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Home Blog Page 3659

PM meets with World Bank Research Team

National news Thailand

May 20, 2019

BANGKOK, 17 May 2019 (NNT) – The World Bank has reassured support for Thailand’s business sector since the government has conducted bureaucratic reforms to facilitate businesses, reduce costs while the country’s ranking on difficulties versus eases in doing business has improved.

The World Bank’s Doing Business Research Team members met with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha who expressed his appreciations for the World Bank’s ranking of difficulties and eases in doing business in Thailand which currently ranks 27th from among a list of 190 countries worldwide, and ranks third in the ASEAN community.

The premier confirmed that Thailand has been prepared to cooperate with the World Bank in effort to upgrade the country and region. On a long term basis, Thailand is to develop in several areas for which consultations and expertise of the World Bank will be needed. Thailand has been readied to support the World Bank’s laying of a partnership framework for national development on sustainable basis.

The premier confirmed that the Thai private sector has had good understanding about the implementation of government policies while as this year’s ASEAN chair Thailand will be able to promote the Thai business sector in the ASEAN markets.

The World Bank’s visiting research team confirmed that the World Bank will readily provide consultations for Thailand’s national and regional development and that Thailand has moved in the right directions, especially regarding its digital sector.

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Second ASEAN Pop Culture event adorns Trat buildings with colourful street art

Tourism Authority of Thailand

May 20, 2019

Bangkok, 17 May 2019 – The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is pleased to announce the success of the second ‘ASEAN Pop Culture’ activity, which took place in April in Trat province in the Laem Ngop Lighthouse area.

Called ‘Experiencing Pop Culture’, the event was organised by the TAT’s ASEAN, South Asia and South Pacific Market Division, the TAT Office in Trat and Laem Ngop Municipal Office. It followed the first ‘ASEAN Pop Culture’ event held in Sukhothai’s Sawankhalok district in March; TAT launches new ‘ASEAN Pop Culture’ project with new street art in Sukhothai.

At the ‘Experiencing Pop Culture’ event in Trat, spectacular street art was created on walls of old buildings at two locations in the Laem Ngop Lighthouse area.

Indonesian artist Andrew Suryono adorned the wall with street photography under the theme of ‘dancing together’.

Trat’s homegrown rapper band Run Trat and local school band Trat Buri, together with music artists DJ Muninn from Thailand and Alisson Shore from the Philippines brought another building to live with colourful paintings. They also created music that combined the sounds of nature with traditional Thai and modern music instruments.

During their time in Trat, all artists created their works in the format of workshops with the local community to rope in participation and interest from the locals, as well as to instil them to be a ‘good host’.

The ‘ASEAN Pop Culture’ project aims to promote connectivity between Thailand and its neighbouring countries in Southeast Asia. It is also to position Thailand as the hub of this kind of event to connect both Thai and foreign tourists.

The project involves events in cities in Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia featuring famous Thai and ASEAN artists, who can use their popularity and social media networks to stimulate art and cultural activities in the focus areas.

Mr. Yuthasak Supasorn, TAT Governor said, “The ASEAN Pop Culture project promotes ASEAN tourism as well as secondary destinations and community tourism in Thailand. This is helping to direct tourism revenue to the communities involved, while also presenting these destinations to tourists in new ways like arts and crafts, music and local culture.”

Three more ‘ASEAN Pop Culture’ events are also planned for Chiang Rai in Thailand, Mandalay in Myanmar and Battambang in Cambodia during May, June and July, this year.

Street photography by Indonesian artist Andrew Suryono

Second ASEAN Pop Culture event adorns Trat buildings with colourful street art — Colourful street art by Thai artist Jirayu Koo

Read the complete story here

Thailand to use Biometrics scan to identify travellers – Tech, Tourism, Travel

Thailand Business News

May 20, 2019

PHUKET, (NNT) – The biometrics system, a machine for facial and fingerprint identification, is being introduced to enhance immigration checkpoints nationwide.

Biometrics is a device used worldwide to scan persons coming into or going out of the country on land, sea and air, especially regarding suspected face-lifted transnational criminals and passport forgery.

