Headlines summary as of 7 July 2021

News

Newly confirmed case(s)	Total Cases	Patients under severe conditions and those using ventilators	Discharged from hospital	From 1 April, totally confirmed cases (third wave)	1st dose vaccine recipients (from 28 Feb)
6,519 (55 from prisons)	301,172 [last seven days: 41,871]	2,496/676	231,171 (+4,148)	272,309	8,245,297 (+223,268)12.45% of the population
Local transmission	From abroad	Being hospitalised/ in field-hospital/ quarantined	Confirmed cases in Bangkok	Death toll	Total vaccination (doses)	2nd dose vaccine recipients (from 28 Feb)
6,448 [4,958(get tested in hospital) + 1,490 (active case finding)]	16 (in SQ)	67,614 [33,623 in field hospital]	85,285 (+1,549)	2,387 (+54) [last seven days: 364]	11,328,043 (+269,653)17.70% of the population	3,082,746 (+46,385)4.65% of the population

• The head of a CCSA centre said that if the figures of daily cases are getting as high as it is, there will be an urgent need for the consideration of tougher lockdown measures, including the curfew in Greater Bangkok and four Southern provinces before 12 July as scheduled. The secretary-general of the National Security Council and the head of the Operation Centre of the CCSA said that the lock down will be similar to that of March to April last year, but the measure needs to be weighed with economic damages.—The Reporters
• The head of forensic pathologist division at the prestigious Mahidol University said that his team has found a large numbers of the deceased who were found to be tested with Covid from post-mortem swab test despite having a different cause of death. He said this indicated that the covid situation is highly critical that there are many unrealised cases and that the actual cases must be much higher than the CCSA announced.—Thai Rath
• The secretary-general of the Royal Chulabhorn Academy, which imported alternative Sinopharm vaccines, opposed the Public Health authority resolution in inoculate mRNA vaccine for frontline health workers as there are many other people who have not even got a single jab. The call for the ‘booster jab’ has been getting stronger as the two Sinovac vaccines are proven to be less to not effective in preventing the Delta variant.—Prachachat Turakij
• The cabinet yesterday approved the procurement of more vaccines to inoculate the people in the Kingdom. The spokespersons laid out the procurement plans as followed:
• Pfizer vaccines:

• 20 million doses to inoculate people free of charge, expected to be in the Kingdom in Q4 2021 or Q1 of 2022.
• Acknowledged 1.5 million doses of Pfizer vaccines from the bilateral agreement with the US.
• Sinovac vaccines:
• 10.9 million more doses with budget from the 500 billion loan, expected to arrive by Q2 of 2022
• Moderna:
• Approved as an alternative vaccine (citizen has to pay for inoculation) with Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO) as the main person of contact.—Thai Rath

• The PM has decided to extend his self isolation timeframe from seven to 14 days. It is reported that at first the PM want to be on self quarantine only for seven days but decided to extend the duration in order to quell any political drama.—Thai Post
• With the fire and explosion, including with other disasters, the PM has ordered relevant agencies to hold a national merit ceremony in a pandemic safe way to boost the morale of the people in the Kingdom.—Thai Rath

Politics

• Prime Minister Prayut is enlisted with 36 other world leaders as a “Predator of Press Freedom” by Reporters without Borders: RSF. General Prayut has been on the list since taking the coup in 2014. Apart from the resumption of draconian lese majeste law, the RSF highlights the PM sprayed journalists with hand sanitiser to make them stop asking questions in March 2021. The PM is on the list with Hong Kong Carrie Lam, Cambodian Hun Sen, Chinese Xi Jin Ping, North Korea Kim Jong-Un and Myanmar Min Aung Hliang.—RSF, Thai Rath
• The so-called ‘Fantastic Four’ group under the leadership of former economic tzar Somkid is scheduled to hold a press conference to debut its ‘Thailand Future’ Movement on 8 July. The movement aims to collaborate all generations and occupations to solve post-pandemic economic problems. The group was former Finance, Energy, Higher Education and Prime Minister Office Ministers of the Prayut Government after the election.—Krungthep Turakij
• Deputy Agriculture Minister and main ruling Palang Pracharat Party (PPRP) secretary-general denied the speculation that his site visit at the burnt factory is having a political calculation.—Krungthep Turakij
• The secretary-general of the largest Opposition Pheu Thai Party said that the Opposition will file the censure debate with a vote of no confidence against the government in August.—Krungthep Turakij
• A group of medical workers has handed over 200,00 signatures of the so-called ‘Mor Mai Thon’ (Doctors tolerate no more) to the Parliament calling for the government to use mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) as the main inoculation for frontline health workers.—Prachachat Turakij

Analysis/ opinion

• The site visit of Captain Thammanat as soon as there was a fire and explosions at the chemical factory in Eastern Bangkok has made political observers raised their eyebrows. The Deputy Agriculture Minister and the main ruling Palang Pracharat Party (PPRP) secretary-general is reportedly eyed for the Deputy Interior Minister portfolio. The site visit which is the work under the jurisdiction of the Interior Minister has been seen as a signal to pressure to get the post.—Inside Thailand

 Economic:

 CPTPP

• Government spokesperson Anucha told Thai Rath online newspaper that Ministry of Foreign Affairs had not submitted its studies on Thailand’s CPTPP accession for the cabinet’s consideration at its meeting yesterday.  Source:  Thai Rath 
• Some 13 organisations headed by the Consumer Council in Prachuab Kirikhan and Nan provinces submitted letters to their respective local authorities, asking the government defer its submission of CPTPP accession letter.  Source:  Khao Sod newspaper, 8 July 2021

Tourism

• CESA has confirmed that Surat Thani’s 3 islands (Koh Samui, Koh Tao and Koh Phangan) will open to vaccinated tourists on July 15.  Specifically, CESA has approved of Koh Samui’s Samui Plus scheme where tourists will have to stay in ALQ lodging for the first 7 days before being permitted to travel to the other 2 islands through sealed routes from day 8-14.  To this end, Bangkok Airways is introducing special flights to from Bangkok to Samui.  Source:  Bangkok Post  TNN Online 
• Phuket has welcomed 1,896 international travellers under the sandbox scheme as of 6 July.  Thai Hotels Association (THA) noted that this is the first step for Phuket to rebound to 80 percent of the 2019 tourism figures by 2023.  The first 90 days of the reopening will dictate the success of the sandbox scheme, for which 50 percent of the hotels might reopen in October if international arrivals rebound to 300,000 – 400,000 per month from 1.2 million in the pre-pandemic period.  THA believed booster vaccination shot is essential in the next 6-8 months to maintain herd immunity.  Source:  Bangkok Post

