Thailand News
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Sponsored 12Go introduces Japan Rail Passes to enhance travel accessibility for international travellers
For those who have travelled throughout Thailand, 12Go is a well-known provider of various trips, though the platform itself has a much wider reach. Ranging from buses to planes, 12Go is undoubtedly a leading booking platform for travel throughout the...
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Thai tourism will be badly hit if Hong Kong airport mayhem continues
The mayhem at the Hong Kong airport could cost Thailand tourism 1.4 billion baht in lost income according to the Kasikorn Research Centre. The centre estimates the Thai tourism industry would be adversely hit if flights from Hong Kong are disrupted for more than seven days and notes that the number of flights cancelled, heading to Thailand, have already cost…
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Nine minor parties convinced to stick with government
PHOTO: Deputy Agriculture Minister Thammanat Prompao, somehow negotiated the dissident MPs back into the coalition Nine disaffected smaller parties in the governing coalition, who earlier threatened to break away to form an independent opposition bloc, have been convinced to stay in the Palang Pracharat coalition and have vowed to support the government. Ten single-MP parties showed signs of a rift…
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Thai land prices appreciate average of 8.3%
Land prices around Thailand have risen by an average of 8.3%, whilst land in the Eastern Economic Corridor have appreciated by more than 10% – the new land appraisals will be implemented for tax collection purposes next year, according to Wilawan Veerakun, deputy director general of the Treasury Department. The price of parcels of land in Khampaeng Phet province has gone…
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Thai advertisers deserting Print, but love Cinema and Transit ads
Thai businesses are shunning newspapers and magazines for advertising, but still support cinema advertising and ‘transit’ media. Newspaper advertising spend dropped nearly 28%. Magazine spending wasn’t far behind dropping nearly 25%, year on year. Thailand’s advertising spend dropped 0.42% year on year in July to about 9.143 billion baht, according to Nielsen media report. The report says that only cinema,…
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Parts of Erawan Waterfall closed as tourists injured
The Erawan National Waterfall officials have closed off the tier 6 and 7 levels of the popular waterfall due to continuous rain up to the weekend which made the hiking trail extremely slippery. Some tourists slipped and were injured. On Sunday there were many tourists slipping while on their way to tier 6 and 7 of the waterfall. A rescue team…
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Treasury department plans new lease of life for disused buildings
The Treasury Department is considering leasing out older and disused buildings for commercial development if the lessee pledges to preserve their historical, architectural or cultural value. The department’s director general, Amnuay Preemonwong, says it would be a better option than seeing them abandoned and becoming increasingly dilapidated causing health and safety risks to neighbours. But the proposal will not apply to…
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Thai coalition will meet with disgruntled MPs today
PHOTO: Thai PM praying he can glue back all the pieces of the Palang Pracharat coalition after weekend defection threats With defections threatened from disgruntled minor coalition partners, Palang Pracharat has been shocked into coming up with packages of party positions to try and ‘keep them happy’ amidst threats to the coalition’s majority. The Palang Pracharath Party is looking to…
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Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, The Queen Mother, makes merit on her 87th birthday
Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, the Queen Mother, enjoyed a private merit making ceremony in the Chitralada Palace in Bangkok to celebrate her 87th birthday anniversary yesterday (August 12th) She was accompanied by His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Phra Vajiraklaochaoyuhua, Queen Suthida Bajrasudhabimalalakshana, Somdech Phra Kanishthadhiraj Chao Krom Somdech Phra Debaratnarajsuda Chao Fa Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, Somdet Phrachao Nong Nang Thoe…
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Popular Thai expat blogger shares problems renewing visa
PHOTO: Facebook/richard.thailand Popular expat blogger and Samut Prakan school employee Richard Barrow has shared his difficulties in trying to renew his visa’s extension of stay. Richard returned to Samut Prakan immigration last Friday to collect his annual extension. But he was told that Bangkok hadn’t yet approved his application. Samut Prakan Immigration, the province which has also issued his work permit (presumably…
