Ratchanok wins, mixed doubles pair lose at Malaysia OpenRatchanok Intanon poses with her gold medal after victory against China's Chen Yu Fei in the women's singles final at the Malaysia Open in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday. (AFP photo)Ratchanok Intanon returned to winning ways for the first time in more than two years after upsetting Chen Yu Fei in straight sets on Sunday at the Malaysia Open in Kuala Lumpur. But the mixed doubles pair of Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai lost to Zheng Si Wei and Huang Ya Qiong of China. Ratchanok took one hour and five minutes to beat Chen 21-15, 13-21, 21-16 for her first winning final in more than two years. She earned $47,250 (1.6 million baht) from the winIt was her only third victory against 15 defeats over the Chinese.

The on-peak TOU rate from 9am to 10pm will be 7.5 baht per unit of power while the off-peak rate from 10pm to 9am will be 4.5 baht. The off-peak rate will extend for 24 hours during weekends and government holidays, EV Station Pluz announced. To book charging time at a PTT EV station, motorists must download the EV Station PluZ app. PTT president and CEO Auttapol Rerkpiboon said the free trial period at PTT EV stations was expiring so fees will have to be collected. He said that PTT OR currently has about 190 EV stations across the country but this will be expanded to 450 by the end of the year.

"We found that Malaysian agencies responsible for issuing licences to import products to the western and eastern parts of the country were different," Jurin explained. In response, Thailand’s trade envoy in Malaysia had asked importers to send evidence to the Department of Trade Negotiations (DTN) for negotiations between the countries, he added. Recently, Malaysian importers had informed the DTN and Thai trade envoy that they had received the licences. "Thailand can now export rice flour to the western part of Malaysia after exports were suspended for almost 20 years," Jurin said. He added that that Malaysia's move should boost the value of Thailand's exports and trade with its southern neighbour.

“The island [in Surat Thani province] is suitable for long-term stay and thanks to its full-moon parties, it is famous among Thai and foreign tourists,” government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said on Sunday. He added that the government is working on reviving Thailand’s tourism sector and that PM Prayut Chan-o-cha had urged tourism-related agencies to promote six Andaman provinces. Prayut, who had been speaking at the Thailand Tourism Congress in Phuket on June 6, said he wanted the provinces of Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi, Ranong, Trang and Satun to be turned into world-class destinations. “The plan to promote these provinces is in line with the 20-year national strategy to boost Thailand’s competitiveness and potential on the international stage,” he said.

RTP warns of anti-scam appPolice are warning that call-centre scammers have come up with a new ruse: tricking people into downloading a false anti-scam mobile app to obtain their private data. Pol Col Siriwat Deepor, deputy police spokesman of the Royal Thai Police (RTP), yesterday said call-centre gangs are claiming to be Department of Special Investigation officials and telling victims to download a fake mobile app. The app is actually used to obtain a user's personal information, including passwords, bank details and profile data, he said. The RTP is calling on the public not to be deceived by call-centre gangs by following their instructions to download the app. The RTP said people should keep up with the latest update on the matter in the RTP's cybercrime reports.

Security forces and disaster relief teams search for survivors and victims after a landslide in Noney district in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur on Friday. (AFP Photo)The search for survivors buried under a landslide in northeastern India entered its third day on Saturday with 25 bodies pulled from the rubble and nearly 40 people still missing. Security forces and disaster relief teams raced against the clock to find any more survivors trapped under the debris at a railway construction camp in Manipur state. The situation at the scene of the landslide was “still serious” with rainfall and bad weather hampering rescue efforts, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh said. Dozens were killed in the region after flooding last month, with relentless rains causing landslides and inundating homes.

The France-Thailand Business Forum (FTBF) hosted the 3rd France-Thailand Business Forum in collaboration with the Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking, and MEDEF International, at The Athenee Hotel, Bangkok. Joining the event were representatives from more than 20 French leading companies in the energy, environment, logistics, infrastructure management, smart city, and sustainability sectors. The special forum staged presentations on two key topics: “Transport & Mobility and BCG”, and “decarbonisation and Smart City”. In attendance were top government officials, industry leaders, and business personnel from both the French and Thai public sectors. MEDEF International is a private, non-profit organisation founded in 1989 by MEDEF, the French Business Confederation.