Others

• The cabinet has agreed to allocate 2 billion Baht worth of Imjai Loan to businesses selling food and beverages to boost their liquidity.  The maximum credit line is 100,000 Baht per applicant, with 3.99 annual interest for a period of 5 years.  The loan is provided through Government Savings Bank and applications open until 31 December 2021.  Some 40,000 businesses are expected to apply for the loan.  Source:  Matichon  The Nation  
• Federation of Thai Capital Market said government should consider raising public debt ceiling to above 60 percent of GDP, given that the worsening pandemic may prompt the government to borrow more money to stimulate the economy.  Otherwise, economic growth may not meet the state target.  Source:  Bangkok Post 
• The Thai National Shippers’ Council projected that Thai export could expand by 10 percent this year if the government could speed up the administering of COVID-19 vaccines.  The pandemic outbreaks in factories nationwide are beginning to hit manufacturing process in the export sector, which is concurrently facing shortages in labour, chip, container and high freight costs.  Source:  Bangkok Post 
• The Thailand Industry Sentiment Index in June declined for the third consecutive month and is also lowest in 12 months, dropping to 80.7 points compared to 82.3 points in May due to COVID-19 outbreak.  Federation of Thai Industries identified the vaccination of 70 percent of the Thai population as the most important factor for the economy to rebound.  It also suggested that the government expedite extending soft loans to SMEs and quickly contain the spread of COVID-19 in the manufacturing sector to save export.  FTI said it can help the government buy other brands of vaccines, possibly through a co-payment scheme.  Source:  Krungthep Turakij  Bangkok Post 
• FTI suggested that the government relocate factories out of residential areas, following the inferno at Ming Dih plastic factory in Samut Prakan’s Bang Phli district on Monday.  The explosion and fire have affected at least 80,000 people who lived in communities around the area.  Incentives should be offered to factory owners to relocate, such as a 2 percent reduction of land tax and a reduction of corporate income tax.  Source:  Bangkok Post

Headlines summary as of 6 July 2021

News

Newly confirmed case(s)	Total Cases	Patients under severe conditions and those using ventilators	Discharged from hospital	From 1 April, totally confirmed cases (third wave)	1st dose vaccine recipients (from 28 Feb)
5,420 (37 from prisons)	294,653 [last seven days: 40,138]	2,350/643	227,023 (+3,586)	265,790	8,022,029 (+217,375) 12.12% of the population
Local transmission	From abroad	Being hospitalised/ in field-hospital/ quarantined	Confirmed cases in Bangkok	Death toll	Total vaccination (doses)	2nd dose vaccine recipients (from 28 Feb)
5,375 [4,070 (get tested in hospital) + 1,305 (active case finding)]	8 (in SQ)	65,297 [32,391 in field hospital]	83,736 (+1,492)	2,333 (+57) [last seven days: 363]	11,058,390 (+280,642) 16.70% of the population	3,036,361 (+63,627) 4.58% of the population

• The fire at the Taiwanese chemical warehouse in Samut Prakan extinguished at 6.00am this morning. There was one casualty (a 19-year-old volunteer fire fighter) and reportedly at least 33 injured. The industry ministry said as much as 700 million baht ($21.79 million) of assets could be lost in the fire.—BBC Thai, Reuters
  • The fumes of the fire are of concern for the Meteorological Department which issued a warning that should there is a rain the fumes and chemical will contaminate the river or canals, rendering the water hazardous for drinking or using.—Khao Sod
  • However, the Metropolitan Waterworks Authority dismissed the concern saying that the water will be contaminated. The MWA said the source of tap water in Greater Bangkok is 30 kilometres from the factory. The Authority affirmed that the water is safe to use.—Prachachat Turakij
• It is a change of tide for the vaccine regime in the Kingdom as a Clinical Professor Emeritus from Mahidol University who is an advisor of CCSA held a press conference saying that as the covid virus is evolving, there is a need to use more effective vaccine. Professor Udom Kachintorn said that the Chinese Sinovac has been very effective against the Wuhan strains, but as the virus is changing to that of Delta variant, so does the need to administer mRNA vaccines ( Pfizer and Moderna). The former Deputy Education Minister during junta government listed the immunity boost efficacy from mRNA, to Astra Zeneca and to Sinovac vaccines.—Voice TV
  • The advisor to CCSA said that the centre has a resolution to inoculate the ‘booster dose’ for medical workers who got two Sinovac vaccines. There will be a meeting on the matter on Friday 9 July.—Prachachat Turakij

Politics

• The Committee on Constitutional Amendment convene on Tuesday and has nominated the Deputy head of the main ruling Palang Pracharat Party (PPRP) as the head of the Committee. The Democrat Party did not nominate the former party leader as announced giving the position to the main ruling party. The government whip said that it will take less than two weeks for the committee to deliberate.—Krungthep Turakij
• After the House needed to be adjourned as there were not enough participants, the government whip said that the whip has decided to revoke the Hazardous Materials Bill for revision and will propose the bill to the House again in two weeks.–Matichon
• A group of medical workers are calling for symbolic coordinated gestures on 7 July by wearing black or attaching a black bow to their costume for the ordinary people in defiant against the Covid mismanagement and calling for the mRNA to be the main vaccine in Thailand.—Thai Rath
• A group of restaurants which are affected by the government abrupt order to ban the dine-in services will hold a flash mob eating food in front of the Government House from Tuesday 4.00pm.–Matichon

Economic:

