News
Amended land tax bill attacked
The new land and buildings tax will fail to narrow the wealth gap between the haves and have-nots, according to a prominent economist. Nipon Poapongsakorn, distinguished scholar at the Thailand Development Research Institute, said on March 22 that the new tax bill approved by the Cabinet failed ...
Thai exports slide 2.76% in value on year in February
Exports in February decreased in value year on year for the first time in four months, a decline attributed to the high value of gold and aerospace exports in February 2016, according to the Commerce Ministry. The ministry reported that export value last month declined by ...
Land and buildings tax draft gets nod
The cabinet on March 21 approved the draft bill for the long-awaited land and buildings tax, intended to narrow economic disparity, after a review by the Council of State. Nathporn Chatusripitak, an adviser to Prime Minister’s Office Minister Suvit Maesincee, said the draft bill amended by ...
Cabinet backs credit boost for SMEs in Bt15 bn package
The cabinet on March 21 gave the nod to the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Bank of Thailand to extend up to Bt15 billion in loans to small and medium-sized enterprises. The cabinet also approved plans for a major industrial estate development project in Sa Kaeo. “About ...
New ToR for double-track rail projects expected in two weeks
New terms of reference for the multibillion-baht double-track railway project will be finished within two weeks, according to Anon Luangboriboon, acting State Railway of Thailand governor. Meanwhile, share prices of construction have suffered declines, attributed to the junta’s delay on the railway projects. After the original ToR ...
Transparency or risk fine, warning for online sellers
Online traders must display prices and details of products and services or risk being fined, the government has warned. Nuntawan Sakuntanaga, director-general of the Internal Trade Department, said the Royal Gazette recently published the announcement of the central commission on prices of goods and services signed ...
Board scraps ToR for B96bn rail plan
The so-called “scrutiny superboard”, overseeing the multi-billion-baht state procurement projects, has decided to scrap the terms of reference for five controversial double-track railway projects as part of its move to eliminate alleged irregularities. New ToR as well as new bidding procedures will be drafted. The decision must ...
Sahapat boosts logistics facilities
Consumer – goods distributor Sahapat will invest around Bt650 million to set up a new central warehouse and data centre as it targets revenue of Bt33 billion this year. The company says it will also come out with new products. Boonchai Chokwatana, chairman of Saha ...
New crisis seen as unlikely, economists say, but caution urged
Economists have urged caution while watching for a continuing recovery, recalling the adage about the frog that died by failing to notice that the pot of water it was sitting in was slowly coming to a boil. “It is almost a consensus among economists that the ...
Problem of producing cheap biofuel from cassava solved
The state’s research agency and energy policymakers have finally discovered a way to produce biofuel from cassava at a competitive cost, says a senior Energy Ministry official. Previously the use of cassava in ethanol production was not viable despite the abundance of the shrub, because ...
