News
TPP trade talks appeal, says Somkid
Thailand is interested in joining the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact being touted by the United States, but needs to study the terms and conditions of the new trade bloc first, Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak says. Keep reading ...
Villagers in Thailand who claim illness, crop damage from gas drilling see complaints ignored
More than 100 students and villagers crowded into a northeast Thailand college forum to hear about American gas companies conducting drilling operations in their region. A lieutenant colonel and dozens of soldiers and police officers followed them in. The armed police began photographing members of the ...
Thai junta 'invites' then detains journalist
Thailand’s junta has detained a senior newspaper reporter and columnist, his paper says, the latest in a string of arrests targeting those who speak out against the government. Thepchai Yong, the editor-in-chief of the English-language Nation, said “there is no justification whatsoever” for Pravit Rojanaphruk’s detention. Keep ...
Tropical storm Vamco warning
Tropical storm Vamco was over the central South China Sea and centred about 350 kilometres off Danang, Vietnam, with maximum sustained winds of 65km/hour, the Meteorological Department announced at 5am on 14 September. Keep reading ...
Higher PPP investment limit urged
The Thai government hopes to ease its public debt burden by luring the private sector to invest more in multibillion-baht infrastructure projects, especially in telecommunications and transport, through public-private partnerships (PPPs). Keep reading ...
IUU laws fail to curb abuse of fishermen
Measures to tackle illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing practices should be accompanied by rigorous labour protection measures, activists said on 9 September at a Chulalongkorn University seminar. Following the European Union’s final warning — a yellow card issued to Thailand in late April — the government has rolled ...
ADB set to slash Thai GDP growth forecast
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will revise down its GDP growth forecast for Thailand to lower than 2.9% this year following the country’s slower-than-expected performance in the first half. However, the new growth forecast, due to be announced on 22 September, will be higher than 2.5%, ...
Vietnam signs bilateral tourism cooperation agreements with Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar
Tourism officials from Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar discussed solutions for luring tourists to their region and integrate their tourist industry as they met in Ho Chi Minh City on 9 September. The five countries are member of a political, economic, and cultural bloc known ...
Guarantees for SME lending set to jump
Loan guarantees for small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) are expected to surge 67% to 10 billion baht a month in the wake of the new credit guarantee portfolio scheme by Thailand’s state-owned Credit Guarantee Corporation. Keep reading ...
Thai rice stockpile under scrutiny
Provincial officials have 30 days to complete the inspection of rice stored at 1,800 warehouses nationwide under a deadline set by the National Rice Policy Committee chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. Keep reading ...
