Thailand

210 billion baht stimulus confirmed for “Rao Chana”

Published

2 months ago

Thursday, January 21, 2021

Som-O

210 billion baht stimulus confirmed for “Rao Chana” | The Thaiger

PHOTO: Thairath Online

A budget of 210 billion baht of stimulus handouts to help financially-affected people from the Covid-19 outbreak, has been confirmed and ready to be distributed to 31 million people. Each applicant in the project will get 7,000 over 2 months, but not in cash. They will only get money transferred via the “Pao Tang” app once subscribing to the website “เราชนะ.com”, an app ‘e-wallet’.

Registration is scheduled for January 29 to February 12. Applicants will be screened for their annual income and how much they have in their bank accounts. Those with an annual income exceeding 300,000 baht and with savings of more than 500,000 baht as of December 31 last year will not qualify, according to Deputy PM Supattanapong Punmeechaow. People under the social security scheme, government officials, and state enterprise employees are not eligible for this campaign. Neither are foreigners.

The subsidy covers people’s food, drink, and essential items. They can also pay for public transport service providers who register in the project including motorcycle taxis, taxis, and passenger vans. The amount of money can be topped up each week if not spent, and there is no limit of how much to spend per day.

However, comments and responses are raised among the netizens who say “they prefer cash”. Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith says, “Financial relief is not being given in a form of cash. The money will be disbursed in phases to stimulate steady spending on essential goods. We want to inject cash into small businesses like the co-payment scheme.”

Also, questions have been raised for some people who can’t afford smartphones to get access to the app. Replying to this concern, he said… “The government will see what it can do to help them buy cheap phones”.

According to the Finance Minister, the government has approved several campaigns to help relieve people’s cost of living, including the “Let’s Go Halves” co-payment scheme that starts today as well as discounts on household electricity and water.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post

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News Categories: Economy Thailand

13 Comments

Peter

Thursday, January 21, 2021 at 11:47 am

Peanuts.
UK furlough gives 80% of earnings. One of the most generous schemes in the world.
4 million vaccinated and counting. 200,000 plus per day.
Thailand = zilch. Zero. Nothing.

Reply
- Kim
  
  Thursday, January 21, 2021 at 12:12 pm
  
  And what’s your point?
  
  Reply
Issan John

Thursday, January 21, 2021 at 12:36 pm

Yes, “peanuts”. The UK has a natinal debt amounting to 85% of GDP and climbing, rapidly, while Thailand has a far more manageable debt of 50%.

… and FWIW the UK has not vaccinated “4 million”, but only 450,000 since it’s a two does vaccine. While 4 million have had the first dose, the whole plan to postpone the second vaccination against medical advice and the advice of the manufacturers is now being called into doubt.

The plan was based on a government estimate that the first dose would be “89% effective” ten days after the first dose, and a guess that that level of protection would last for at least 3 months.

Pfizer, the manufacturers who should be expected to know, put the efficacy at only 52%, not 89, with the second dose needed after three weeks, not three months.

All the data from Israel, though, where a quarter of the population has been vaccinated and there has been a detailed study of 200,000 vaccinated which they compared to a control group also of 200,000 shows very clearly that even Pfizer’s figure of 52% was wrong, and the UK’s estimate of 89% was very badly wrong and the guess was even worse.

Instead of the estimated “89% effective” after 14 days, the Israel study of 200,000 shows conclusively that it’s not 89%, not 52%, but only 33%.

The UK, sadly, has the worst death rate in the world, having recently overtaken even the USA.

Holding up the UK as an example of how to deal with Covid-19 is absurd beyond belief as by any measure (death rate, hospitalization, social, economic, etc) the UK has been consistently among the worst in the world – not only because of the incompetence of the government but because of the behaviour of far too many of the populace – far from all and far from a majority, but sadly far too many and far, far too many of those who should be setting an example.

That isn’t knocking the UK, it’s simply being honest.

Reply
- RA
  
  Thursday, January 21, 2021 at 1:35 pm
  
  Mexico has a death rate of 8.6% of the persons infected.
  
  Reply
- Gosport
  
  Thursday, January 21, 2021 at 4:13 pm
  
  The low efficacy rate and deaths of Norway shows Corporate wants to benefit for a long time. Also shows DNA altered jab is not as good as traditional one.
  
  Reply
- Toby Andrews
  
  Thursday, January 21, 2021 at 5:49 pm
  
  I am not going to dispute all the points you have written, It would take too much time to find the figures.
  But here is an easy one.
  You state Thailand and has a debt to GDP of 50 percent.
  Britain has a debt to GDP of 85 percent.
  Well calculate this, Thailand has 69 million of population, Britain has less at 67 million.
  However Britain has a GDP of 2.83 trillion, and Thailand has a GDP of 505 billion, so which country owes more in real terms?
  A trillion is a 1000 billion.
  