CPTPP

• Foreign Affairs Ministry’s International Economic Policy Committee had completed its studies on the prospect of Thailand’s CPTPP accession.  It recommends that Thailand should join CPTPP and will submit this for the cabinet’s consideration soon.  The Committee’s consultations with the state, private sectors and civil society organisations yielded the same results as the studies conducted by Commerce ministry, wherein Thailand’s CPTPP accession will boost GDP by 0.12 percent, investment by 5.14 percent, export by 3.47 percent and create employment worth 73.3 billion Baht.  Thailand could negotiate on issues of concern such as IP, state procurement and UPOV provisions as well as establish FTA Fund to provide remedies for the afflicted.  Source:  Daily News newspaper, 6 July 2021 
• Civil society organisations objected to the International Economic Policy Committee’s recommendations that Thailand should accede to CPTPP as the country will be at a disadvantage.  CSOs suggest that Thailand explore new FTAs with other countries.  Source:  Thai Rath

Tourism

• The Samui Plus program for inoculated tourists should open for Certificate of Entry (COE) applications this week as it is still pending CCSA’s approval.  Surat Thani is slated to open 3 islands (including Samui) on July 15.  Meanwhile, the Phuket sandbox scheme is currently under close monitoring.  There should be no infections among inbound travellers for 14 days before authorities will consider reducing mandatory stays on the island to below 14 days.   Source:  Bangkok Post
• Hotel operators in Pattaya said they are not ready to re-open the city to inoculated tourists on 1 August despite the government’s plan to do so.  Operators said the vaccination rollout in Pattya is slow, with less than 10 percent of its residents having been jabbed.  They prefer not to open up Pattaya until 70 percent of its population is vaccinated and has called on the government to provide them with more vaccines.  Source:  Prachachart Turakij

SMEs

• According to Bloomberg, Federation of Thai SME forecasted that 80 percent of the 3.13 million SMEs nationwide could go bankrupt at the end of 2021 if the latest outbreak of COVID-19 cannot be contained.  The closure of Thailand’s borders had sent the economy to its deepest contraction in more than 2 decades.  SME Federation noted that bank loans to smaller businesses total 3.5 trillion baht, of which 240 billion Baht are NPL and another 440 billion Baht may turn bad by the end of the year.  The Bank of Thailand’s effort to channel billions of dollars of credit at low interest rates, institute loan-payment holidays and offer credit guarantees have failed to breathe life into the sector.  BOT’s latest debt-relief measures for SMEs include 250 billion Baht soft loan for business restructuring and 100 billion Baht for an ‘asset warehouse’ program.  Since the measures took effect in late April, about 24 percent of the soft loan has been used, and less than 1 per cent of the amount intended for the asset-warehouse plan is used.  Source:  Bloomberg 
• The Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion (OSMEP) expects the contribution of SMEs to GDP in Q2 2021 to decline further from the 35 percent seen in Q1.  This is at odds with the government’s lofty goal to raise the contribution of SMEs to 50 percent of GDP under Thailand’s 13th national social and economic development plan (2022-26).  Source:  Bangkok Post
• PM Prayut instructed OSMEP to assist SMEs that are hard hit by the pandemic.  Among the approved policies is the government’s co-payment scheme for SMEs to promote Business Development Service.  The government aims to subsidize from 50-80 percent of the SMEs’ expenses in entrepreneurship training, product testing and marketing, among others.  Source:  Krungthep Turakij

Others

• Inflation in June had increased for the third consecutive month, albeit at a slower rate, disclosed Commerce Ministry.  Inflation in June 2021 increased by +1.25 percent YoY and by +0.38 percent MoM.  This is attributable to higher oil and food prices on the back of improving export.   For the first 6 months of 2021, inflation rose by +0.89 percent and core inflation by +0.02 percent YoY.  Inflation in Q3 and Q4 2021 are anticipated to continue increasing due to rising prices of oil and rice, for which MoC expects annual inflation to be at 0.7-1.7 percent in 2021.  Sources:  Prachachart Turakij Bangkok Post
• The Federation of Thai Capital Market Organizations’s survey revealed that Investor Confidence Index (ICI) for the next 3 months dropped to ‘neutral’ status for the first time in 8 months.  Investors said factors that will boost their confidence are the vaccination rollout, followed by capital inflow in Q2 as listed companies start reporting profits and lastly, domestic economic recovery.  Investors’ confidence is bogged down by the prolonged pandemic, international conflicts and Thailand’s economic recession.  Sources:  Prachachart Turakij Bangkok Post

Headlines summary as of 30 June 2021

News

Newly confirmed case(s)	Total Cases	Patients under severe conditions and those using ventilators	Discharged from hospital	From 1 April, totally confirmed cases (third wave)	1st dose vaccine recipients (from 28 Feb)
4,786 (127 from prisons)	259,301 [last seven days: 30,762]	1,911/ 556	207,479	230,438	6,910,169 (+189,131) AZ: 147,292 SN: 28,603 SP: 13,236 10.44% of the population
Local transmission	From abroad	Being hospitalised/ in field-hospital/ quarantined	Confirmed cases in Bangkok	Death toll	Total vaccination (doses)	2nd dose vaccine recipients (from 28 Feb)
4,650 [3,303 (get tested in hospital) + 1,347 (active case finding)]	9 (in SQ)	49,799 [27,329 in field hospital]	72,819 (+1,826)	2,023 (+53) [last seven days: 279]	9,672,706 (+255,734) 14.61% of the population	2,762,537 (+66,603) AZ: 714 SN: 65,877 SP: 12 4.17% of the population

• Yesterday’s afternoon, Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Don signed on a letter of acceptance of 1.05 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines from the Japanese government. The letter has made several conditions including the regulation for the vaccine not to be used for military purposes, regulation to reveal any information as per requested and regulation not to ship the vaccine to other governmental agencies without prior written permission from Tokyo. The deputy government spokesperson said that the vaccine distribution is part of the Japanese Free and Open Indo-Pacific Concept.–ThaiPBS
• In a bid to help curb the spread of the virus, the cabinet yesterday cancelled 27 July holiday (earlier it was the substitute of Buddhist Lent Day).—Krungthep Turakij
• In defiance against the government order to ban the dine-in services in Greater Bangkok, the head of the National Security Council who also heads the Operation Centre of the CCSA has asked for cooperation from the restaurants owners in abiding the regulations to curb the pandemic. The #WhatIfWeAreGoingToOpen has made it to the top Twitter trending calling for people to defy against the abrupt order. The NSC leader said that the CCSA will decide again after the measures have been in place for 15 days (earlier in the Gazette, it said the measure will be there for initially 30 days). –Krungthep Turakij
• The government spokesperson said that the PM has reiterated the government request for cooperation on private sector continuing its Work From Home scheme as the numbers of companies are not complying.—Prachachat Turakij

