Thailand to procure 90m doses next year
(Photo: Apichit Jinakul)Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has revealed that Thailand will have at least 90 million Covid-19 vaccine doses next year. After the meeting, Mr Anutin said the Covid-19 situation in the country has improved and Thailand has enough doses for this year. So far, 86 million doses have been administered, he said, adding the government is still aiming to reach the 100-million milestone this month. Mr Anuthin said Thailand will have at least 90 million doses -- 60 million from AstraZeneca and 30 million from Pfizer -- next year. On Wednesday, the ministry was informed that France would donate 400,000 Pfizer vaccine doses to Thailand but the date has not yet been confirmed, he said.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 20, 2021 12:28 UTC
Merger of DTAC, True on the cards
Norway's Telenor said in a statement that it is in talks with conglomerate Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group, the parent of True, to explore the possibility of a merger between DTAC and True. A telecom specialist who requested anonymity said speculation regarding the merger of True Move H Universal Communication (TUC), a mobile arm of True, and DTAC TriNet, a mobile operator of DTAC, has been rife for a few weeks among major investors in the SET. According to the source, True and DTAC are likely to form a joint venture under a share swap model between the two. Pisut Ngamvijitvong, an analyst at Kasikorn Securities, said if True succeeds in acquiring DTAC, True will become the market's leader and its mobile phone market share will rise from 32% to 53%, while AIS will become the second at 47%. He said if the deal is true, it's possible that True will use the share swap method to merge with DTAC.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 20, 2021 09:17 UTC
Ending the lung disease pandemic
Ending the lung disease pandemicCovid-19 has exposed the limited ability of health systems around the world to cope with a pandemic of respiratory infection. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, an estimated 2.5 million adults and children died from pneumonia each year. In high-income countries, deaths are concentrated among older adults, while in low-income countries, children are the primary victims. It will also require action to reduce the leading risk factors for pneumonia death, including air pollution. After all, our world is changing in ways that will accelerate the risk of another respiratory pandemic.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 20, 2021 07:43 UTC
Twilight for the Kims? Time is not on their side
Twilight for the Kims? Mr Kim's dog-eared script is not helping his cause. Mr Kim acknowledged as much at the party congress in January, emphasising the need for "self-reliance" and explicitly sidelining reform. But Chinese help with the North Korean nuclear issue has only ever been intermittent at best. Time is not on Mr Kim's side.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 20, 2021 07:43 UTC
Global shares stall amid China growth worries
Global shares stall amid China growth worriesRecap: Global shares struggled near record highs on Friday as concerns over slowing China growth and a resurgence of the pandemic in Europe stalled a widespread equity market rally. The SET index moved in a range of 1,635.22 and 1,656.27 points this week before closing yesterday at 1645.06, up 0.68% from the previous week, in daily turnover averaging 83.75 billion baht. Institutional investors were net buyers of 3 billion baht and brokerage firms bought 1.22 billion baht. Retail investors were net sellers of 2.23 billion baht and foreign investors offloaded 1.98 billion baht worth of shares. The economy contracted 0.3% in the third quarter, reflecting the impact of Covid curbs, compared with 7.6% year-on-year growth in the second quarter.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 20, 2021 03:38 UTC
Modest upward trend seen as optimism builds
Modest upward trend seen as optimism buildsThai shares continued to rebound this week and reached key resistances at 1,645 and 1,650 points late in the week as the earnings season ended and many companies conducted analysts' meetings. Earnings were considered generally positive and confirmed the recovery trend after the easing of coronavirus-related lockdowns. We expect the SET Index to move sideways up this week and break key resistance levels to build a new base at around 1,650 or 1,660. As well, oil-linked commodities could consolidate amid a steadying of global crude prices, after a decent rally in the past quarter. A potential supply increase from the US could drag on oil prices and pressure heavyweight energy and refinery plays on the SET.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 20, 2021 03:36 UTC
Narcotics police detail busts, shooting of suspect
Narcotics police detail busts, shooting of suspectSenior police and soldiers with packages of meth pills and crystal methamphetamine seized in seven cases this month, at a joint media briefing on Friday. Soldiers and narcotics suppression police manning a checkpoint in Mae Ai district signalled a pickup truck to stop for a search. Instead, the driver opened fire at them and attempted to accelerate away, Pol Lt Gen Sarayut said. In the ensuing exchange of gunfire the driver was shot dead, Pol Lt Gen Sarayut said. He said Jakha had a criminal record and was also wanted on an arrest warrant issued by the Lampang provincial court for smuggling 400,000 meth pills in 2017.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 19, 2021 18:49 UTC
Telenor and CP in talks to merge telecom units
(File photo)The Charoen Pokphand Group (CP Group) and Telenor of Norway are exploring a merger of their telecom units in Thailand that could form a new mobile market leader in the country. A deal, if completed, would merge the telecom operations of SET-listed Total Access Communication (DTAC) and CP Group’s True Corp (True), Oslo-based Telenor said in a statement. Telenor will not provide any further comments at this stage of the process,” the Norwegian company said. Telenor serves 172 million customers with roughly half its revenue generated in Asia and half in the Nordic region. A deal, if approved by regulators, would give the combined entity a market share in Thailand of around 54%, surpassing AIS.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 19, 2021 16:33 UTC
