Country seeks to ease Indonesia's limitsMr Jurin, right, explained during talks with Mr Rachmat that Thai longan exports to Indonesia have seen some difficulties over the past 3-4 years. The longan imports must also be approved by Indonesia's ministries of agriculture and trade. Thailand and Indonesia have agreed to the JTC since 2011 but have never held the JTC meeting. Thailand sold a total of 925,000 tonnes of rice under G2G contracts to Indonesia under the previous agreement from 2012-16. Meanwhile, according to Mr Jurin, the Indonesian ambassador also asked Thailand to help raise imports of fresh shrimp and investment in Indonesia, especially in the tourism sector.

Fitch says SCB rejig in line with trendSiam Commercial Bank's (SCB) reorganisation reflects the industry's rising complexity. The group restructuring announced by SCB on Sept 22 is in line with the trend for Thai banks to become more complex financial groups, Fitch Ratings says. SCB plans to set up a holding company that will own the group's operating entities, including SCB. "We expect more details to emerge on capital planning for the holding company, SCB and the other subsidiaries. There is to be a one-off 70 billion baht dividend from SCB to the holding company for business and asset transfers and new investment."

Ministry touts benefits of national shipping lineThe Ministry of Transport is planning to open a national shipping line by June next year, in a bid to reduce reliance on foreign ships and promote the export and import sector. Yesterday, Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob revealed that the Port Authority of Thailand has been instructed to launch a feasibility study on a national shipping line by next month. Mr Saksayam said if all goes according to plan, the national shipping line will launch in June next year. Mr Saksayam said that the Marine Department has been instructed to work with the PAT to set-up the shipping line, which will help boost the nation's export and import capacity and bring down shipping costs. The East Co Ltd will handle regional shipping to Vietnam, Cambodia, South Korea, Japan and eastern China.

Nobody was willing to say the word "China" out loud, but "containing" China is just as much the focus of the Quad as "containing" the Soviet Union was when the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) was founded 72 years ago. And like the Nato countries then, today's Quad members collectively outnumber, outgun and surround their adversary. All the Quad members except Japan still have growing and relatively young populations, whereas China's population is rapidly ageing and predicted to start falling fast by 2030. In terms of serious naval hardware, China has one-sixth of the tonnage of the Quad navies, including only two aircraft carriers to 15 for the Quad and 12 nuclear-powered submarines to 69. The United States has been the world's paramount power for the past 75 years, and China is a challenger with its own sense of manifest destiny.

Revamp steps up competitionThe restructuring of Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) may heighten competition in the lending businesses and cause competitors to expand at a lower rate than expected, said analysts from KTBST Securities. According to KTBST, the revamp will allow SCB to step up as one of the major players in the lending industry and intensify competition among lenders. SCB X's soon-to-be lending subsidiary companies have grown exponentially over the past few years, driven by faster operations after they were separated from SCB which faces tighter regulations from the Bank of Thailand. After all subsidiaries have moved under SCB X, these companies will have more borrowing capacity to expand businesses that will allow them to lend more with competitive interest rates. Alpha X, which has been established as a joint venture with Millennium Group Corporation for leasing loans for supercar and big bikes, will affect Ratchthani Leasing (THANI).

Deliveries to see bright last quarterA food delivery driver prepares to make a delivery along Bangkok's Khao San Road. Pornprom SatrabhayaThe online food delivery segment is expected to be robust in the final quarter, driven by the platforms' participation in the government's Khon La Khrueng (half-half) co-payment scheme. "We hope that this co-payment scheme will help boost sales for restaurants, as well as boosting consumer spending even more for last quarter," he said. "We saw more merchant partners join GrabFood, with over 200,000 merchant partners which resulted in more transactions on the platform," Mr Osorio said. The number of food delivery orders is expected to reach 120 million this year, three times that of 2019.

Pornprom SatrabhayaSeven people will be prosecuted for allegedly accepting payments in exchange for an earlier slot in the state's free Covid-19 vaccination programme. Two of the suspects were brought to appear at a press conference following a crime reenactment attended by Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul at Bang Sue Grand Station. According to police, Ms Pakamon said she would key in the names of relatives. Sriluck Ubonnuea, deputy director of Bang Sue Grand Station, then filed a complaint with the police against the gang for obtaining profits from the vaccine. While Ms Pakamon, Mr Wichayapong and four of their accomplices have been caught, one person remains at large.

Thailand's 'Next Normal' vision at UNPrime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha speaks in a pre-recorded video during the United Nations General Assembly via live stream in New York, US, on Saturday. Key issues such as fighting the global pandemic, climate change, sustainable development, peace and security, which are frequently lost in public debates at home, were discussed. In this connection, the archaic Communicable Diseases Act would be modified to be in closer alignment with the International Health Regulations (IHR) further promoting global health security. December 2021 will mark the 75th Anniversary of Thailand's membership of the United Nations. Furthermore, as a development partner of the United Nations, Thailand is hosting the headquarters of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (Unescap) and over 40 UN offices.