Politics

• The main ruling Palang Pracharat Party (PPRP) leader General Prawit has assigned two MPs as deputy PPRP secretary-general (Nirote Suntornlekha and Pai Leeke).—Krungthep Turakij
• A former Red-shirt leader Sombat Boonngamanong introduced a ‘new normal’ of protesting against the government by honking in front of the Government House on Saturday before conducting a caravan nationwide.—Naew Na
• A group led by Progressive Movement and student protest leaders under the name Re-Solution handed over 150,000 signatures to the House Speaker requesting for the Constitutional Amendment.–Matichon
• Last night, ousted and self-exiled former PM Thaksin Shinawatra was on his weekly Club House session grilling the PM management. He also mentioned that  he used to talk with PPRP secretary-general Captain Thammanat. The former PM advised the PPRP campaigner to listen to criticism and will be a great politician in the future.–Matichon

Economic:

Phuket Sandbox & Tourism

• On 29 June, the Royal Gazette published an announcement formalizing the launch of Phuket Sandbox on 1 July.  The announcement clarified the procedures required for Ministry of Foreign Affairs to issue Certificate of Entry (COE) for all tourists prior to their arrival.  Previously tourists have cancelled their trips to the island as the MFA was unable to issue the COEs due to the lack of clear instructions from the government.  Airlines also had to cancel their flights accordingly.  With the announcement gazetted at such a late stage, the number of tourists visiting Phuket on 1 July is forecasted to be less than anticipated.  Sources:  Prachachat Turakij  Poojadkarn Online  Post Today
• Tourism Council of Thailand forecasts that foreign tourist arrivals could reach 3 million this year under the best-case-scenario and only 1 million arrivals under the worst-case-scenario if Bangkok remained closed and Chinese tourists are not allowed to travel outside their country.  The Tourism confidence index in Q2 of 2021 plummeted to its lowest point as 2 million people in hospitality sector have lost their job, up from 1.45 million in Q1.  Source:  Bangkok Post  Reuters

Cabinet’s decisions, 29 June 2021: Relief Measures

• Approved for 7 state-owned financial institutions to extend debt relief measures for another 6 months, starting from June/July.  These institutions have provided loans worth 3.46 trillion Baht since February 2020 to 7.56 million SMEs and individuals.  The Government Savings Bank will also increase its soft loan tenor to a maximum of 7 years from 5 years, and extend grace period for principal repayment to 2 years from 1 year.  Source:  Bangkok Post  Ministry of Finance Press Release
• Approved an 8.5-billion-Baht relief package to ease the impacts of the government’s latest COVID-19 restrictions in Bangkok and 5 surrounding provinces for 1 momth.  Of the 8.5 billion Baht, 5 billion will be allocated from the 1 trillion Baht loan and 3.5 billion Baht from the Social Security Fund.  The relief package is applicable to 4 groups:

Group 1: Employees registered under Section 33 of the Social Security system will be paid 50 percent of the wage on the basis of force majeure, but not exceeding the ceiling of 7,500 Baht.

Group 2: Social Security Section 33 employees with Thai nationality will receive an additional 2,000 Baht from the government on top of the Social Security force majeure compensation. 

Group 3:  Section 33 employers will be paid 3,000 Baht for each employee that they employ, with the maximum number being 200 employees.  If they employ 1 employee, the employer will receive 3,000 Baht; if they have 2 employees, the employer will be paid 6,000 Baht, for example.

Group 4: For unregistered employers and employees, they are urged to register with Social Security system within July to be entitled to compensations.  Once registered under Section 33, each employee will be paid 2,000 Baht and employers 3,000 Baht for each employee under their employment. 

• Restaurant operators who are unable to register with Social Security because they have no employees must register through the Theung Ngern application under the government’s Khon La Kreung co-payment scheme within July.  Once registered, they will be paid 3,000 Baht.
• Operators of food and drink shops who are registered with the government’s Khon La Kreung co-payment scheme but are not registered with Social Security system because they have no employees will be paid 3,000 Baht.
• Operators of food and drink shops who have employees and are registered with the government’s Khon La Kreung co-payment scheme but not with the Social Security system must register with Social Security system.  Once registered, they will be paid 3,000 Baht.  Sources:  Naew Na Krungthep Turakij  Bangkok Post

Others

• Employees insured under Section 40 of the Social Security System who are affected by COVID-19 will be contributing less to social security fund as published in the Royal Gazette on 27 June.  Insured employees will see their monthly contributions reduced to 60 percent of the original amount from August 2021 – January 2022.    Source:  Daily News
• Thai investors posted record net portfolio outflow in Q4 of 2020 after the Bank of Thailand relaxed offshore investment regulations as part of its foreign exchange ecosystem policy to manage the Baht.  Net portfolio outflow for Thai investors (retail and institutional) rose to USD17.8 billion Baht in Q4 2020 compared with an average of USD3.1 billion per year from 2010 – 2019.  The number of retail invstors in offshore markets also rose significantly as global economy recovered and the Bank of Thailand relaxed regulations on offshore investments.  Source:  Bangkok Post Krungthep Turakij

Headlines summary as of 29 June 2021

News

Newly confirmed case(s)	Total Cases	Patients under severe conditions and those using ventilators	Discharged from hospital	From 1 April, totally confirmed cases (third wave)	1st dose vaccine recipients (from 28 Feb)
4,662 (10 from prisons)	254,515 [last seven days: 29,150]	1,846/ 527	205,064	225,652	6,721,038 (+183,186) AZ: 148,192 SN: 25,623 SP: 9,371 10.15% of the population
Local transmission	From abroad	Being hospitalised/ in field-hospital/ quarantined	Confirmed cases in Bangkok	Death toll	Total vaccination (doses)	2nd dose vaccine recipients (from 28 Feb)
4,624 [3,683 (get tested in hospital) + 941 (active case finding)]	28 (in SQ)	47,481 [26,749 in field hospital]	70,993 (+1,692*new high)	1,970 (+36) [last seven days: 277]	9,416,972(+269,459) 14.22% of the population	2,695,934 (+86,273) AZ: 1,357 SN: 84,909 SP: 7 4.07% of the population