Govt explains delay in reopening entertainment venues
Govt explains delay in reopening entertainment venuesEntertainment venues in Ekamai and Thong Lor areas of Bangkok were closed in early April to help contain the spread of Covid-19. Apisamai Srirangson, a spokeswoman for the CCSA, admitted on Friday that when the government postponed their reopening from December to Jan 16 the operators of entertainment venues were bitterly disappointed. Covid-19 vaccination of staff of entertainment venues was among the criteria of the SHA+ standard. Visitors would look for such signs at entertainment venues, Dr Apisamai said. Entertainment venues have been ordered closed since early April after some of them were found to be the centre of Covid-19 outbreaks.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 19, 2021 12:49 UTC
Airlines give up on state's soft loans
Puttipong Prasarttong-Osoth, Bangkok Airways president and also president of the Airlines Association of Thailand (AAT), said after many discussions, the government hasn't provided any commitment to allocate soft loans and seven airlines are giving up hope of getting that support. "From the government's explanation, they cannot allocate soft loans to us because it might discriminate against other industries that also suffer from the pandemic. Last year, seven local airlines submitted 24-billion-baht's worth of soft loan requests to the state, but due to the subdued response, they reduced the proposed figure to 5 billion baht. The number of employees at Bangkok Airways was cut by 30% during the pandemic, and the firm may have to streamline its workforce again next year. Recently, Bangkok Airways announced the resumption of a second international route from Bangkok to Phnom Penh in Cambodia, starting from Dec 1.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 19, 2021 11:17 UTC
Prayut welcomes US investment
Gen Prayut on Thursday held a meeting with businessmen from the American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand (Amcham) via teleconference. Gen Prayut said he stressed the need for investment in energy, digital technologies, research and development (R&D), and health tourism. Asked by reporters if the American businessmen enquired about the political situation in Thailand, Gen Prayut said they hadn't. Gen Prayut also assured the US business sector of Thailand's economic capabilities, and invited them to take part in efforts to revive the Thai economy and the regional economy by increasing cooperation and investment in Thailand, Mr Thanakorn said. The meeting showed that the government was ready to be open to suggestions from the business sector, Mr Thanakorn quoted Mr Wong as saying.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 19, 2021 04:06 UTC
Government calls on Americans to boost stakes
Government calls on Americans to boost stakesThe government has called on American investors to ramp up their investment, particularly in the sectors which are regarded as the world's new investment trend and in industries that can reduce global warming. According to the premier, many members of Amcham are keen to invest in sectors which can support Thailand rehabilitating the economy affected by the pandemic. "Those US investors who have already invested about US$50 billion in Thailand said they are interested in expanding their investment and businesses in Thailand next year," said Gen Prayut. The prime minister also urged US investors to tap more into Thailand as a gateway to neighbouring countries, both in terms of trade and investment. The government also pledged to develop new economic zones to draw more investment and improve existing laws and regulations to facilitate the investment.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 19, 2021 03:50 UTC
A third of job losses in Asia linked to tourism
A third of job losses in Asia linked to tourism - ILOFILE PHOTO: Shiva Samui resort on Koh Samui, Surat Thani province is deserted on July 3, 2021. It was the country that saw the largest difference between employment losses in tourism and non-tourism related sectors. In Mongolia, tourism employment and average working hours contracted by about 17% and 13% respectively. In Thailand, average wages in the tourism sector decreased by 9.5% as workers moved into lower-paid jobs, while average working hours declined by 10%. In Vietnam, average tourism wages fell by nearly 18%, with the decline for women employees even higher at almost 23%.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 18, 2021 22:16 UTC
A new blow for same-sex marriages
A new blow for same-sex marriagesThe Constitutional Court has ruled that Section 1448 of the Civil and Commercial Code, which only allows for a man and a woman to register their marriage, is not against people's constitutional rights, marking a blow for proponents of same-sex marriages. The ruling, which appeared in a press release published by the court on Wednesday, was handed down in response to a request by the Central Juvenile and Family Court. The court was seeking an interpretation as to whether Section 1448 runs counter to Sections 25, 26 and 27 of the charter, which guarantees equal civil rights for all citizens. A female couple identified as Pheomsap Sae-ung and Phuangphet Hemkham sought to legally wed on Feb 14 of last year but saw their case rejected by the registrar citing Section 1448. They had petitioned the Central Juvenile and Family Court seeking to overturn the registrar's dismissal of their request.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 18, 2021 21:30 UTC
Economic engines 'not as strong as before'
Economic engines 'not as strong as before'Tourists return to popular destinations in Bangkok such as the Emerald Buddha Temple on Saturday. (Photo by Wichan Charoenkiatpakul)Thailand's economic engines may not be as strong as before and the important tourism sector may take longer to normalise, its central bank governor said on Thursday. "If we don't rush to upgrade these economic engines, we may see the economy growing at a slower rate," he said. The central bank forecast growth of just 0.7% this year and 3.9% next year, following a 6.1% contraction in 2020 when the pandemic devastated tourism. The central bank will also be a facilitator, relaxing strict rules to support businesses and a shifting of focus next year towards "resiliency" to meet the needs of financial users, he added.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 18, 2021 17:25 UTC