  Reply
  - Rasputin
    
    Thursday, January 21, 2021 at 7:58 pm
    
    I was going to make a similar post myself, but you beat me to it, likewise I initially think many of the stats quoted by IJ are being significantly misrepresented but I have better things to do with my time than to research them all. BUT there is one point I completely agree with, the UK populations behaviour leaves a lot to be desired, especially the younger groups. I can’t see a way around this apart from deploying the military to enforce guidelines. However this would be totally unthinkable, and would never be tolerated in the UK outside of a wartime situation. IMO of course.
    
    Reply
- Crispy
  
  Thursday, January 21, 2021 at 9:35 pm
  
  Better to give a 50-50 chance to 12 million people in 12 weeks, than a 90% chance to six million and leave six million to take their chances unprotected.
  
  Rome wasn’t built in a day.
  
  The British way is to get stuck in there and give it a go, learn as they go, sometimes they will burn through the seat of their pants, better a kick in the ar$e for doing something, than a kick for doing nothing.
  
  Reply
Siso

Thursday, January 21, 2021 at 3:47 pm

Germany have a extended lockdown and even are going so far to put people that won’t comply with a mandatory quarantine order in refugee or detention centers under the emergency law already accepted in august and extended in November.. Netherlands has a extended lockdown nationwide and putting a curfew in place from 08:30 till 04:30 while the last small and bigger businesses are completely destroyed by now. Vaccine manufacturers bending data and just have put forward false data and ton of people putting videos online of there beloved one completely fucked with side effected due to the high level of metals apparently inside the vaccine ( Pfizer ) this is going to be another year of lockdowns and hell

Reply
- Manu
  
  Thursday, January 21, 2021 at 4:20 pm
  
  Well Siso, 2021 is not going to be “hell” for at least an handful of human beings on this planet. The estimated revenues from the vaccines for Pfizer alone for 2021 are 19 billion dollars. Champagne, private jets and deserted islands for these guys. For the rest of us: misery and bye bye freedom.
  
  Reply
  - Issan John
    
    Thursday, January 21, 2021 at 4:43 pm
    
    Mine’s a total layman’s view, but based on the results currently available Pfizer’s is the least effective vaccine approved so far, the most expensive, by far the most difficult logistically, but the best seller because governments are desperate to hide just how badly they stuffed up.
    
    The UK’s still maintaining it’s 89% effective after one dose because they don’t have a Plan B, Pfizer have said it’s only 52 % effective, but Israel have tested it for real, on 200,000 people, and concluded categorically that it’s only 33% effective after one dose.
    
    … What’s to add?
    
    Reply
Ben

Thursday, January 21, 2021 at 8:25 pm

All countries should do as much as possible to help their affected citizens. Those rendered unemployed and small businesses affected by lockdowns and lack of tourism. The richer countries are doing more for their citizens so far but all could do more.

I’m not sure how we got on the subject of Pfizer vaccine and one dose. I’m getting this vaccine in about a weeks time and understand it’s 95% effective when receiving 2 doses three weeks apart. If you do become ill from COVID, after being vaccinated, it’s less severe. Works for me. In the past year I’ve been vaccinated for the flu, pneumonia, shingles, and whooping cough/tetanus booster.

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccine does not alter your DNA and I’m not buying into this anti-vaxxer disinformation. 29 people over 75 years of age dead in Norway and a 56 year old doctor who died of a stroke in Florida due to the vaccine? Show me the proof? There is none. Compared to 400,000 dead in the USA and counting from COVID-19. I’ll take my chances with the vaccine and will be sipping drinks on a Thai beach sometime in 2021.

Reply
Roger

Sunday, January 24, 2021 at 7:24 am

OMG you guys talk a load of dribble

From the comments, I think most of you are from UK
In Australia, we call you WINGING POMMS

This post was to be about a stimulus package to the people of Thailand
Which is not cash ….which only to ones with phones and apps can get anyway
all the poor peasants do not have phones millions will not get this package anyway
even if it was a genuine package …which it is not …purely a scam the Gove want to show they are giving to the poor …when all they are doing is keeping the coppers close in the Gov pockets
Good Luck Thailand

Only time will tell about vaccines … We survived the BLACK PLAGUE
Some of us will survive this Corvid thing… Some countries are trying hard to make it work
sadly Thailand is way at the bottom of the list!!!

Reply

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Coronavirus (Covid-19)

Thai industry representatives push government on vaccine passport policy

Published

3 days ago

Thursday, March 4, 2021

Maya Taylor

Thai industry representatives push government on vaccine passport policy | The Thaiger

PHOTO: Lukas on Unsplash

Industry representatives are urging the Thai government to press ahead with the adoption of a vaccine passport scheme to re-ignite international tourism. The Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking is also pushing for Thailand to form travel bubble arrangements with countries where Covid-19 infection rates are low to moderate.