• The head of the National Security Council who concurrently heads the Operation Centre for the CCSA defended the timing of the order to close down construction sites and banning the dine-in services for Greater Bangkok provinces. He said the fact that the order was announced at 01.00am on 27 June Saturday showed how hard the CCSA and the government have been working to curb the spread. The NSC head said that the order to ban dine-in services are drawn upon advice and suggestions by senior medical lecturers at prestigious Mahidol and other medical schools.–Matichon
• The Deputy head of Thai FDA issued an urgent warning order of two Sinovac lots as the liquid vaccines are found to be in gel form. The gel does not dissolve even after shaking the bottle. Thai FDA suspects this happen due to the temperature during storage and transportation and had ordered the medical practitioners not to administer the vaccine should the gel is detected.—all media outlet
• Nida Poll asked Thai people on their confidence in the 120 Days PM pledge. 71.62 percent of the respondents are either totally disagree or disagree with the timeline to be realised. 69.19 percent of the respondents said that they will choose health safety over economic survival. The PM made pledge earlier in June that the Kingdom will open its door to international tourists in 120 days, provided that 70 percent of the population has received the first dose of the vaccine.—Nida Poll
• In order to relieve the Bangkok hospitals loads in treating covid patients in the capital, the Ministry of Public Health has introduced ‘Home Isolation’ programme for people under 60 years old who test positive for the coronavirus but are asymptomatic.  More information in English can be found at National News Bureau of Thailand

Politics

• Google took down two Google Maps documents on Monday that had listed the names and addresses of hundreds of Thai activists who were accused by royalists of opposing the monarchy. Thai royalist activist Songklod “Pukem” Chuenchoopol told Reuters that when each of his team sees something offensive posted on social media, we put it on the map for psychological warfare purposes.–Reuters
• It is a perfect storm for the PM unpopularity as the timing and the means of communication of the latest lockdown measures angered many people, particularly the smaller restaurants.
  • The hashtags #PrayuthGetOut and #นะจ๊ะNaja (the colloquial the PM usually use to soften things up) reigned on Twitter Top trending over the weekend with contents involved harsh criticism against the PM of making jokes about ‘take home only’ policy for restaurant with the Take Me Home, Country Road song. —Matichon
  • Krungthep Turakij viewed the order to make all Covid-related matters to be under the PM’s ‘single command’ as the PM’s political suicide. Now there has been no minister from the coalition, not to mention the main ruling PPRP MPs come out to defend or protect the PM in his latest decisions which stir anger among the population.—Krungthep Turakij
  • The Minister of Interior has asked for understanding in the government communication saying that the pandemic situation is complex and difficult to solve.–Matichon
  • The Deputy PM Prawit has asked for understanding from the people saying the PM has been almost exhausted to death in dealing with the pandemic and has asked for people cooperation.—Krungthep Turakij
• Main Opposition Pheu Thai Party MP held a press conference saying that there is a group of Senators going to file a case to the Constitutional Court to abolish the Charter Rejig proposal by the Democrat Party.—Prachachat Turakij
  • A vocal Senator Wanchai Sornsiri dismissed the Opposition MP’s allegation. He said the concern that to change the electoral system will go beyond the proposal scope will need to be dealt with in the second reading (Commission level).—Krungthep Turakij
• The anticipated Bangkok governor candidate Chadchart Sittipunt did a teleconference to members of the Opposition Pheu Thai Party reaffirming his stance as independent candidate. The party has recruited all their Bangkok District Council candidates and will support Chatchat despite his position as independent. The former Transport Minister said should he got elected as the BMA governor, he will continue working with Pheu Thai Party.—Prachachat Turakij
• A conservative anti-government ‘People of Thailand’ group filed a case with the Election Commission to dissolve the PPRP as the main ruling party nominated Captain Thammanat as its secretary-general. The group said the secretary-general’s jail term in Australia went against the political ethics.—National Thai Agency

Analysis/opinion

• Sudarat Keyuraphan, the President of the freshly established Sarng Thai Party, gave an interview to Nation TV analysing the power game of the PM. The former chief strategist of the main Opposition Pheu Thai Party said the PM will not dissolve the House before October 2022 whilst the Kingdom remains struggling to cope with the pandemic and economic downturns.  Sudarat said she does not see much significance in the PM earlier signal that the government will stay on power for one more year, considering the PM nature of being so fluctuated and always changed his pledges. She said that the nomination of Captain Thammanat as the party secretary-general is to keep election in check should there is any accident.—Krungthep Turakij
• Krungthep Turakij regarded the relatively ‘inaction’ by the government spokesperson as his attempt to save his political career from being fallen with the PM popularity. It is reported that there were times when media reached out to the government spokesperson to clarify on controversial issues, but the spokesman did not reply.—Krungthep Turakij

Economic:

CPTPP

• On 24 June, Foreign Affairs Ministry (MFA)’s International Economic Policy Committee was scheduled to present to the cabinet the result of its studies regarding Thailand’s negotiation for CPTPP accession.  However, an anonymous source from the Committee said it is not known when the cabinet will consider the issue as there is a long backlog of other urgent issues.  Source: Bangkok Post
• In the week leading up to 24 June, the MFA’s International Economic Policy Committee organised a focus group for the media and academics on CPTPP accession.   The roster of spokespeople, from representatives of the MFA, Agriculture and Commerce Ministries to Chulalongkorn University, expressed support for Thailand to join the trade pact or else lose its competitiveness in the global trade and investment arena.   MFA insists the government is devising remedial measures, such as the FTA fund, to ensure fair compensation for the afflicted.  Source:  Matichon
• The Consumer Council of Thailand submitted a letter to the cabinet on 27 June, proposing that Thailand defer joining CPTPP.  The letter listed the 10 disadvantages of Thailand acceding to CPTPP, particularly the irrevocable impacts on agricultural and pharmaceutical sectors.  Source:  Isra News
• In this opinion piece, veteran journalist Kavi said that the government should stop procrastinating and make a decision whether or not Thailand should join CPTPP.  He criticised the numerous governments in power for lacking the courage to make a decision on CPTPP due to the high stakes involved.  Source:  Bangkok Post

Relief Package

After convening an urgent meeting with his economic team, PM Prayut and NESDC announced the launch of the 7.5-billion-Baht relief package to ease the impacts caused by the latest semi-lockdown restrictions in Bangkok and 5 surrounding provinces.  Of this figure, 4 billion Baht will be allocated from the 1 trillion Baht loan and 3.5 billion Baht from the Social Security System.  The package will be presented to the cabinet for approval today.  In summary:

·         Employees registered with the social security system will be paid 50 percent of the wage, with the ceiling of 7,500 Baht.  Employees with Thai nationality will receive an additional 2,000 Baht from the government.  Employers will receive 3,000 Baht per employee under their employment.

