Anything & Everything About Thailand

[U-Need]

BANGKOK, March 6 (TNA) – A group of businessmen, researchers, and financiers, who call itself as the Alliance of Neutral People for Democracy and Peace, has called on caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to take a rest from his political career for a while and appoint his deputy to take his job in a pre-election period.

Anusorn Thammajai, President of BT Asset Management Co, who is the group’s coordinator, said the political situation appeared to escalate with the opposition bloc boycotting the snap election and mounting distrust about the fair election.

As well, Mr. Thaksin had become a center of conflicts in the society because there are people who like and dislike him.

For the sake of the country’s peace and order, he said, Mr Thaksin should take a rest from the political career for a while and appoint his deputy as the caretaker premier on the eve of the election.

Should the political tension continue unabated, he said, the group would call for a postponement of the election and a discussion by all sides.

The group is willing to coordinate in organizing a meeting to find a way to form the provisional government tasked for implementing the second political reform and organizing the election.

Should the demand draw no response, he said, the group would call on people to come out for the senatorial election to vote for candidates who are independent and capable of examining the government’s performance since there would be no opposition bloc in the post-election period.

He said the group would submit a letter after the election, requesting the new government, senators, and independent organizations to select a committee tasked for carrying out the second political reform, amend the constitution, and holding a new election as soon as possible. (TNA) – E005

[U-Need]

373 words
6 March 2006
Thai News Service
English

Section: Corporate News - Bangkok Broadcasting & Television (BBTV), which operates Channel 7, has hooked up with True Corp Plc to broadcast its programmes live via a broadband Internet channel - the first step in its plan to commercially feed popular programmes to Thais living abroad, The Nation reports.

Channel 7 is interested in a pilot project to provide recorded programmes such as television dramas via an online channel to overseas viewers this year on a monthly subscription basis, according to a source from True.

"The market is huge, given the high ratings of its programmes. Currently if viewers overseas want to see some drama programmes, they have to wait for someone to record the programmes and post them," the source said.

Most of the broadcaster's programmes are dramas and variety shows. Channel 7 is waiting to see if the collaboration with True is successful before making a decision to proceed with the plan full steam, the source said.

On March 1 True and Channel 7 jointly launched http://ch7.trueworld.net a website for fans to view live programmes free of charge. But they have to be True broadband subscribers to access recorded programmes in the archives for various fees, such as Bt10 per show.

The recorded programmes are aimed at workers who cannot view programmes at the times they are broadcast, said Thiti Nanthapathsiri, True's managing director for consumer products and hi-speed access.

Surang Prempri, BBTV's managing director, said the broadband channel would enable Channel 7 to expand its viewer base and that it would evaluate the success of the project in six months.

"Despite our huge success in terms of ratings and money, we still have to catch up with fast-moving technology," she added.

True expects to gain Bt10 million this year from online television content sales on its broadband portal site Trueworld.net, said Ardkit Suntornwat, True's director for multimedia service.

The site mainly features television, music and sports shows.

True aims to double its Internet broadband subscriber numbers to 600,000 this year.

The company's businesses range from fixed-line telephone services to cellular services and pay television.

[U-Need]

【本報訊】交通部陸上運輸廳長比雅攀透露，根據交通部的政策，將對曼谷市聯營公共汽車的各項服務嚴格管理。 其中規定所有參加聯營的公共汽車必須在營運前進行檢驗，目前共有1,232輛聯營公車檢驗不合格，待檢修後 再接受檢驗。

但到目前為止這些第1次沒有通過檢驗的聯營公共汽車還沒有重新接受檢驗，因此，陸上運輸廳將再延長10天， 以便讓聯營公共汽車接受檢驗，否則，將協調曼谷大眾運輸機構立即將不接受檢驗的聯營公車撤銷聯 營。

[U-Need]

BANGKOK, March 6 (TNA) - Thailand and China have agreed to expand bilateral trade to reach US$50 billion annually by 2010.

The agreement was clinched by caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak and his Chinese counterpart recently, according to Deputy Permancent Secretary for Commerce Pisanu Rienmahasarn.

To meet the goal, Mr. Pisanu said, Thailand would open trade distribution and exhibition centres in major Chinest cities, including Bejing, China's capital, as well as Shienghai, Guangzhou, Lingyang, Nangjing, Da Lien and Khun Ming.

"The centres will not only promote, but also boost sales of Thai products in China, the world's largest market in terms of its population of more than one billion," he told journalists.

