Industry chiefs applaud staged return to business as usualSanan: 'Weak baht also a factor'Business operators have welcomed the government's further relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions, particularly the downgrading of the virus' status, saying they will attract more tourists and help boost the economy. It was announced in the Royal Gazette last Tuesday that the government will further downgrade Covid-19 from a dangerous communicable disease to a communicable disease under surveillance starting from Oct 1. In lieu of the CCSA chaired by the prime minister, the Public Health Minister will oversee disease control efforts under the Communicable Disease Act, with an action plan designed to respond to the varying degrees of severity of Covid-19. Businesses on Khao San Road are surging back to life as more foreign and Thai visitors are returning, following the relaxations of restrictions, he said. He said Bangkok is now ready to fully reopen to foreign visitors.

The Spaniard has had persistent problems since he broke his arm at the 2020 Spanish Grand Prix and has had multiple operations since then. He missed six rounds of the championship following the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello in May, but made his return at last week's Aragon Grand Prix after recovering from surgery on his right arm. It's true that it's a pole position, it's only a pole position, it's in wet conditions but at the moment when we come, we are coming from a difficult moment. At the moment we have now with the bike with all the team, with me, it's really important to have these small motivations, small achievement." Said MARC MARQUEZ

“Trusted media is the most valuable asset for the journalistic profession,” affirmed Adisak, executive committee vice chairman at Nation Group (Thailand). “However, it is also the asset that is hardest to maintain.”During a “Lightning Talks” seminar, Adisak revealed the core mission to “bring The Nation back to earth” as well as outlining changes and challenges that have shaken up Nation Group and Thai society over the past few years. “What severely damaged our credibility as journalists was allowing Nation TV news anchors and moderators to influence the editorial team,” said Adisak. “There was no filtering whatsoever on what was presented on Nation TV programmes during 2019-2020. Anchors and moderators selected whatever they liked, including one-sided information and fake news, and then persuaded the audience to agree with them.”“It is as though Nation TV audiences were being hypnotised during those two years,” he added.

Like a growing number of digital nomads in China, he’s turned his back on big-city living and moved to the tourist hub in Yunnan province, famed for its snowcapped mountains, ancient temples and pagodas. (Story continues below)The Dali Hub offers accommodation, co-working spaces and other amenities for digital nomads in the city long known as a backpackers’ paradise in Yunnan province. Digital nomadism will take on a “bigger part of the future of work”, said Rachael Woldoff, a professor of sociology at West Virginia University and co-author of Digital Nomads: In Search of Freedom, Community and Meaningful Work in the New Economy. Jingdezhen, a city in southeastern Jiangxi province known for its porcelain making, also hosts a digital nomad hub. “Ideally we hope to build a self-sustained economy here,” said a former English tutor who identified himself as Glitch Boy, as he’s known in the local group of digital nomads.

A solid field of players spearheaded by red-hot Patcharajutar Kongkraphan, who won the last five domestic events (three on the TWT Tour) she entered and Arpichaya Yubol who just won the season-ending Thailand Mixed event in Lumphun on Sunday will strut their stuff next week. Joining the two favourites are 2018 LET Thailand Championships winner Kanyalak Preedasuttijit and two rookies Cholcheva Wongras and Kornkamol Sukaree. The SAT-TWT Open Road to World Ranking is sponsored by the Sports Authority of Thailand, National Sports Development Fund, Siam Commercial Bank, P Overseas Steal (Public Company Limited) and the Panorama Golf and Country Club in Nakhon Ratchasima. Fans can catch up with news updates on ThaiWPGA Facebook Fanpage or at www.thaiwpga.com.

Isuzu said that under the Asean Industrial Cooperation (AICO) scheme, it was entitled to an import duty of 5 per cent. Hence, Isuzu will only be required to pay the 5 per cent import duty. The court also dismissed the two departments’ appeal, which claimed that the automaker had imported fewer transmission sets than the approved number. They also claimed that its subsidiary, Isuzu Engine Manufacturing (Thailand), also did not meet the requirements to export car engines under the AICO scheme. The court, however, said the appeal was based on new facts that had not been raised when evaluating the import tax.

He said the system features a global trade analytics option which predicts export trends in the short term (three months) and long term (12 months). The system can also analyse news reports related to international trade to evaluate the business sentiment, while its market insight option can analyse buyers’ demands via e-commerce platforms. “DITP Business AI can also evaluate situations that may have an impact on international trade and offers guidelines on evaluating trade partners’ potential,” he explained. “The system can also analyse competitors to evaluate risks that may trigger Thailand’s loss of market share.”

TAT introduces campaign to entice Japanese visitorsKajorndet Apichartrakul, newly appointed director at TAT's Tokyo office, centre left, and representatives from seven leading Japanese tour companies promote Thai tourism at "Tourism Expo Japan 2022". TAT aims to bring at least 1.25 million Japanese tourists to Thailand in 2023, generating 75 billion baht. Under this campaign, he said Thailand must increase Japanese travellers' average spending per trip, which remains relatively low at only 6,400 baht, the lowest among Northeast Asian markets. He said with 1.12 million plane seats available in 2022, Japanese travellers will gradually return to Thailand, with 350,000 visitors expected this year. As of Sept 20, 166,709 Japanese tourists have visited Thailand this year, which is a far cry from 2019 when 1.8 million arrived.