·         Unregistered employers and employees are urged to register with Social Security System to be entitled to its compensations.  Newly-registered employees will receive of 2,000 Baht per head and employers 3,000 Baht per employee under their employment. 

·         Restaurant operators who are unable to register with Social Security because they have no employees are entitled to receive 3,000 Baht, but are required register through the Theung Ngern application under the Khon La Kreung government co-payment scheme. 

·         The Thai Contractors Association has asked to buy meal boxes from food shops that are members of the Thai Restaurant Association for delivery to the 100,000 construction workers who are locked in their camps.  Sources:  Krungthep Turakij Bangkok Post

Others

• The government’s Kon La Krueng co-payment scheme and the Ying Chai Ying Dai e-voucher cashback rebate scheme will be implemented on Thursday 1 July as planned.  Source:  Bangkok Post
• The Bank of Thailand projected it may not be until Q1 of 2023 that the Thai economy rebound to pre-COVID level.  This is attributable to the series of COVID-19 outbreaks that have devastated tourism and related businesses across its value chain, in combination with the vaccination rollout that began in earnest just in June.  Overall, the Thai economy remains sound to withstand global volatility, given its high foreign reserve and low external debt level.  Source:  Naew Na
• Restaurants and eateries bemoaned the government’s sudden ban on dine-in at restaurants, which was announced at 1 am on Saturday night before coming into force on Monday morning.  Restaurants said they should have been informed 5 days in advance to give them time to manage their stock.  Thai Restaurant Association noted eateries now face insurmountable hardship and said the government’s assistance is not sufficient for the several billions Baht of losses they will be facing in the next month.  Source: Bangkok Post
• The government’s move to suspend activities at construction sites and to lock down workers’ camps for 30 days is anticipated to cost 100 billion Baht (0.66 percent of GDP) on the construction sector, which contributes to 8 percent of GDP annually.  It is also expected to incur 30-40 billion Baht of loss in housing transfers, chipping away at the property market has a multiplier effect of 2.8 – 3 times of the economy.  Source:  Bangkok Post
• The Thai stock market has rebounded this morning following a sharp plunge in the past 8 days, with the SET Index rising 10 points to hover at 1590 points.  The market has adjusted better to the government’s semi-lockdown measures, with the exception of sectors such as construction and restaurants that remain hard hit.  The Baht continues to depreciate to the lowest level in 1 month, at 32 Baht/USD.  Meanwhile, export stocks in the SET are anticipated to gain, such as electronics, food and agriculture.  Source:  TNN Wealth fb page, 29 June 2021

Headlines summary as of 24 June 2021

News

Newly confirmed case(s)	Total Cases	Patients under severe conditions and those using ventilators	Discharged from hospital	From 1 April, totally confirmed cases (third wave)	1st dose vaccine recipients (from 28 Feb)
4,108 (229 from prisons)	232,647 [last seven days: 24,896]	1,564/ 445	191,355	203,784	6,017,424 (+172,903)AZ: 147,064SN: 25,8399.09% of the population
Local transmission	From abroad	Being hospitalised/ in field-hospital/ quarantined	Confirmed cases in Bangkok	Death toll	Total vaccination (doses)	2nd dose vaccine recipients (from 28 Feb)
3,865 [2,835 (get tested in hospital) + 1,030 (active case finding)]	14 (in SQ)	39,517 [26,197 in field hospital]	63,835 (+1,359)	1,775 (+31) [last seven days: 220]	8,400,320(+251,985)12.69% of the population	2,382,896 (+79,082)AZ: 1,865SN: 77,2173.60% of the population

•             Earlier this morning saw a tragic event when a man who was reportedly just relieved from conscription term raid into a field hospital in Bangkok suburb Pathum Thani and kill a Covid patient with a gun. The suspect who was wearing military uniform is still on the loose and the motive of the crime remains unknown. The police suspected that the shooter and the patient did not know each other.—All media outlet

    Latest: the police has surrounded a house in Ranong province that the suspect is hiding and has asked the suspect to turn himself in.

    It is reported that the same person shot dead a convenience store staff in Lad Prao district and proceed on to shooting a convenience store in Pathum Thani, before the hospital incident. The suspect used a white Isuzu car with plate 3ฒข6233 and is spotted in the Southern province of Chumpon.

    Wassana Nanuam, the army reporter, reported citing deputy army spokesperson that the suspect is not the Army personnel.—Wassana Nanuam

•             CCSA announced that so far there have been 99 clusters on alert in 42 (out of 50) districts in Bangkok. 

•             A lot more doctors are voicing their concerns that the Covid treatment regime in the capital is on the verge of collapse as there have been more infections in the capital than the systems can accept.