Pol. Lt. Gen. Tinaphat Phumarin, the commander of the National Police’s Quartermaster Division in capacity as head of the Biometrics Project led a delegation of relevant agencies to Phuket airport’s immigration unit to see the biometrics device which is replacing an old individual scanning system.

The biometrics device can scan any facelifted suspects and fingerprints which cannot be changed, thus raising the confidence of travelers in the airport’s safety measures.

The installation of the biometrics device has been 70% completed and the device which was earlier scheduled to be operable on May 2 and extended for a month, is to be 100% operable on July 1.

Failing to meet such schedule, the firm which is installing the device will be liable to more than four million baht in fine daily. With a 2.1 billion baht budget, the project is designed to install 2,000 biometrics devices at 170 spots on land, sea and air throughout the country.

In Phuket, the biometric devices will be…

Read the complete story on Thailand Business News

Nuclear Society of Thailand and Science Society of Thailand address future of Thai energy

National news Thailand

May 20, 2019

BANGKOK, 18th May 2019 (NNT) – The Nuclear Society of Thailand and the Science Society of Thailand have organized a forum to provide information and hear suggestions from the public on the energy 4.0 policy.

At the forum, Dr. Soranit Siltham, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, said the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation has recognized the importance of energy research with the setting up of the Science Promotion Fund for Research and Innovation, that helps support and enhance the efficiency of energy systems by using the existing infrastructure to reduce electricity production costs.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Sirinat Laoharojjanaphan, Vice President of the Nuclear Society of Thailand, said the Nuclear Society of Thailand has many experts and qualified members who are ready to support research and the role of nuclear energy. There are also projects studying development of the use of nuclear power in economic activities such as agriculture, industry and medicine. Last year, the Nuclear Society of Thailand organized a forum on opportunities and energy choices and the future of Thailand 4.0 era at the regional level in the North, Northeast and the South, to create knowledge and understanding of the main energy sources and alternative energy availibility for people in their daily lives, including those involved in the region. This also allows people to participate in providing suggestions to help determine policies and the country’s future energy policy. A document is being prepared for submission to the government.

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Thailand to become 4th largest production base for EV batteries in Asia

Thailand Business News

May 19, 2019

The booming electric vehicle (EV) market in Thailand is increasingly evident in 2019 as a number of automakers have sought the Board of Investment (BOI)’s incentives to produce EVs here.

KResearch forecasts that the EV market share in the next five years will increase to one-fourth, or 240,000 units, of the total car sales nationwide. Eco-hybrid cars and mild-hybrid vehicles are likely to accelerate the growth in the early stage.

When the EV production is approaching its full capacity in 2023, it is expected that at least 260,000 units of EV batteries will be rolled out to serve the demands in Thailand.

Prospects are bright for export-oriented EV batteries

Moreover, the prospects are bright for export-oriented EV batteries as many car companies have planned to produce EVs in Thailand at a large scale for export. At present, existing production bases of EV batteries in the world cannot produce enough batteries to serve the soaring demand.

Thus, Thailand has emerged as a new production base for OEM and REM batteries for export to countries such as Japan and Thailand’s…

Read the complete story on Thailand Business News

DPM accelerates spending of investment capital

National news Thailand

May 18, 2019

BANGKOK, 17 May 2019 (NNT) – Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak has accelerated the spending of investment capital of five state firms while the national economy has slowed down, adversely affecting export sector.

The deputy premier and Finance Minister Aphisak Tantiworawong held a meeting with executive officials of 19 state firms with huge amounts of investment capital and relevant agencies to accelerate and increase the spending of the respective investment capital during the second and third quarters of this year. In particular, the highly potential state firms have been instructed to help bolster the national economy which may have been affected by domestic and external factors as well as those which have planned to invest on business development projects to upgrade the country’s competitiveness.

The finance minister said a decline in export sector due to the world’s economic recession has prompted the state firms which have a combined 330 billion baht in investment capital to spend more on their respective economic bolstering projects. So far, only about 80 billion baht has been reimbursed while more is to follow in May and June.

Given a fundamental strength, Thailand’s Gross Domestic Product is projected to rise 3.8% this year which remains in the range of a 3-4% growth earlier forecast. However, five state firms have spent less than earlier planned.

