“I have asked the commerce office in the US and was informed that the rumour is just not true,” DITP director-general Phusit Rattanakul Sereeruengsit said on Wednesday. “Walmart is still importing products from Thailand and the trade relationship between Thailand and the US is still strong,” he insisted. Phusit said the department has been communicating with its trade partners after news that the United Kingdom banned monkey-picked coconut products from Thailand in mid-2020. “We explained that only few communities are using monkeys to pick coconuts as a traditional way of life. The United States market is responsible for about one fourth of total coconut milk exports.

Study: Thailand a global leader in real-time paymentsThailand was No.3 globally for real-time payment transactions last year, behind only India and China, driven by the government's support for modern infrastructure, says ACI Worldwide, a real-time payments software provider. Thailand registered 9.7 billion real-time transactions in 2021, trailing India with 48.5 billion and China with 18.5 billion. He said Thailand's real-time payments implementation strategy has delivered the fastest expansion of low-value payment capabilities in Asean, facilitated by a mobile-friendly population and support from the government, such as using real-time payments to disburse government subsidies and funding to farmers. ITMX, the national real-time payments switching system, co-owned by the largest banks and governed by the Bank of Thailand, has helped modernise parts of the legacy payments infrastructure. According to the report, global real-time transactions reached 118 billion in 2021, up 64.5% year-on-year.

The Public Health Ministry had earlier explained that the announcement was aimed at allowing the authorities to order people to stop smoking cannabis and/or hemp as their smoke and odour could affect public health. Public Health Ministry deputy permanent secretary Dr Thongchai Keeratihattayakorn said officials could take action on their own without waiting for complaints. The announcement defines cannabis and hemp and it was signed by Deputy Public Health Minister Satit Pitutecha.

Cryptocurrency slump persistsRepresentations of virtual cryptocurrencies are placed on US Dollar banknotes in an illustration taken on Nov 28, 2021. Cryptocurrencies, with the exception of Bitcoin, continue to plunge as the value of the global cryptocurrency market yesterday fell below US$1 trillion for the first time since January 2021. As of 4.52pm, the market value of cryptocurrency stood at around $989 billion, down 3.8% from the previous day. The value of the cryptocurrency market peaked at $2.9 trillion in November 2021. The S&P500 Index closed at 3,749.63 points, down 151.23 points (-3.88%) while the Nasdaq closed at 10,809.23, down 530.80 (-4.68%).

Thais prove too strong for CanadaThailand players and staff celebrate their win against Canada in the Nations League in Quezon City on Tuesday. The Thai women defeated Canada 25-19, 25-22, 26-24 in Quezon City, the Philippines. Thais are without Thatdao Nuekjang for the rest of the 2022 VNL due to injury she sustained during the first week. The Thais made headlines in the first week with victories over Bulgaria, Serbia and China in Ankara, Turkey. Meanwhile, the Quezon City tournament features some interesting matches including the USA v China on Saturday and Japan v China on Sunday.

Tourists queue up to buy cannabis, after it was removed from the narcotics list under Thai law, at the Happy Bud, a cannabis truck at Khaosan Road, one of the favourite tourist spots in Bangkok, Thailand, on Monday. (Photos: Varuth Hirunyatheb)"Amnesia", "Jack Haze", and "Night Nurse" are among marijuana strains on sale at a pop-up truck in Bangkok, as retailers cash in on demand for the newly decriminalised substance from foreigners and locals alike. Keira Gruttner, a 32-year-old customer from Canada, was among tourists who queued at a green pop-up truck in tourist haven Khaosan Road, where staff weighed and packaged buds and crushed leaves. Another foreign customer, Kentaro Kajima, described his purchase as a "dream come true" while dancing with a friend in front of the truck. Thailand, which has traditionally used cannabis to relieve pain and fatigue, legalised medicinal marijuana in 2018.

The financial transaction tax for share sales by individual investors trading on the SET has been on the books for around 30 years. (Photo: Pornprom Satrabhaya)The Finance Ministry plans to propose to the cabinet the implementation of a financial transaction tax on individual stock investors soon, says Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith. The financial transaction tax applicable for share sales by individual investors trading on the Stock Exchange of Thailand has actually been on the books for around 30 years but has always been waived to support market development. The financial transaction tax is 0.1%. In addition to the transaction tax, investors are subject to a related local tax, which would bring the total tax to 0.11% per share sold.