    This morning the Director-general of the Medical Services Department gave an interview saying that they are reducing the day of treatment from 14 to 10 days and will ask graduate medical students in Bangkok and nurses from all over the province to help sustain the system.—Inside Thailand

    Dr Nithipat, chief of prestigious Siriraj Hospital’s Division of Respiratory Disease and Tuberculosis Department, warned that with the rate of current infection, it is very likely that the daily case could skyrocket to five digits. The doctor warned on his social media that “there are not that many options left” and called for at least seven days lockdown of the capital, the epicentre of the pandemic.—Khao Sod

    Bangkok CBD Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital announced that their Covid testing centre will suspend service for three days (until 27 June) as there are no more slots for new patient.—Prachachat Turakij

    A vocal pro-government Dr Yong Poovorawan at Chulalongkorn University hinted that in order to fully curb the infection in Thailand which now has more of the so-called ‘Indian variant’, the authority should expedite the second AZ jab or should seek to administer the third jab for people who got vaccine which would bring about lower rate of immunity.—Thai Rath

•             The head of the National Security Council who concurrently head a lock-down committee in CCSA said that the CCSA is considering on possibility of the seven day lockdown as proposed by some doctors, but concerned that the tough measure will affect ordinary people. General Nuthhaphol said that the CCSA will intensify the measures.—Krungthep Turakij

•             Princess Chulabhorn has given Chinese Sinopharm vaccines to related agencies to inoculate Thai citizen. The vaccine was brought in by Chulabhorn Royal Academy. The Chinese vaccine was brought in the Kingdom on 20 June.—Krungthep Turakij

Politics

•             At the Parliament, there have been various developments:

•         On Coalition side:

    It is a no-go for the main ruling Palang Pracharat Party (PPRP) constitutional refuge proposal to amend Section 144 and 185 as the government spokesperson said that the PM has voiced his disapproval of the amendment saying that the two sections underlined the very principle of the current anti-corruption Constitution.—Krungthep Turakij

    Deputy PPRP leader MP Paiboon said that the party will not push for the revision, but ask for the Senator to pass their proposal in the first reading and promise to make minor change in the two sections.—Khao Sod

    Pro-government Royalist Party Thai Bhakdhi leader gave an interview saying that the ruling PPRP proposal is not politically feasible and would undermine the anti-corruption principle of the Constitution.—Inside Thailand

    For background, Section 185 prohibits MPs and senators from using their position or influence to interfere for their own interest or the interest of a political party either directly or indirectly while Section 144 forbids lawmakers from increasing the annual budget expenditure bill. All they are permitted to do is trim the budget amounts during the scrutiny stage.—Thai Enquirer

•         On Opposition side:

    The Opposition whip from the main opposition Pheu Thai Party said that the Opposition will allow ‘free-vote’ for the Opposition MPs to vote based on their conscience.—Krungthep Turakij

•             On 24 June 2021, the 89th commemoration of the revolution which overthrew the absolute monarchy regime in Siam, is a day where there are a numbers of gathering against the government.

    Student-led protest gathered at the Democracy Monument at dawn juxtaposing the revolution back in 1932. The protest leaders read the ‘People Party Decoration’ underlining that the country belonged to the people, not to the royalty.—Thai Rath

    A group led by former PDRC leader Nitithorn Lamlua is going to gather around the government house and is eyeing to submit a petition to dissolve PPRP party.—Nation TV

    A group led by former Red-Shirt protest leader said that PM Prayut tenure in the position is going to finished within three months and vow to gather around the Government House at 7.00pm.—Thai Rath

•             The Thai joint armed force meeting approved the Thai-American joint military training Cobra Gold is proceeding in July and August with lesser participants to abide by the pandemic prevention measures.—Matichon

Economic:

• The Bank of Thailand (BOT) maintained a policy rate of 0.50 percent at the Monetary Policy Committee meeting yesterday as it continues to adopt an accommodative monetary policy.  Sources: Bank of Thailand press release
• BOT also lowered Thailand’s 2021 GDP forecast to +1.8 percent from +3 percent if the third COVID-19 outbreak is contained in Q3 2021 and herd immunity attained by early 2022.  Export is expected to surge by +17.1 percent but weighing down on recovery is the foreign tourist arrivafigure that is estimated at 700,000, down from 3 million.  The pandemic will have a prolonged effect on the labour market, leading to a slow and uneven W-shape economic recovery.  The next 4-5 months is pivotal as it is a race between vaccine rollout and virus mutation.  During this time, the government must implement stimulus measures to rev up the economy, while financial institutions must step up in extending loans to the afflicted.  BOT revised down its GDP projection for 2022 to +3.9 percent from +4.7 percent. Sources: Krungthep Turakij  Bangkok Post  
• Fitch Ratings (Thailand) had revised down Thailand’s 2021 GDP to +1.8 percent and in 2022 by +4.2 percent.  This is largely because the government did not impose a strict lockdown to contain the third COVID-19 outbreak, which is causing a fall in economic activities.  Fitch maintains Thailand’s credit rating at BBB+/stable, supported by Thailand’s robust external and public finances.  Sources:  Khao Sod  Bangkok Post
• At the seminar Empowering Thailand 2021, the Thai Chamber of Commerce (TCC) heralded PM Prayut’s plan to reopen Thailand in 120 days or mid-October.  TCC anticipates foreign arrivals to spend about 50-100 billion Baht from Oct-Dec, which will hike up GDP by +0.3 percent, making it possible for Thailand’s 2021 GDP to grow from +0.8 to +2.3 percent.  TCC advises the government to start building confidence of all sectors in the reopening plan.  TCC also called for the government to accelerate the rollout of assistance measures to hotels in the period leading up to the reopening.  Source:  Matichon  
• At the same seminar, Transport Minister Saksayam said the government is speeding up plans on the southern land bridge megaproject as part of the plan to make Thailand a logistics hub in ASEAN.  The land bridge is poised to connect the Gulf of Thailand with the Andaman Sea while bypassing the Strait of Malacca.  Transport Ministry expects to finalise the whole picture of the project next year.  The project is drawing interest from foreign investors and investment could benefit the Eastern Economic Corridor provinces.  Source:  Bangkok Post
• PM Prayut met with the Federation of Thai Industries, Thai Chamber of Commerce, Thai Bankers’ Association and the Federation of Thai SMEs yesterday.  They asked the PM to assist struggling SMEs, proposing that banks introduce new loan approval based on SMEs’ opportunity at making profit.  Qualifications of the loan applicants are to be considered based on their collaterals without checking their credit with the National Credit Bureau.  They also asked the government establish a new fund to assist SMEs, particularly those with NPLs.  Source:  Bangkok Post  Krungthep Turakij
• Thailand’s international arrivals to are estimated to remain the same as last year, at 6-7 million provided that the Phuket sandbox launch is successful and Thailand could reopen in October, noted the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).  Recovery to 2019 levels might not happen until 2023 with 41.7 million international arrivals under the best-case scenario.  Source:  Bangkok Post
• Of the 550,000 restaurants operating in Thailand, some 50,000 have shut down temporarily and permanently, with another 50,000 poised to close if they cannot access the state’s financial assistance within July, according to the Thai Restaurant Association (TRA).  TRA’s latest survey on the Bank of Thailand’s asset warehousing scheme revealed that 90 of its member hotels are keen to join, but only 62 are eligible.  Of this figure, BOT had given approval to 4 hotels, approvals are still pending for 22 hotels and no decisions were made on 34 hotels.
• Thai Hotel Association’s survey conducted on 217 hotels in May revealed that only 38 percent remain in operation, 41 percent have partially closed and 20 percent have shut down permanently.  Some 63 percent of the hotels that remain in operation said their income had not recovered to even 10 percent of pre-COVID level.  In June, more hotels are anticipated to close down and some may re-open in Q4.  Source:  Krungthep Turakij

