PM champions soft powerPrime Minister Srettha Thavisin outlines his vision during his speech at the "Thacca Splash – Soft Power Forum 2024" opening ceremony at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center on Friday. (Photo: Royal Thai Government)Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said he aims to develop Thailand's soft power to help push the national economy forward and create more employment opportunities. He said that the government's soft power policy is part of a bid to restructure the economy to address the issue of a large proportion of the country's workforce being unskilled. To achieve this goal, the government will inspire citizens to be aware of their potential, create a platform for the international exchange of information to improve Thailand's soft power industry and build public awareness of Thai soft power. In addition, the One Family One Soft Power (Ofos) initiative is open for registration for the first time at the event.

The dormant volcano Misti is seen in the southern Peruvian region of Arequipa, the location of an earthquake on Friday. (Photo: Bgabel via Wikimedia Commons)LIMA - A powerful earthquake of magnitude of 7.0 struck near the coast in the Arequipa region of southern Peru on Friday, local officials said, adding that no deaths had been reported. Following the earthquake, Arequipa was hit by four aftershocks of 4 to 4.6 magnitude, causing some landslides on local roads. Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzen, however, said the tsunami warning on the coast of Arequipa had been lifted. Ricardo Guillen, representative of the National Emergency Operations Center, said that there have been power and telephone line outages in areas near the epicenter of the earthquake.

Lisa's Bangkok music video hits 5m viewsLalisa "Lisa" Manobal in her new video, Rockstar, which was premiered on Friday. (Photo: Screen captured from Rockstar on YouTube)The new music video of Lalisa "Lisa" Manobal passed 5 million views only three hours after it was posted on YouTube. Rockstar, Lisa's latest single, received 5.1 million views and the number continues to rise. The clip was popular in Thailand as the video was filmed in Bangkok's Yaowarat. Rockstar premiered on YouTube in Thailand at 7am.

Saha unit seeks lower cost of livingThe 28th Saha Group Fair & Fest runs until June 30 at Bitec Bangna, featuring promotions on group brands. (Photo: Kuakul Mornkum)The government could improve the sluggish economy by reducing the cost of living for people, such as slashing utility prices or introducing short-term stimulus measures, says I.C.C. International Plc, the marketing arm for fashion under Saha Group. As energy prices remain high, which affects the company's transport costs, the group is striving to control its operating costs, he said. The group launched the 28th Saha Group Fair & Fest yesterday, which runs until June 30 at Bitec Bangna, featuring promotions on Saha Group brands.

The new video from Lalisa "Lisa" Manobal passed 5 million views merely three hours after it was posted on YouTube. By then the video for Lisa's latest single Rockstar had been seen 5.1 million times and the viewership was continuing to accelerate. The music was the talk of the town in Thailand as most parts of the single were filmed in Bangkok's Yaowarat district. It shows the superstar of K-pop group Blackpink singing and dancing on a road in the capital's famed Chinatown. The single was released by RCA Records as the singer pursues her career as a solo artist, while continuing to work with Blackpink.

The Thai currency fell to 36.99 baht to the greenback on Thursday, the lowest in two months, from Wednesday's close of 36.82. The Thai currency fell to 36.99 baht to the greenback on Thursday, the lowest in two months, from Wednesday's close of 36.82. "We now see 37.25 baht to the dollar as a key resistance level for the baht," she told the Bangkok Post, adding a targeted range in the third quarter is 36-37 baht to the greenback. As the European Central Bank, Bank of England, Swiss National Bank and Bank of Canada have begun to trim their interest rates, all eyes are on the Federal Reserve as the US economy remains sound, he said. However, the Bank of Thailand is unlikely to cut interest rates this year, according to analysts.

Central bank predicts growth will ease in final two quartersThe Bank of Thailand (BoT) expects slower economic growth in the third and fourth quarters this year on a quarterly basis, citing a high base effect. The central bank now projects the growth rate for the third and fourth quarters at 0.6-0.7% per quarter because of the high base effect, he said. At its meeting earlier this month, the MPC voted 6-1 to maintain the policy rate at 2.5%, with one member voting to cut the policy rate by 0.25 percentage points. "Economic growth should continue to expand and achieve the potential growth rate of 3% next year," said Mr Piti. Stiff pricing competition in the EV segment has led prospective buyers to take a wait and see stance, dampening vehicle production.

Ascend Money and MUFG announced MUFG's consolidated subsidiary MUFG Bank Ltd as the lead investor, together with the Finnoventure Private Equity Trust I Fund, managed by Krungsri Finnovate Co Ltd, have made a combined investment of $195 million in Ascend Money. Suphachai Chearavanont, founder and chairman of the board of Ascend Money, said he was delighted to welcome MUFG's joint investment in Ascend Money alongside existing investors CP Group, Ant Group and Bow Wave Capital Management. Tanyapong Thamavaranukupt, co-president of Ascend Money, told the Bangkok Post that Ascend Money would strategically allocate the new funding to enhance and expand its existing suite of inclusive financial products and services. Additionally, MUFG's experience in serving diverse markets would be invaluable as Ascend Money continued to innovate and develop new financial solutions, he noted. Mr Tanyapong added that Ascend Money remains committed to and will continue its partnerships with existing partners such as banks and financial institutions.