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New transport minister backtracks on previous government’s van upgrade policy
The previous government was hellbent on upgrading many of the country’s old vans to new buses and min-buses. The proposals, and the decline of August 13, was met with a lot of opposition with public transport operators who would have to take on the new investment in upgrading equipment. The previous government’s intentions were to improve the levels of safety…
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Thai Airways faces more bad news with bigger losses in Q2
Thai Airways’ problems appear to be compounding with a perfect storm of an ageing fleet, a plateauing of tourist intake and increased competition from newer, more nimble budget airlines. The country’s national pride and joy had a poor Q2 this year, compounding years of declining profit results. The second quarter loss more than doubled losses for the same quarter last…
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Government faces no-confidence vote with loss of five independent MPs
The Government was sworn in less than a month ago on July 17, but already faces the prospect of a no confidence motion on its ability to control the lower house majority after five MPs pulled out of the 19-party coalition bloc. Last week the ruling Government lost a vote on the floor over the role of the House Speaker.…
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Chewathai launches seven new property projects in Bangkok despite slowdown
Listed property firm Chewathai says they are revising down their revenue target for this year from 2.8 billion to 1.6 billion baht after demand for residential projects has shown a slowing down in the first half of 2019. The company’s managing director Boon Choon Kiet made the announcement yesterday. Boon says Chewathai’s total revenue of 618.65 million baht in the…
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Serbian government grants citizenship to Thailand’s former PM Yingluck
The Serbian government has granted citizenship to Thailand’s former PM Yingluck Shinawatra. Yingluck fled Thailand in 2017 just days before the Court handed down its findings on negligence charges against her and her government. 52 year old Yingluck, now a fugitive, fled to Dubai to join her brother Thaksin, another former Thai PM who fled in 2006 to avoid a…
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Thai Government suffers first defeat in lower house
PHOTO: Thai PBS Highlighting the Government’s frail grip on power, the ruling Palang Pracharat government, together with its 19 coalition partners, suffered its first defeat in the lower house yesterday. The matter was over a parliamentary regulation that would specify the House speaker’s impartiality in the performance of their duties. Regulation Number 9 was debated at length in the Lower…
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Thai baht may need another ‘haircut’ by the Bank of Thailand before the end of 2019
Wednesday’s rate cut by the Bank of Thailand has not succeeded in reining in the surging baht, raising the prospect of another interest rate cut by 0.25 of a percentage point before the year-end. While the central bank’s statement on the policy rate reduction didn’t mention the strength of the baht, economists suspect the baht’s strength and its impact on…
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170 billion baht stimulus to focus on tourism as economy plateaus
Inbound tourism to Thailand is about to get a boost with a proposed 170 billion baht government stimulus package . The Finance Ministry will submit the full plan to Cabinet on August 19. Lavaron Sangsnit, the director general for the fiscal policy office, says the package aims to boost inbound tourism, and promote travel within the country by Thai and…
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Currencies and stock exchanges flutter as the dust settles on the latest threats in the US-China trade spat
Central banks in India, Thailand and New Zealand cut interest rates this week in an attempt to fend off any harm from the spiralling US-China trade war. The escalation of the trade war, sparked by fresh US tariff threats by US President Trump over the weekend, is seen as the reason for the policy shift. On Monday, the People’s Bank…
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Young elephant injured by trap in Rayong
PHOTO: Nation TV Wildlife officials are tracking a young wild elephant whose front left leg has become infected after being caught in a snare. They want to capture it and treat its injury. The assistant chief of Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary, Tantikorn Puangsakul, says officials of the Khao Noi wildlife protection unit spotted the small elephant staggering in…
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Cabinet to consider visa-free travel for Chinese and Indian tourists