"Among the targeted Chinese cities, Khun Ming in southern China is considered the most promosing market for Thai products; so, the Ministry of Commerce plans to open the trade distribution and exhibition there by the end of this year," he noted.

The Ministry of Commerce is seeking opinions from the Thai private sector on proposed strategic policies for the Thai trade centres.

Mr. Pisanu said so far the Chinese investors had not expressed any concern over Thailand's current political turmoil, as they understand that bilateral trade and investment policies are long term basis. (TNA)--E002

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from Bangkok Post dated Monday 6 March 2006 :-

Growing exports as Japanese opt for Thai-style pampering

Thailand's spa-treatment export industry, particularly to Japan, has great potential given the growing taste worldwide for Asian products, says a Japanese expert.

Wakaba Koyama, executive chairman of Ayus Oriental Spa Group, said more Japanese consumers were using Asian spa-treatment products, from Thailand in particular.

"The popularity of Thai spa treatments is rising and surpassing that of Bali treatments," she told participants at a forum organised by the Export Promotion Department.

Ms Koyama said that the demand for products such as herbal compresses, turmeric and plai, a Thai herbal extract, was increasing as more hotels in Japan chose to offer Thai spa treatments to guests.

Thailand exported about US$861.32 million worth of cosmetic products last year, including items used in spa industry. Of this total, the Japanese market accounted for $144.04 million, according to information provided by the Export Promotion Department.

To promote market growth, Ms Koyama suggested that Thai manufacturers made products that met Japanese standards. Quality of imported products in Japan was controlled by two laws, the Pharmaceutical Affairs law and the High Pressure Gas Safety law, she said.

She added that Japan would certify production processes from Thai factories before importing.

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from Bangkok Post dated Monday 6 March 2006 :-

Thai economy to grow 4.5-5.5% in 2006

The National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) said Monday the country’s economy is expected to show a growth of 4.5 to 5.5% during this year after having shown a growth of 4.5% last year.

The government think-tank said that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) showed a slowdown and grew on a seasonally adjusted basis at 0.9 percent in the fourth quarter as high fuel prices and rising interest rates outweighed seasonal tourism and export recoveries.

The state economic planning agency said that fourth quarter was Thailand's slowest expansion in last year as farm output fell and lower exports hurt manufacturing, prompting the government to cut this year's growth forecast.

The agency said that it was therefore revising down its 2006 projections to 4.5 to 5.5% against its past projection of 4.7 to 5.7%, citing the negative impact from the rising interest rates and the higher fuel cost.

The NESDB said that the country’s trade deficit stood at $272 million during the fourth quarter after having reported a trade surplus of $746 million during the third quarter ending September 2005. The fourth quarter deficit was blamed on the higher crude oil prices.

The NESDB said that it expects trade deficit for the year to stand at around $9.6 billion for the year against its previous projection of $11.1 billion.

The agency forecast a 2006 current account deficit of $4.0 billion, against $4.9 billion forecast in December and an actual $3.7 billion deficit in 2005.

Imports for the year 2006 are expected to rise by 15%, while exports are expected to rise by 15.3% in 2006.

The agency also said that growth in the two key sectors that drives the economy, domestic consumption and manufacturing, also showed a slowdown.

In the fourth quarter, Thailand's agricultural production fell by an adjusted 3.6%, from a gain of 9.4% in the third quarter.

The agency also forecasted 2006 inflation of 3.5-4.5 percent, unchanged from its December forecast. Actual inflation last year was 4.5 percent.

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The Nation dated Monday 6 March 2006 :-

Alarm over dead fish at new aquarium

The Marine and Coastal Resources Department is to closely monitor the management of Siam Ocean World, the giant aquarium in the basement of the Siam Paragon mall after officials said they witnessed the removal of two dying Arowana fish during a visit yesterday.

Director-general Maitree Duang-sawat, together with department officials and veterinarians visited the aquarium after participating in the opening of "Marine Turtle Preservation Year 2006", taking place at the shopping mall, following news reports about the large number fish dying in the aquarium.

The officials said they were shocked as they watched aquarium staff remove two Arowana fish, also known as dragon fish, from the aquarium. Moreover, many other fish appeared to be carrying wounds, he said.

Maitree said the condition of the fish was probably due to poor transportation, management and water systems and problems with the feeding process. Also, it was found many small fish were kept with sharks - which might be another cause of death among them.

"The aquarium needs serious monitoring. We have learnt that sick fish are just left to die because it costs more to treat the fish than buy new ones," he said, adding that because of the sub-standard management some veterinarians at Siam Ocean World planned to quit soon.