With one billion people worldwide – and 78 per cent of Thais – connecting with a business account across Meta’s messaging services every week, it said the volume of daily conversations between people and businesses grew 50 per cent year on year. “Even before the beginning of the pandemic, we have seen businesses in Thailand and the region leading the way when it comes to business messaging," said Ankur Prasad, director of business messaging for Facebook and Instagram, Meta. "In fact, a lot of the features we have built are inspired by how businesses in Asia Pacific are using our platforms to find and connect with customers in a personal, timely, and relevant way." He added that the company will continue to invest in features that create seamless discovery and messaging experiences for Thai business and consumers to meaningfully connect.

Cobra Gold military drills back to full scale next yearUnited States Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin and Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha walk past an honour guard before their meeting at the Defence Ministry on Monday. (Photo: Apichart Jinakul)The US-Thai Cobra Gold military exercise will be held as a full-scale drill next year after it was scaled back due to the pandemic, said Defence Ministry spokesman Gen Kongcheep Tantravanich on Monday. Gen Kongcheep also disclosed the outcome of the talks between US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Monday. The prime minister also met Gen Austin in Washington, DC last month. Meanwhile, Gen Austin affirmed the US will constantly strengthen Thailand's military with technology, training, weapons and defence industry development, Gen Kongcheep said.

The country’s total caseload from Covid-19 stands at 4,488,497 – 4,436,684 of whom have recovered, 21,445 are still in hospitals and 30,368 have died. Separately, another 1,759 people were given their first Covid-19 shot in the last 24 hours, 2,742 their second shot and 10,849 a booster, bringing the total number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered nationwide to 138,697,935.

The TAT is targeting a total of at least 7 million foreign arrivals this year but that figure could be boosted to 10 million with more budget for tourism promotion, he added. As such, the TAT would submit a request to the government’s Economic Situation Administration Centre for a budget of around 100 million baht. The focus of the budget would be joint marketing with airlines to increase flights to Thailand from Asia, Europe and Australia, he said. Total revenue from Thai and foreign tourists is projected at 1.5 trillion baht this year. The TAT expects that figure to rise to 2.4 trillion baht next year – 80 per cent of pre-Covid tourism revenue – with some 20 million foreign visitors.

Diesel price up again on TuesdayAn attendant refuels a pickup truck with diesel in Bangkok on June 6. (Photo: Varuth Hirunyatheb)The board of the Oil Fuel Fund has raised the price cap on standard diesel by one baht, from 33.94 baht to 34.94 baht per litre, effective on Tuesday morning. Director Wisak Wattanasap said Monday's weekly board meeting fixed the diesel price for the week June 14-21, based on the global oil price. Under government policy to give a 50% subsidy for diesel from April-June, the ceiling price of standard diesel is fixed at 35 baht per litre. There is no subsidy on premium diesel, which was 46.36 baht at the pump in Bangkok on Monday.

BoT: Rate rises will be gradualBank of Thailand Governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput (Reuters photo)The central bank governor said on Monday that delaying an interest rate hike too long would not be good as inflation continues to rise. But any hikes will be gradual as concerns remain about a recovery in the vital tourism sector, he said. Last week, the Monetary Policy Committee left its key rate unchanged at a record low of 0.5%. The BoT will next review policy in August, when economists expect a rate increase. A weak baht at five-year lows against the dollar has not accelerated inflation much, he said, adding the BoT would not be complacent and would closely monitor.

At this event, there were several blockchain specialists and special guests speakers to discuss blockchain technologyAt this event, Mr. Passakorn Pannok, CEO of Bitkub Blockchain Technology discussed Bitkub Chain’s ecosystem by starting with Bitkub Chain’s vision and mission which is to democratize opportunities for everyone to have real ownership without consent from any single entity. Moreover, Bitkub Chain has already completely supported several technical tools to enhance the efficiency of the blockchain network under the blockchain network protocol called “Proof-of-Staked-Authority (PoSA)” by supporting from 21 node validators after radical changes called “Erawan Hardfork”. Mr. Passakorn also discussed about Bitkub NEXT, a digital asset wallet together with Bitkub NFT, the primary non-fungible token (NFT) platform in Thailand. In addition, Bitkub Blockchain Technology along with Finstable and Prince of Songkla University together signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at Block on the Beach to strengthen the blockchain industry and provide financial knowledge to Thai educational institutions.

“In 2021, Huawei increased R&D investment to 142.7 billion yuan. In 2021, Huawei ranked fifth in terms of new grantings, totalling 20,000 patents in the United States. The number of patent applications by Huawei’s local R&D teams has been on the rise every year. The new Intellectual Property system should be anchored in innovation, from innovation to novation. The Intellectual Property system should assure that these creations get the merited protection because they are the ones that bring actual value.