The Minister of Tourism and Sports, Pipat Ratchakitprakarn, says he intends to introduce visa-free travel for Chinese and Indian tourists later this year. He wants to put the proposal to Cabinet as soon as possible. Chins and India are targets for Thailand’s latest tourism promotions, so visa-free-travel is back on the table for urgent consideration. Currently, citizens of both countries have…
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Ministry probes rented electronic monitoring ankle bracelets from China
The Thai Justice Ministry is investigating the electronic monitoring ankle bracelets rented by the Department of Probation from a Chinese company. A Thai company has complained that the device can be removed by the offenders wearing them without the department being alerted. Thai PBS reports that the complaint was filed by Aekkaphol Kongphutorn, representative of Fort Corporation, one of the…
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Board of Trade want Bank of Thailand to urgently address the baht
PHOTOS & GRAPHIC: The Nation The Board of Trade are meeting with the Bank of Thailand tomorrow (August 8) to discuss the value of the Thai baht, its appreciation against the US dollar and Chinese yuan, and the impact on the country’s exports. Sanan Angubolkul, the Board of Trade’s vice chairman, speaking to The Nation, says the baht has appreciated around…
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Softening Chinese yuan no threat to Thai baht
The Chinese yuan dropped sharply to its weakest level against the US dollar in more than a decade, raising fears of further dangerous escalation in the US-China trade war. Yesterday, the Chinese yuan dropped below the 7 yuan to the US dollar threshold, marking the first time the renminbi has depreciated against the dollar since May 2008. The depreciation of…
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800 media professionals laid off or contracts unfairly terminated
The National Union of Journalists Thailand says the media situation in Thailand is looking increasingly grim with around 800 media industry staff either being laid off or having had their contracts unlawfully terminated. A portion of the media professionals also say they were not sufficiently compensated, in violation of Thailand’s labour laws. Also, many said they had not been paid…
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Baby in a rush in Chon Buri, born with 12 fingers and 12 toes
PHOTOS: sanook.com A mother has given birth to a healthy baby girl on the side of the road in Chon Buri. It does happen, sometimes the baby can’t wait until mum arrives at hospital. But this special bundle of joy has 12 fingers and 12 toes. But this was no surprise to the mother and grandmother who also have six…
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Minister books meeting to discuss 120 kph speed limits on Thai motorways
PHOTO: Thai Residents The new Thai Transport Minister Saksiam Chidchob will be chairing a meeting in the middle of August to discuss the proposal to raise the speed limit of private cars on Thailand’s four-lane highways to 120 kilometres per hour. Part of the proposal says that cars travelling in the far-right lane of a four-lane highway must also keep…
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Most Thai motorcycle riders don’t wear crash helmets
Only 45% of Thai motorcycle users wear crash helmets, that includes riders and pillion passengers. With young people under 18 the results are a pitiful 22% of users wearing any head protection, even less for children. Dr. Werapan Supanchaimart, vice chairman of the Thai Health Promotion Foundation, said at a seminar yesterday that the Thai Roads Foundation and Road Safety Watch…
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Thailand and EU prepare for signing of a strategic trade partnership
Thailand and the European Union are ready to sign a draft Strategic Partnership and Cooperation Agreement to promote bilateral trade and investment in the future. Federica Mogherini, an EU Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and vice chairwoman of the European Commission, met today with PM Prayut Chan-o-cha during her visit to Thailand to attend the ASEAN Plus Foreign…
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Thailand’s baht is getting stronger, and that’s a problem
Since the beginning of 2018, Thailand’s currency has jumped more than 5% against the US dollar. Year-on-year it’s bounced up nearly 8%. The Thai Central Bank may be forced to cut rates to curb the popular currency. The Thai baht continues to soar against the USD this year, significantly more than many other emerging market currencies. But the flexing Baht muscle…
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PM holds urgent meetings with Thailand’s economic tsars today
The PM has put himself in control of Thailand’s economic matters nominating himself as Chairman of the Council of Economic Affairs. Today the PM Prayut Chan-o-cha holds talks with top officials of four key economic institutions on the budget bill as the economy, which has been a regional leader over the past decade, stutters. Academics are calling for cuts in military…
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