He said the department would find out where the dying fish had been purchased to ensure they had been caught legally.

The department is also planning to hold a meeting with aquarium operators from around the country about the standard of aquarium management.

Kantaporn Tongman, marketing manager of Siam Ocean World, denied all the accusations about poor management at the facility saying that the aquarium was run in line with the international standards used by Oceanis Australia Group. Siam Ocean World is a subsidiary of the Australian group, which has operated aquariums for more than 15 years.

"The staff removed the Arowana from the tank in order to clean it, not because they were dying," she insisted.

She said the aquarium's water system was now in perfect condition after passing through the initial operating period when 10 per cent of fish were expected to die in line with common practice. However, the fish death toll never reached the predicted number, Kantaporn said.

"Everything is normal. Any death now is caused only by the fish's life span," she said.

All sick marine animals are well treated in a curator tank, she said, and insisted that buying new stock was more expensive than curing them as most of the fish in the aquarium were imported from the Philippines. Kantaporn said the aquarium employed many experts and veterinarians, both Thais and foreigners - and no one had quit so far.


Janjira Pongrai & Chatrarat Kaewmorakot
The Nation

[U-Need]

BANGKOK, March 6 (TNA) – Maj. Gen. Chamlong Srimuang, one of anti-Thaksin demonstration leaders, on Monday reiterated his intention to rally with his Dhamma Army Foundation members at Sanam Luang around the clock, saying he firmly believed caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra would step down before April 2.

A source said demonstrators led by the People’s Alliance for Democracy moved back from the Government House to Sanam Luang and dispersed early this morning with the foundation members still rallying and helping clean the place early this morning.

Maj. Gen Chamlong said he would continue rallying with the foundation members around the clock until Mr. Thaksin would resign and that he was confident the caretaker premier would step down before April.

Asked whether he believed the snap election would not take place, he said he did not want to speak like that because it seemed he had not supported the democratic system.

However, the longer the demonstration dragged on, the more phuyai (senior persons acceptable to the society) would come out to call for the premier’s resignation because they did not want the country to be ruined by the political turmoil.

“How can the premier carry on his duty when the country is further damaged if he stays on. So, he should better resign for the interest of the country,” said Maj. Gen.

“Demonstrators will continue to rally at Sanam Luang peacefully to press the premier to resign by every minute, hour and day and the number will gradually increase,” he added. (TNA) – E005

[U-Need]

BANGKOK, March 6 (TNA) – Caretaker Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Somkid Jatusripitak on Monday instructed officials of all economy-related state agencies to be active in promoting the export policy and supervising people’s costs of living.

Speaking with senior officials of all state agencies under his supervision at a meeting to assess the current political situation, he said although the political tension still persisted, they must perform duties to the utmost to promote exports and oversee living costs of people.

He said the Export Promotion Department had been instructed to coordinate with representative offices in every region of the world to promote exports on a continual basis.

“We want every official to devote himself or herself to performing the duty to the utmost. There should be no delay in any project,” he said.

Dr. Somkid said the International Trade Negotiation Department had been ordered to pursue the trade negotiation with members of regional intra-trading groups.

However, the talk should be postponed if it involved the negotiation at an international level.

He said senior officials of the Commerce Ministry had been ordered to strictly monitor and supervise prices of products, particularly sugar, to ensure the living costs of people would have a minimum impact.

The deputy premier said the National Economic and Social Development Board had made a sound projection for the economic growth this year despite the heating political situation.

“Should all people want to see the economy grow steadily, they must help keep peace and order in the country,’’ he said. (TNA) – E005

[U-Need]

200 words
6 March 2006
Australian Associated Press General News
English

By Ian Black

BANGKOK, March 6 AAP - Search teams have found no trace of an Australian woman who went missing last week in waters around Lipeh island off Thailand's southern Indian Ocean coast.

Dominique Courteille, 57, was last seen around 2am on Thursday when she left shore aboard a dinghy to return to her yacht.

Courteille arrived on Lipeh island last Wednesday.

Her two male cousins, who were travelling with her, reported her missing when she failed to arrive back at the boat after an evening ashore.

Thai marine police launched a search on early Thursday morning.

Officials at the Australian Embassy in Bangkok said a consular official had been sent to the scene.

They said Courteille was apparently attempting to return to her yacht, the Sonnet, when she vanished. The vessel is registered in Fremantle.