Conflict tourism: Kashmir hottest new destination for IndiansKashmir, India's hottest new travel destination, is also the site of its deadliest insurgencySRINAGAR (INDIA) - Standing on a fortified Kashmir street, an Indian tourist poses triumphantly for her husband's camera, clutching the national flag in each hand and flanked by two soldiers carrying rifles. India's hottest new travel destination is also the site of its deadliest insurgency, where regular skirmishes break out between separatist militants and Indian troops, half a million of whom are stationed in Kashmir. "The way tourism is being promoted by the government is telling Indians: go spend time there and make Kashmir yours." Sarmad Hafeez, the local government's tourism secretary, told AFP that the official budget to promote tourism had "quadrupled" in the past two years. "If Kashmir is a part of India," a tourist from West Bengal told AFP, "then we should ask why there are so many security forces everywhere."

G-FAIR KOREA IN BANGKOK invites Thailand buyers to connect with trusted suppliers in the categories of Consumer Products; Beauty, Health and Medical Products; Smart City Technologies; and Industrial Products at Bangkok’s first G-Fair Korea, from 28-29 September at Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Center at CentralWorld from 10am to 6pm.This year’s theme for the event is Smart Life, Smart Business, Smart Future. Thailand attendees can explore how state-of-the art products from Korea are making our “Smart Future” possible—without having to travel. Attendees will connect with more than 100 suppliers from Korea and can take advantage of exclusive offers for retail and wholesale products. Since its inception in 1999, G-FAIR KOREA has drawn thousands of exhibitors across diverse industries and topics; connecting buyers and marketers to facilitate the sale of new products and creation of new trading partnerships. Gyeonggi Province plans to open its GBC (Gyeonggi Business Center Bangkok) to strengthen economic ties and cooperation with Thailand, establishing a bridgehead for Korea-ASEAN economic and trade exchange.

Rak clarified that EXIM Thailand has armed Thai entrepreneurs with the capability to comprehensively adapt to changes in and deal with risks of international business operation coupled with risk hedging tools, e.g. EXIM Thailand will help them pay compensation and make debt collection aiming to relieve Thai entrepreneurs' concerns about the said risks. In view of operational performance, as of the end of August 2022, EXIM Thailand recorded total outstanding loans of 67,458 million baht for international projects, a 4,271 million baht or 6.8% growth year-on-year. In the first 8 months of 2022, total outstanding loans to the CLMV and new frontiers amounted to 53,815 million baht, a year-on-year growth of 7,804 million baht or 17%. EXIM Thailand is fully ready to work collaboratively with the public and private sectors in supporting Thai entrepreneurs in their business start-ups or expansion in global markets with confidence.

District firefighters and rescuers rushed to the factory to help get workers to safety and plug the leak. According to the Thawi Wattana district office, the factory was Indorama Polyester Industries on Phetkasem Road in Tambon Khun Kaew. The office said the factory managed to shut the valve to stop the leak, but the chemical that had already seeped out had caused a stench across many areas, as well as those adjacent to Bangkok. Officials said the chemical was sulphur dioxide and the seepage occurred from a leaked oil coil of a machine.

No strict Covid controls from Oct 1Travellers head for antigen tests for Covid-19 at Suvarnabhumi airport. The changes were announced by Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul after a meeting of the National Communicable Disease Committee on Wednesday. Mr Anutin said that the National Communicable Disease Committee also agreed to redefine Covid-19 as a communicable disease under surveillance, instead of as a dangerous communicable disease, from Oct 1 to September next year. Infected people might have to follow different disease control policies at their workplaces, Dr Sophon said. After following disease control measures strictly for five days, Covid-19 cases would not have to take an antigen test, he said.

The event, which was organised under the concept of “Take action to combat global warming: The solution for Thailand’s and the world’s survival”, also launched the “FTI : CC/RE/REC X” platform, or FTIX, a trading platform focusing on carbon credit, renewable energy and renewable energy certificate. In his keynote speech, Varawut said: “What we launched today is the world’s first trading platform for clean energy and carbon credit, which will show the global communities that Thailand is committed to fighting climate change issues. FTIX serves as a trading platform for carbon credit, renewable energy and renewable energy certificate (REC) for enterprises aiming to use 100 per cent of renewable energy (RE100). It also fully integrates with TGO’s system. The FTI had entered the FTIX platform in the ERC Sandbox 2 project organised by Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to pilot a trading platform that is transparent and reliable for small, medium and large entrepreneurs.

The world's wind and solar projects combined to meet more than a tenth of global electricity demand for the first time in 2022, according to research company BloombergNEF (BNEF). At the same time overall electricity demand, production from coal-fired power plants, and emissions all surged in 2021 as the global economy regained its footing following the Covid-19 pandemic. With nearly 3,000 terawatt-hours of electricity produced, wind and solar accounted for a combined 10.5% of global 2021 generation, BNEF found in its annual Power Transition Trends report. Wind's contribution to the global total rose to 6.8% while solar climbed to 3.7%. Hydro and nuclear projects met just over one-quarter of the world's electricity needs.