Kalin Sarasin from the Thai Chamber of Commerce and a JSCCIB member points to the Digital Green Pass being introduced by the EU, which allows vaccinated people to travel more freely. He believes Thailand should introduce something similar.

“JSCCIB is confident a vaccine passport would boost economic sentiment. Many countries have already started mass vaccination regimes for their people.”

(Video below about the current world and Thailand Covid travel situation)

He adds that private companies should be allowed to purchase and distribute vaccines to employees in order to accelerate the national vaccine rollout.

The push for a vaccine passport scheme follows confirmation from the Thai PM that he has ordered a study into the idea. However, Prayut Chan-o-cha points out that nobody knows how effective such a scheme would be. The idea does have its critics, particularly among rights’ groups and doctors, who say there is not yet enough data to show that vaccines prevent transmission.

A limited number of Covid-19 vaccines have arrived in Thailand and have been distributed to 13 priority provinces. Healthcare workers and vulnerable groups are among the first people to be inoculated.

Supant Mongkolsuthree, a JSCCIB member from the Federation of Thai Industries, says a vaccine passport policy is one more way to restore tourism and, as vaccines are rolled out in the Kingdom, the economy has a chance at recovery.

“JSCCIB believes the economy is recovering. The vaccine will gradually build up confidence among business people.”

SOURCE: Bangkok Post

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Thailand

Cannabis could generate 8 billion baht for Thai pharmaceutical industry by 2025, expert says

Published

5 days ago

Tuesday, March 2, 2021

Caitlin Ashworth

Cannabis could generate 8 billion baht for Thai pharmaceutical industry by 2025, expert says | The Thaiger

Cannabis could become a major cash crop in Thailand. An expert says the cannabis-based medicinal products could generate up to 8 billion baht for the Thai pharmaceutical industry by 2025. Medical cannabis has been legal in Thailand for the past couple years, but recently the government agreed to allow parts of the plant with very, low traces of the “high-inducing” component tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, to be in medicinal products and food.

Cannabis-based medicines have been used as palliative treatment for some cancer patients in Thailand. Last year, nearly 1 million patients used cannabis-based medicines, according to an economist at Kasetsart University’s Agricultural and Resource Economics Department, Ravissa Suchato.

Around 1.2 billion baht worth of medical cannabis was consumed last year, according to Ravissa, who led a recent study on the economic impact of commercial cannabis cultivation in Thailand. If the average consumption rises as expected, medical cannabis could generate 8 billion baht within the next 5 years.

“We believe marijuana has great potential as a cash crop because more patients will start using marijuana-based drugs soon.”

In the past, Thai officials have discussed the opportunity to tap into the global cannabis market by exporting medical cannabis, but Ravissa says Thailand still has a way to go.

“Globally, the recreational use of marijuana has risen a lot faster than pharmaceutical use, so the prospect of exporting marijuana-based medicines from Thailand is still a long way off.”

Parts of the cannabis plant that are rich in THC, like the buds, are still illegal and classified as a Category 5 narcotic. Trafficking the plant is still heavily criminalised. Just over the past few days, border patrol police in the Northeastern province Nakhon Pathom seized hundreds of kilograms of dried, compressed cannabis believed to have been trafficked across the Mekong River from Laos and destined for the South, possibly to Malaysia.

SOURCE: Thai PBS

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Business

The social media giants in battle with ‘old’ media and world governments | VIDEO

Published

1 week ago

Friday, February 26, 2021

The Thaiger

“The rules signal greater willingness by countries around the world to rein in big tech firms such as Google, Facebook and Twitter that the governments fear have become too powerful with little accountability.”

India has issued strict new rules for Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms just weeks after the Indian government attempted to pressure Twitter to take down social media accounts it deemed, well, anti social.

The rules require any social media company to create three roles within India… a “compliance officer” who ensures they follow local laws; a “grievance officer” who addresses complaints from Indian social media users; and a “contact person” who can actually be contacted by lawyers and other aggrieved Indian parties… 24/7.

The companies are also being made to publish a compliance report each month with details about how many complaints they’ve received and the action they took.

They’ll also be required to remove ‘some’ types of content including “full or partial nudity,” any “sexual act” or “impersonations including morphed images”

The democratisation of the news model, with social media as its catalyst, will continue to baffle traditional media and governments who used to enjoy a level of control over what stories get told.

The battles of Google and Facebook, with the governments of India and Australia will be followed in plenty of other countries as well.

At the root of all discussions will be the difference between what governments THINK social media is all about and the reality about how quickly the media landscape has changed. You’ll get to read about it first, on a social media platform… probably on the screen you’re watching this news story right now.

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