BANGKOK, 07 July 2019 (NNT) – The Mass Rapid Transit Authority is set to open the MRT Blue Line Thaphra extension for passenger test runs in late July.

The Mass Rapid Transit Authority (MRTA) commenced internal test runs on the MRT Blue Line’s Hua Lamphong – Bangkae extension on 1st July this year. The early phase of the test is intended to ensure the preparedness of officials to cope with situations which may arise with train operations, to test the stability of the signalling and train control systems, and to set an appropriate train speed for safety.

Once the new tracks and trains have passed the initial testing stage, the MRTA is expected to allow passengers to travel between Hua Lamphong and Thaphra station free of charge as part of the test run in late July.

More stations will incrementally be opened for free introductory trips, before the scheduled launching of the service in September this year.

During the trial, trains will run back and forth only on the new extension tracks, requiring passengers to change to another train at Hua Lamphong to travel to other stations on the current Blue Line Network.

The extension will be linked to the original section, allowing for through operations, once signalling tests on the extension are completed.

The opening of these extensions will make the Dark Blue Line the first circular line in Bangkok. This will make Bangkok a more connected city, opening new opportunities for development.

At present, the MRT Dark Blue Line is the second most popular mass transit line in Bangkok with 19 trains carrying 350,000 passengers per weekday.

Read the complete story on Thailand Business News

BANGKOK, 06 July 2019 (NNT) – Thailand’s e-Commerce sector has continued to grow rapidly, with the overall e-commerce figure in 2018 reaching 3 trillion baht. The Department of Business Development has now brought in global e-Commerce experts to help coach Thai businesses on digital marketing.

The Department of Business Development’s (DBD) Director General revealed that the online e-commerce sector has been growing at a rapid rate, with 2018’s figure placing the value of Thailand’s total e-commerce businesses at about 3 trillion baht, while the government has been pushing for continuous development of the sector, especially SMEs, to fully adapt to digital marketing and provide products and services which meet customers’ needs, shortening and simplifying delivery and transactions, and offer more options to customers.

The DBD has held a mobile e-Commerce fair at IMPACT Exhibition Center, Nonthaburi, to help community enterprises and SMEs gain more knowledge of online marketing, with global e-commerce experts from companies such as Alibaba, eBay, Lazada, and Shopee, providing knowledge for Thai businesses, such as online shop formats, product photography, product description writing, and providing consultations on logistics cost cutting, while minimizing delivery time.

The Mobile e-Commerce Fair will be held four more times across Thailand throughout July-September 2019, specifically in Chiang Mai, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Khon Kaen, and Songkhla. For more information, please visit www.dbd.go.th, or the kongdeetourthai page on Facebook.

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BANGKOK, 4 July 2019(NNT) – The global economic slowdown has affected people’s purchasing power worldwide, but there have been no reports so far of the smuggling of fishery products which could affect prices in the Thai fishing industry .
Ms. Chutima Bunyapraphassorn, Deputy Minister of Commerce, confirmed today that the overall global economy remains in a slowdown, resulting in a decline in the overall prospects of many products including fishery products. This can be seen from the GDP figures that decreased from 3.8 percent in 2017 to 3.6 percent in 2018, directly affecting the purchasing power of consumers and causing the prices of many agricultural product types in the market to drop. As for a decline in the seafood industry, she stated that the Ministry of Commerce has cooperated with the Department of Fisheries and related agencies to monitor the Thale Thai Market, the largest wholesale market of fishery products in the country, accounting for as much as 70 percent of sales. It was found that increased imports of fish and related sea creatures include a group of aquatic products which are processed for export and are sold at restaurants, such as mackerel, salmon, trout, cod, etc. Since they are not otherwise available in this country, they don’t affect the prices of aquatic creatures caught by Thai fishing boats. Imports of octopus have also increased slightly compared to the same period last year.
Although the statistics don’t indicate that imports are unusually high, she has advised that the Ministry of Commerce has measures available to cope with the issue if the volume of imports of legal fishing products that are not IUU related, being brought into Thailand becomes unusually high and begins to affect the prices of the domestic fishing industry. Processed seafood products are important exports for Thailand, generating revenue of as much as 185 billion baht per year for the country. Thailand is the world’s No. 1 exporter of canned tuna and processed sardines.

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