woman dead after a storm saw a tree fall and crush her car.
— Khaosod English
March exports fall 4.88% y-o-y
Thailand’s customs-cleared exports fell 4.88% in March, after unexpectedly increasing in February, due to falling shipments of electronics amid the Sino-US trade war, the commerce ministry said on Monday.
— Bangkok Post
Small deposits add up
The US Federal Reserve’s dovish signal of the end of the current rate hike cycle, a slackening of momentum for Thailand’s economic growth amid risks from the global economic slowdown and domestic political instability, and the liquidity surplus in the local financial system suggest that low …
— Bangkok Post
Cambodian and Thai leaders mark reopening of rail link
The leaders of Cambodia and Thailand met Monday at the Thai border town of Aranyaprathet to mark the ceremonial reopening of a rail link that will restore train service between the two countries after more than four decades.
— AP
Songkran comes to frantic end in Pattaya
Songkran came to its end in Pattaya with packed streets and a nod to tradition. Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh got things started at 7:30 a.m. April 19 at Chaimongkol Temple where a morning meal was offered to monks and certificates presented to honored senior citizens.
— Pattaya Mail
NGV for public transport to be raised in May
The Energy Policy Administration Committee has decided to gradually increase the price of natural gas for public transport by a total of three baht per kilogramme over 12 months.
— Bangkok Post
Court to rule on bus fares
The Central Administrative Court will on Wednesday rule on a request to freeze fare increases for Bangkok and inter-provincial buses, pending a study of operating costs.
— Bangkok Post
Finance Ministry wants to give 1,500 baht to each domestic traveller
The Finance Ministry says they are launching a new stimulus package to boost the country’s domestic tourism by giving Thais 1,500 baht each to spend when they travel to 55 provinces under the promotion campaign.
— The Thaiger
Khao Sok wins ‘Vogue’ accolade
The Khao Sok National Park in Surat Thani has been hailed as one of the eight most beautiful national parks around the world by France’s Vogue magazine.
— Bangkok Post
History books will have to rewrite the Tham Luang cave story
“Two British divers have today found the 13 team members perched on the Nerm Nom Sao ledge.” “I promise I will care for the kids as best as possible. I want to say thank you for all the support,” 25 year old Cochairs Ekk wrote in a touching letter, nine days after they were found …
— The Thaiger
Slow loris released back into Phuket forest
PHOTOS: Department of National Parks Officers from of the Khao Phra Thaeo Non-Hunting Area have helped in the release of a slow loris back into the wild yesterday.
— The Thaiger
7 New Parties Propose Unity Govt, Senate Selection by King
Seven minor political parties on Monday called for a national unity government and for His Majesty the King to handpick the upper house.
— Khaosod English
Prayut, Hun Sen open bridge across Thai-Cambodian border
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen jointly presided over the opening of a border bridge linking Thailand’s Sa Kaeo with Cambodia’s Banteay Meancheay provinces this…
— Thai PBS News
CP Foods to buy Canadian pork producer HyLife for B11.9 bn
Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc (CPF), Thailand’s largest agriculture conglomerate, said on Monday it would acquire Canadian pork producer HyLife Investments for C$498 million (11.9 billion baht) to expand its North American business.
— Bangkok Post
Struggling to get 5G right
As the nation’s telecom operators race to develop 5G infrastructure in a timely manner, the government is finding ways to subsidise development by delaying payments for past auctions and changing the sales process for the next round.
— Bangkok Post
Thanathorn submits clarification on shareholding to EC
Future Forward party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit today reiterated his denial that he had violated the election law by applying to run in the March-24 general election while still holding shares…
— Thai PBS News
Sa Kaeo-Poipet train line opened, to boost border trade
The repaired rail link between Aranyaprathet and Poipet was reopened on Monday, 46 years after it was closed by a civil war that destroyed Cambodia’s railway infrastructure.
— Bangkok Post
30M Baht Statue of Late PM Erected in Suphan Buri
A larger-than-life bronze statue of the late Banharn Silpa-archa, Thailand’s 21st prime minister, will be unveiled on Tuesday.
— Khaosod English
Nongprue hosts Kong Khao ceremony
Nongprue capped a frantic Songkran with a quieter Kong Khao rice-piling ceremony at the subdistrict’s Health Garden.
— Pattaya Mail
NCB to collect mobile data for World Bank
The National Credit Bureau (NCB) plans to collect mobile phone usage data to meet the World Bank’s demand for additional information in evaluating ease of doing business.
— Bangkok Post tech
Thai AirAsia adds Sihanoukville to Cambodia routes
Thai AirAsia is to start direct service from Don Mueang airport to the Cambodian beach town of Sihanoukville.
— Bangkok Post
Car washes boom after Songkran
Car washes are cashing in now that Songkran is finished, with owners of motorbikes and cars eager to get all the powder off their vehicles.
— Pattaya Mail
Impounded motorbike used by Huay Yai police employee
A Songkran reveler’s Thai New Year was ruined when he saw his motorbike impounded by police two years ago being ridden around Naklua by a police department employee.
— Pattaya Mail
PM cautions people over tropical storms, heat strokes
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha was concerned over tropical storms which might cause heat strokes and the drowning of children.
— NNT
Thai-Cambodian Friendship Bridge
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha joined in the celebrations for the Thai-Cambodian Friendship Bridge at Baan Nong Ian-Satung Bot in Aranyaprathet district of Sa Kaeo province.
— NNT
BMA expedites Sukhumvit road flood prevention campaign
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration is speeding up the construction of drainage facilities to solve flooding along Sukhumvit road, draining flood water from the road surface down into Saen Saeb Canal, and expected to be in operation from May this year.
— NNT
Electricity supply cuts in Kathu
The Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) has announced that the electricity supply will be temporarily shut off in parts of Kathu on Tuesday (Apr 23) as work is carried out on improving the distribution system.
— The Phuket News
A teacher’s market: Future looks bright for qualified EFL educators
Election season (however infrequent) is that special time that brings policy issues to the fore with self-proclaimed pundits and neighborhood know-it-alls letting everyone know what’s right and wrong.
— Coconuts (paywall)
Animal group defends Bangkok cat cafe where sick, dead cats found
Less than a week after 38 cats were rescued from a shuttered Bangkok cat cafe, an animal rights group says there is a surprising twist to the tale – the rescuers were the real bad guys.
— Coconuts (paywall)
Pattani smuggler arrested with over 10,000 packets of illegal cigarettes
A man has been arrested in Pattani’s Mayo district after trying to smuggle 10,802 packets of foreign cigarettes.
— The Thaiger
Feature photo Achara Paisanteerajit
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. Due to The Nation‘s habit of hijacking urls and diverting them to promotion pages we no longer include it in our clippings.
Thailand morning news for April 23 added by John Le Fevre on
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John Le Fevre
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.
Latest posts by John Le Fevre (see all)
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- COVID-19 in Asean: update for July 24 — Asean tops 230,000 cases, nudges 90,000 active – July 24, 2020
- Thailand morning news for July 24 – July 24, 2020