The spokesman added: "We understand Ms Courteille had been living in Thailand for some time.

"The Thai Marine Police and local police have been conducting an extensive search for her using a helicopter and three patrol vessels."

[U-Need]

174 words
6 March 2006
11:34
Dow Jones Chinese Financial Wire
English

BANGKOK (Dow Jones)--Thailand's gross domestic product decelerated in the fourth quarter of 2005 to 4.7% on year due to a slowdown in exports, while high interest rates and inflation weakened consumption, the state economic planning agency said Monday.

The fourth quarter GDP growth was in line with economists' expectations.

The National Economic and Social Development Board also cut its forecast for 2006 GDP growth to 4.5%-5.5% from a range of 4.7%-5.7% previously.

The NESDB said the economy grew 4.5% last year, in line with economists' expectations, slowing from 6.2% in 2004.

In the fourth quarter, GDP rose 0.9% from the previous quarter on a seasonally adjusted basis, NESDB said.

For the third quarter of 2005, GDP growth was revised to an adjusted 5.4% on year from a previous estimate of 5.3%, while adjusted on-quarter growth was revised to 2.3% from 2.2% previously

[U-Need]

BANGKOK, March 1 (TNA) – Boosting revenue from exports and tourism remains a key factor to the economic growth management for this year, according to the National Economic and Social Development Board.

NESDB’s Secretary-General Amphol Kitti-amphol said the fuel price volatility is still a key risk factor to the global economic growth because it could put an imbalance to the world economy.

To cope with the situation, the government must manage the economy by accelerating an increase in revenue from exports and tourism to ease a current account deficit, and promoting the alternative energy consumption.

At the same time, it should promote local saving and private investment, and speed up budget disbursement particularly for revenue boosting in the agricultural sector and grass-root economy.

As well, it should get off the ground mega-infrastructure projects to boost the country’s competitiveness.

Mr. Amphol said NESDB saw a need for the government to encourage the consumption of natural gas for vehicle (NGV) and gasohol to reduce dependence on oil imports, and promote the private investment as a key drive for the economic growth this year.

The government should also accelerate investment in mega-projects to ensure they are implemented as earlier planned to boost the investor confidence and to modernize the country

On the tourism, the government should help develop products to ensure they are tailored to each target group’s needs, and utilize the opening of the Suvarnabhumi Airport to attract foreign tourists.

Equally important, it should set a target to increase the number of foreign tourists by at least 10 per cent and the exports by 17-18 per cent for this year, and promote the local saving in a systematic manner to boost liquidity in the country and reduce state expenditure. (TNA) – E005

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from Bangkok Post dated Monday 6 March 2006 :-

Betagro branches out into Japanese restaurants

Agricultural group Betagro is aiming at 20% growth in consolidated sales this year driven by meat industry investments.

Of the targeted revenue of 30 billion baht, 12 billion would come from the group's chicken business, 14 billion from its regional and feed businesses, three billion from swine and two billion from animal health, said Vasit Taepaisitphongse, the executive vice-president.

Mr Vasit said more sales would come from its new chicken processing plant, which has increased its total capacity to 4,000 tonnes of processed chicken a month, from 1,600 tonnes previously.

Additionally, he said, total output from its animal-feed unit would grow to 1.5 million tonnes a year, up from 1.2 million.

The group also planned to expand its processed-meat business for the export market, which included sausages, bacon and ham, he said.

He said the company hadn't been affected much by the bird flu outbreak that had hit many farms in Asia and Europe.

"There is a bright opportunity for Thai chicken exports, backed by quality that has been trusted by customers in Japan and Europe," he said.

Mr Vasit said the group still had close business ties with its Japanese partners, Ajinomoto and Sumitomo.

Betagro plans to introduce more cooked products, including ready-to-eat meals, with a focus on a new joint venture with the Japanese restaurant chain, Ootoya, to tap the popularity of Japanese food.

Betagro Ootoya Co is a joint venture between Betagro, Ootoya Inc and Sumitomo Corp Thailand, set up last year to start a chain of restaurants to serve Japanese dishes prepared in a homemade style.

According to Mr Vasit, Betagro Ootoya expected to gain in popularity with plans to open 30 additional outlets in Bangkok.

Ootoya operates three types of outlets in Thailand - Ootoya Restaurant, Ootoya Kitchens and Ootoya Deli.

Following good response to its Thong Lo branch, opened last January, Mr Vasit said the company would open 10 additional outlets by the end of the year with investment of up to 50 million baht.