They also said Thailand should learn from developed countries, where pornography is tolerated and regulated, instead of suppressed. One 40-year-old OnlyFans model said while he was worried about getting arrested for producing adult content, he wouldn't deactivate his account out of respect for his followers, who had paid good money to see him perform. "It would be disrespectful to my viewers, like I'm a scammer taking people's money without giving them what they had paid for," he said. Furthermore, he said, viewers have to pay to access OnlyFans, which limits any content posted to a small circle of paying subscribers. "This means authorities can arrest at their discretion, which could be informed by personal biases," he said.

Global stocks mixed as Germany faces period of political limboThe prospect of long coalition talks in Germany is weighing on the euroNEW YORK - European stock markets ended the day slightly higher Monday, after an early rally ran out of steam as the prospect of drawn-out coalition talks in Germany weighed on sentiment. After earlier surging by as much as 0.5 percent, the blue-chip DAX index in Frankfurt ended the day 0.3 percent higher. The London and Paris stock markets also pared early gains to end the session 0.2 percent higher. "It's been an interesting start to the week as equity markets made strong gains early in the day before giving most back as the morning wore on," said OANDA analyst Craig Erlam. London stocks were dampened by an ongoing shortage of petrol or gasoline that has been sparked by panic-buying at fuel stops across Britain.

wins big as Tony Awards return to BroadwayUS actor Leslie Odom Jr hosted the Tony Awards concert gala. NEW YORK: Broadway on Sunday finally honored its best and brightest at the Tony Awards, more than a year late due to the coronavirus pandemic, with jukebox musical "Moulin Rouge!" The Musical" -- a stage adaptation of the popular 2001 Baz Luhrmann film of the same name about the famed Paris nightclub -- won for best musical, best actor and best actor in a featured role, as well as a host of technical honours. The Tony for best play went to "The Inheritance," a reimagining of the E.M. Forster novel "Howards End" set in modern-day New York. The play won a total of four awards, including best director for Stephen Daldry.

Pink dolphins spotted off Songkhla beachPink dolphins spotted in the sea off Songkhla's Samila beach. (Photo: Palakorn Nakarabandid's Facebook page)A pod of pink dolphins was seen in the sea off Samila beach in Songkhla on Sunday and a paddleboarder posted pictures and a video of them on Facebook. Palakorn Nakarabandid said there were 6-7 dolphins in the pod seen by himself and other paddleboarders. Mr Palakorn said the pink dolphins were about 1 kilometre off the beach. He was happy to see the dolphins, saying he believed it shows the rehabilitation of natural resources in the Gulf of Thailand.

Myanmar migrants arrested for illegal entryA health official takes the temperatures of the 12 Myanmar nationals caught for illegal entry, near a village in Kanchanaburi's Muang district on Sunday afternoon. (Photo: Piyarat Chongcharoen)KANCHANABURI: Twelve Myanmar job seekers were arrested near a border village in Muang district for illegal entry on Sunday afternoon, police said. The five men and seven women were detained by an army patrol from the Lat Ya Task Force about 4pm, while hiding in forest near Ban Huay Nam Khao in tambon Ban Kao. They told offiials they were from Moulmein, Bago, Myawaddy and Yangon in Myanmar. They had paid 16,000 baht each to agents in Myanmar agents for jobs in Bangkok.

Sydney gets 'blueprint for freedom' as virus cases fallVaccinated Sydney residents will finally emerge from a lengthy Covid lockdown by mid-October, officials have saidSYDNEY - Vaccinated Sydney residents will finally emerge from a lengthy Covid lockdown by mid-October, Australian officials said Monday, outlining a "blueprint for freedom" as case numbers fell in the city. Stay-at-home orders are set to be lifted in Sydney and surrounding New South Wales when the double-dose vaccination rate hits 70 percent, with state premier Gladys Berejiklian saying "quite confidently" that was now expected to occur on October 11. Deputy premier John Barilaro said the "blueprint for freedom" would allow travel across New South Wales once 80 percent of over-16s are fully vaccinated, which is likely by the end of October. However, unvaccinated adults will need to wait until at least December 1 to enjoy the same freedoms, when it is predicted that around 90 percent of the eligible population will be vaccinated, officials said. About 400,000 people in the nation's capital have been under lockdown since mid-August as officials struggled to quash a small but sustained virus outbreak.

Germany heads into unknown as rivals scramble to lead next governmentA close election result in Germany means that the question of who will succeed Angela Merkel is still wide openFRANKFURT - Germany headed into a period of unpredictability Monday after a close election saw both main parties claim the right to lead Europe's biggest economy, leaving the question of who will succeed Angela Merkel wide open. Western allies are watching closely, aware that domestic preoccupations could blunt Germany's role on the international stage and create a leadership vacuum in Europe. Laschet, 60, and Scholz, 63, both said their goal was to have a new government in place before Christmas. "Europe is waiting for Germany to have a new government," he said on Sunday evening. While all Germany's main parties are pro-EU, none of her would-be successors can match her political gravitas.