Consumption is forecast to slow in the fourth quarter, however, and November figures due later Friday will give a sense of the depth of any weakness. The change to the consumer-spending figure reflected upward revisions to spending on personal care and financial services, particularly portfolio management and investment advice. Inventories were revised lower on wholesale trade, especially nondurable goods, according to the report. The change in private inventories dragged down the rate of GDP growth by 0.03 percentage point in the quarter, revised from a boost of 0.17 point. Excluding the typically volatile trade and inventories components of GDP, final sales to domestic purchasers increased at a 2.2% pace that was revised from 2%.

Authorities would discuss the matter with employees towards the end of this year, he said. Arkhom said Thailand’s inflation would remain high for the rest of this year, eventually forcing the Bank of Thailand to raise its policy interest rate, which has remained unchanged at 0.50 per cent. “The Thai economy is suffering impacts not only from Covid-19 but also high inflation resulting from the Ukraine war. Inflation this year is unlikely to go down to levels seen many years ago,” said the finance minister. However, Thailand’s inflation rate is still considered low when compared to other countries, he added.

It was Thailand’s first day of fully reopening to foreign tourists. (Photo: Apichart Jinakul)Thailand fully reopened to foreign visitors on Friday when entry restrictions, particularly the Thailand Pass regis­tration requirement, were eased further. Phuket's high numbersThanet Tantipiriyakit, chairman of the Phuket Tourism Council, said lifting Thailand Pass will ensure easier entry into the country. After the pandemic hit, domestic tourist numbers dropped to 570,000 while there were fewer than 700 foreign visitors last year. Tourism income from Thai tourists shrunk to 2.2 billion baht and there was only 7.7 million baht from foreign visitors last year, he said.

Bangkok also has a “sister city” deal with St Petersburg. The photos of the meeting were posted on the Russian Embassy’s Facebook page on Friday. Chadchart also invited Russian communities and business people living in Thailand to participate in Bangkok’s upcoming festivals including the Open-Air Film Festival and frequent Music in the Garden events. Former Bangkok governor Bhichit Rattakul, who served from 1996 to 2000, signed a Protocol of Friendly Ties with his Moscow counterpart on June 19, 1997, to promote the exchange of culture, education, science, tourism and sports between the two cities. Bhichit also signed the Protocol on Cooperation with his counterpart in St Petersburg to promote ties in the fields of education, culture, technology, industry, environment, tourism, economy, science, and trading.

The Tobacco Authority of Thailand (TOAT) is seeking new revenue streams amid declining cigarette sales. Development of organic tobacco with TOAT and R&D on the leaves will take two years, he said. Civilize Agriculture plans to test the plantation of organic tobacco leaves at the authority's plots in Chiang Mai province. He said the company wants to test products from the organic tobacco leaves to ensure they comply with the Food and Drug Administration's standards. Col Chartiwat said the planting organic tobacco leaves can increase their value by at least five times.

That exceeded the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists, while the nominal spending gain of 0.4% matched forecasts. Consumers have carried the economy in 2019 amid fluctuations in trade policy, weakness in manufacturing and a pullback in business investment. Nominal personal income rose 0.5% in November from the prior month, exceeding the median estimate for a 0.3% gain, with wages and salaries advancing a healthy 0.4%. Inflation-adjusted disposable income rose 0.4% following a 0.2% drop in October, while the personal saving rate rose to 7.9%. The figures indicate consumption is stabilizing following softer-than-expected retail sales across some categories earlier this month.

The S&P 500 index had its biggest weekly gain since September and was on pace to gain 28% this year. The benchmark hit a new peak Friday, led by technology and health-care shares, while the Stoxx Europe 600 also reached all-time high. The Treasury yield curve remained near its steepest in more than a year, underscoring how recession worries have receded. -The MSCI World index of developed countries climbed 0.4% to 2,349.13, the highest on record. -The yield on two-year Treasuries gained less than one basis point to 1.63%, the highest in a week.

The PM has assigned the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security to discuss the matter with the agencies, said government spokesperson Traisuree Traisaranakul on Friday. The PM came up with the idea after realising that high land prices are a major obstacle to the government’s low-priced housing scheme, she added. “The prime minister places great importance on housing for low-income earners. He views living quarters as security for people and a foundation for battling social inequality,” Traisuree said. Gen Prayut proposed that the agencies could enter into long-term land-lease agreements with the housing scheme, which is run by the National Housing Authority and Community Organisations Development Institute.