Of the 10 new outlets, three would be restaurants, four would be kitchens and the rest would be delis.

This year, Mr Vasit expected the company's six outlets to generate between 140 million and 150 million baht in sales.

The Ootoya chain, which was established in +++yo in 1958, has 170 outlets in +++yo and Kansai in Japan.

The Thai outlets import raw materials such as fish, sauces and seaweed, from Japan. The price of each dish ranges from 100 to 200 baht.

Ootoya in Bangkok targets working people, families and students, said Mr Vasit.

Mr Vasit said the restaurant business was a new challenge for Betagro but it had provided valuable experience in food business supply chains and an opportunity to interact directly with consumers.

Other international chains had approached Betagro to discuss setting up similar joint ventures, he said.

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The Nation dated Monday 6 March 2006 :-

Violence grips Pattani

Pattani — Fear and chaos gripped Thailand's restive south Monday as some 30 armed men raided a Buddhist village in Yaring district and torched two houses and shot dead three villagers, while in two other nearby districts two young men were shot dead at close range, police said.

Superintendent of Yaring district, Pol Colonel Suthon Disyabutr, said 50 police officers and two fire trucks were mobilised to Che Orh village, a small Buddhist community, where gunmen shot dead three villagers.

The body of Sa-ngeam Kaeowprasert, 70, one of the three victims, was found riddled with bullets and burnt beyond recognisable in his house that had been totalled by the fire early Monday morning.

His wife, Thanom, appeared to have escaped the burning house but did not survived the gunshot wounds.

The body of fellow villager, Somphit Putrarat, 35, was riddled with machine gun bullets. Authorities said his wife and four-year-old child were weeping next to his body in the yard.

Sunthon blamed insurgents for the attacks, which he said was aimed at making the area ungovernable for the authorities and trying to instigate a sectarian violence in the region.

The attack on the village community appeared to have marked a shift in strategy, from point-blank assassination to attacking soft target belonging to Buddhist community, Sunthon said.

In two more separate incident, gunmen shot dead a young manMarading Mache, 25, in Khok Po district, while in Panare district, Kermor Yakoh, 49, was shot dead at the crack of dawn when out herding his cattle.

Meanwhile, in Nong Chik district's Tu Yong village, an elementary public school was torched but damages was minimum as residents quickly put out the fire.

Meanwhile, in nearby Narathiwat, Deputy Gov. Wichit Chartpaisit and provincial commissioner, Pol Lt. General Yongyuth Charoenwanit, and deputy commander of the Army's Task Force 3, Colonel Somphol Pankul, paraded 31 "misguided individuals" who they claimed to have been misguided by insurgents bent on carving out a separate homeland for the ethnic Malays in the three southernmost provinces.

[U-Need]

BANGKOK, March 6 (TNA) - The government campaign to counter the southern insurgency needs time to achieve success, Thailand's army chief said on Monday, but it is using the right strategy and is trying to relate properly to the local Muslim-majority population.

Army commander-in-chief General Sonthi Boonyaratkalin conceded that the state authorities can't guarantee constant security in every area in the three southernmost provinces but that the Army is fully prepared to foil insurgent operations.

Responding to news regarding the training of militant's in Yala's Bannang Sata district, Gen. Sonthi said that weapons training was an operation of the insurgents and the authorities had to stop them.

A war of attrition and deterrance against insurgents is taking place, Gen. Sonthi suggested, and the Army and related state authorities are succeeding.

"Our aim is to maintain good relations with innocent villagers and to deter insurgent operations until they become inactive," Gen. Sonthi said. "Time is needed to quell the violence. Now, we must contain it
so it is limited to some areas and won't extend to other areas," he said.

"Our strategy to tackle the unrest is to stay close to local people and keep a close eye on violence-prone areas, and suspected insurgents," he said. "However, as we aren't able to scrutinise all areas so the insurgents infiltrate into some areas to launch their operations," he added.

Asked about the rumour that villagers who joined the government's project to generate employment in the Muslim-majority provinces were threatened by insurgents and quit, he said some people who lived in the violence- plagued areas might be intimidated.

But they weren't the only ones threatened by insurgents but other people were also menaced by insurgents who wanted to make the public know they could take control over local people.

Gen. Sonthi said that in Yala, Pattani, and Narathiwat, the insurgents are active in a few districts of each province. To end the violence, the officials don't have to change their tactics because the existing principle is clear-cut. All they have to do is to work it out in the practical way. (TNA)-E004