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Vietnamese Trade Counselor: benzoic acid still used in some food in Japan

Vietnam Business News

May 18, 2019

The benzoic acid additive that Japanese authorities discovered in Chinsu-branded chilli sauce imported from Vietnam is being used in some food in Japan, according to Vietnamese Trade Counselor in Japan Ta Duc Minh.

Chinsu-branded chilli sauce imported from Vietnam

He revealed the information to correspondents from Vietnam News Agency in Tokyo on April 9 relating to the recent recall of Vietnamese chilli sauce in Japan.

The trade counsellor said that in Japan, additives such as benzoic acid and sodium benzoate are used with a standard content of 2.5 g per kg. The content of benzoic acid in margarine is 1 g per kg; syrup and soy sauce, 0.6 g per kg; and in other confectionery products 1 g per kg.

According to Minh, Japanese authorities only confirmed that benzoic acid additive cannot be used in chilli sauce in the country.

Earlier on March 8, the Bureau of Social Welfare and Public Health of Tokyo Metropolitan Government informed that the food supervisors of Shinjuku City Public Health Centre had recalled all bottles of Chinsu chilli sauce at a sale point in the city after detecting that the product is labelled without providing additives information, violating Japan’s laws on food hygiene and labelling.

The chilli sauce bottles in question were imported from Vietnam on December 7, 2018. They were sold by ISC Industrial Co., Ltd., and imported by an Osaka-based company Javis.

Afterwards, the Osaka City Public Health Centre opened an investigation, which showed that the product contains benzoic acid and sorbic acid.

Minh said the product violated Clause 2, Article 11 of the law on food hygiene in Japan that does not allow the use of benzoic additives in chilli sauce, and infringed on the provisions of the law on food labelling. As a result, the director of Osaka’s health department ordered the importer to recall all related items.

However, in the test results, the maximum amount of benzoic acid in bottles of Chinsu chilli imported into Japan is 0.45 gram per kg. The www.city.osaka.lg.jg site confirmed that a 50kg person can eat 0.56kg chilli sauce (about 0.22 gram Benzoic Acid) every day throughout his life without health being affected.

After Japanese authorities decided to recall Chinsu chilli sauce, the product was still sold on some reputable e-commerce sites in Japan, such as Yahoo! Shopping Japan, amazon.jp, and buyee.jp.

Learning from this lesson, the Vietnam Trade Office in Japan advised businesses to be careful and find out more information about Japanese import regulations.

Minh said that before exporting any product, businesses should exchange with their partners and ask them to provide information related to products such as the consumer market and the legal regulations of Japan.

Food exporters must pay special attention to this issue as Japan has high standards for food safety and hygiene, he stressed. –VNA

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Drought causes fewer blooms in Khon Kaen lotus gardens

National news Thailand

May 17, 2019

BANGKOK, 17 May 2019 (NNT) – The big sale of lotus flowers close to Visakha Bucha day this year may be affected by the drought disaster that has caused fewer lotus to grow and bloom to full size, cutting down the harvest by about half.

Lotus farmers in Sila subdistrict, Khon Kaen province, are now working fast to harvest lotus flowers to customers who have made advance orders for retailing in markets, as the demand for lotus flowers usually grow close to Visakha Bucha day when faithful Buddhists use lotus flowers to pay their respects to lord Buddha and for other religious ceremonies.

The sale of lotus flowers this year are now affected from the drought disaster which caused low reserve water in Ubolrat reservoir, which can no longer supply water into the irrigation network, reducing water level at lotus farms and causing the fewer flowers to bloom and affecting the quality. Farmers can now harvest only 1,000 flowers daily, fewer than the hervest in previous years at 2,000 flowers daily. Fortunately, rainfalls last week have raised water level at farms, however it remains uncertain how much more rain will come.

The reservoir at Ubolrat Dam currently holds 544 million cubic meter of water at 24 percent its capacity. The water at reservoir’s floor has been used by some 12 million cubic meter. The reservoir is discharging water at 500,000 cubic meter daily. The water flowing in from upstream throughout this week remain minimal despite the rain. The water management committee will be holding a meeting following up water situation once the rainy season comes.

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