Q: What criteria does the Revenue Department use to tax foreign income? Q: Is all foreign income subject to taxation? Not all foreign income is taxable, as the department sets conditions using three main criteria. Before 2024, individuals with foreign income could reduce their tax burden as the personal income tax conditions for such foreign income specified if it was brought into Thailand in the same year it was earned, it would be subject to income tax by the Revenue Department. For foreign income earned before Jan 1, 2024, the old conditions still apply.

UN report says junta still able to access weapons and money despite sanctions and other measuresA fire burns following an aerial attack by the Myanmar military that killed about 160 people, including 40 children, in Pazigyi village in Sagaing Region of Myanmar in April 2023. The value of weapons and related materials exported from Thailand to Myanmar doubled in the 2023-24 fiscal year to $120 million, according to a new report by a United Nations expert. Myanmar has been plunged into turmoil since the military seized power from an elected government in a 2021 coup, which sparked financial sanctions imposed on the military, banks and other associated businesses by Western countries. Mr Andrews looked at purchases by entities controlled by the Myanmar defence ministry, identifying $630 million in military procurement between 2022 and 2024. Companies registered in Thailand transferred weapons and related materials worth $120 million in the 2023 fiscal year, compared with $60 million the year before, the report said.

TAT upgrades 2024 target for Indian market to 2.3-2.4mAccording to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the number of Indian arrivals this year should exceed the record set in 2019 when Thailand welcomed 1.9 million Indian tourists. Nutthawat WichieanbutThe Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has revised the target for the Indian market up to 2.3-2.4 million this year, mainly driven by the visa-free policy. Thailand granted 60-day visa-free stays to Indian nationals, part of a visa waiver programme for citizens of 93 countries that lasts until November 2024. Average spending among Indian tourists tallied 40,000 baht per trip this year, up from 38,000 baht in 2023. Suksit Suvunditkul, president of the southern chapter of the Thai Hotels Association, said Indian tourists have been among the top three markets for Phuket with consistent flows arriving throughout the year.

Adopt the cloud & be bold in techMai-Lan Tomsen Bukovec, Vice President, Technology at AWS inspires tech newbies to be 'brave and bold', encourages the use of responsible artificial intelligence (AI), while also sharing how the AWS Cloud and AI can help to accelerate your business, writes Komsan Jandamit. AWS customers focused on high availability can design their applications to run in multiple AZs to achieve even greater fault-tolerance. The second trend is the rapid adoption of custom silicon which are chips tailored for generative AI training and inference. Companies want to use the tools that are in place today to understand and adopt responsible AI to govern the interactions between their users and the AI models. There are many free online courses about cloud and generative AI that we provide at all levels from introductory to advanced.

Thailand’s Finance Ministry and stock market regulators on June 25 announced measures to revitalise the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) index. Illustrative photo (Photo: bangkokpost.com)Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand’s Finance Ministry and stock market regulators on June 25 announced measures to revitalise the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) index. Pornanong Budsaratragoon, Secretary-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said that stock market regulators will propose to the cabinet to revise investment conditions of Thai environment, society and governance (TESG) funds to support the stock market. Investors have net sold more than 100 billion THB worth of Thai shares from the beginning of this year, compared to the 192 billion THB worth of net sales in 2023, according to Pi Securities. Although the SET index has rebounded, rising 0.79% to finish at 1,316 points on June 25, foreign investors remained net sellers of around 1.09 billion THB./.

(Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has asserted the need for the armed forces to incorporate an offset policy in procuring weapons and military hardware. Under this policy, reciprocal benefits should be secured as a condition for approving a new procurement deal, he said. The prime minister mentioned the government's offset policy to Mr Wallenberg and expressed his wish to see the Swedish jet maker's aircraft technology development be based in Thailand. He said the offset policy should apply even if the air force buys US F-16 fighter jets instead. Mr Sutin said the armed forces will meet later this week to establish a joint working group tasked with implementing the government's so-called military hardware procurement package policy.

Job reminder for the 'permanent five'The United Nations Security Council meets about the situation in Syria at the UN Headquarters in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, on Feb 28, 2020. The maintaining of international peace, security, and prosperity falls under the auspices of the United Nations Security Council, which is comprised of five permanent members, the victors of World War II, and 10 non-permanent members on a rotating basis. Although the Security Council has 15 members, in practice, it is a council of five, as the five permanent members maintain a veto power, and thus, no substantive decision can be made or adopted without the consent or agreement of all five. Despite these drastically opposing ideologies, there has been a tie that binds the permanent members of the Security Council, and that is the use of force to promote these ideologies and other self-interests. It is for the five permanent members of the UN Security Council to take stock of this situation and look inward at the damage they are causing to such a large percentage of the global community.