Headlines summary as of 22 June 2021

News

Newly confirmed case(s)	Total Cases	Patients under severe conditions and those using ventilators	Discharged from hospital	From 1 April, totally confirmed cases (third wave)	1st dose vaccine recipients (from 28 Feb)
4,059 (75  from prisons)	225,365 [Past seven days: 23,101]	1,479/ 410	187,836	196,502	5,678,848 (+152,809) AZ: 125,890 SN: 26,919 8.58% of the population
Local transmission	From abroad	Being hospitalised/ in field-hospital/ quarantined	Confirmed cases in Bangkok	Death toll	Total vaccination (doses)	2nd dose vaccine recipients (from 28 Feb)
3,963 [2,257 (get tested in hospital) + 1,706 (active case finding)]	21 (in SQ)	35,836 [25,669 in field hospital]	61,520 (+1,154)	1,693 (+35) [Past seven days: 208]	7,906,696 (+227,639) 11.94 % of the population	2,227,848  (+74,830) AZ: 1,853 SN: 72,977 3.36 % of the population

• The CCSA said that despite having a cluster in the surrounding provinces, the centre has made a contingency plan to postpone or cancel ‘Phuket Sandbox’ scheme providing that there are 90 newly confirmed cases per week in the Resort Island; or there are spread of the virus in three districts or six subdistricts; or there are three clusters; or there are more than 80 percent of hospitalisation rate. The CCSA has made four steps of the plan: reducing activities, sealed route, hotel quarantine and cancel Phuket Sandbox.
• The cabinet has approved the CCSA plan to pursue the ‘Phuket Sandbox’ scheme from 1 July and three islands (Samui, Pha-ngan and Tao) in Surat Thani from 15 July.—Krungthep Turakij
• The head of the National Security Council who concurrently working as the head of a CCSA sub-committee said that despite seeing an emerging cluster in the Southern province of Yala spreading to 11 provinces, the government flagship Phuket Sandbox (reopening Phuket on 1 July) is still ongoing as planned. General Natthapol said that the situation will be assessed again once the Deputy PM and Energy Minister visited the island to conduct a visit on 25 June.—Krungthep Turakij
• A vocal pro-government Dr Yong Poovorawan at Chulalongkorn University hinted that in order to fully curb the infection in Thailand which now has more of the so-called ‘Indian variant’, the authority should expedite the second AZ jab or should seek to administer the third jab for people who got vaccine which would bring about lower rate of immunity.—Thai Rath

Politics

• The joint session of the passed the Referendum Bill with 611 voted for, 4 voted against and 2 abstains. The next step is for the PM to ascend this bill to the King for the royal signature.—The Standard
• On 23 to 24 June, the Parliament is also going to hold a heated vote on Constitutional Amendment:
  • Ruling Democrat Party leader reiterates their position to vote for eight constitutional rejig proposals presented by the Democrat and two other coalition parties. The Democrat leader said its MPs are going to vote for proposals to strip the NCPO hand-picked Senators’ power to join the lower house in voting for the PM.—Thai Rath
  • A Senator said that more than 100 Senators agreed on various issues regarding the constitutional amendment. The group thought that they will turn down the MPs proposal to strip Senators’ power in nominating the PM, but agreed upon the proposal to return to the mixed member majoritarian (MMM) system. The senator said that a majority of the Senate will pass the PPRP proposal to amend Article 144 which involve penalty of MPs or Senators in intervening in in nominating the public servants and will amend the content in the second reading.—Krungthep Turakij
• On 21 June, the freshly elected secretary-general of the main ruling Palang Pracharat Party (PPRP) gave his incumbent interview saying that the direction of the party is to become a one-party government and the party will introduce a new economic team who will also be the party strong point in the upcoming election. He said Deputy Labour Minister and PPRP treasurer Narumon is not on the economic team. Captain Thammanat said his ascension to the position does not mean he aspire for an ‘upgrade’ to become a minister.—Thai Rath, Krungthep Turakij
• Deputy PM Prawit warned protestors who are going to gather around the Government House on 24 June 2021 of violating the laws.—Thai Rath

Analysis/ opinion

• Thai Rath tried to connect the dots on the under-progressed Chinese high speed railway and the more procurement of Chinese vaccines. Thai Rath made an observation that why the Thai PM has to struck a deal with Chinese chargé d’affaires, but not the minister or someone at higher level to secure more vaccines, plus, why there has not been any Chinese Ambassador sent to be stationed in the Kingdom. The newspaper raised a question whether the under-progressed high-speed train projects might sour the Sino-Thai relations.—Thai Rath

Economic:

CPTPP

• Members of the Thailand Consumer Council in 32 provinces across the country submitted letters to their respective provincial authorities and local Commerce Ministry representatives to petition the government to slow down its submission of CPTPP negotiation request letter until the benefits of Thailand joining CPTPP are clearly established.  Sources:  Prachachart Turakij  Nation TV  Nation TV  Siam Rath
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ International Economic Policy Committee is scheduled to submit to the cabinet and PM Prayut its recommendations on Thailand’s accession to CPTPP on 24 June following a 50-day extension from the original deadline of 15 April 2021.  During this extension period, the Committee had held consultations with the private and public sectors on concerns related to CPTPP accession.  The latter comprises Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Digital Economy and Society as well as Ministry of Finance on issues ranging from remedial measures, free trade zone requirements and the security of Thailand’s agriculture sector and public health system. 
• MFA opined that Thailand may lose opportunities by not joining CPTPP now that the United Kingdom is starting its accession negotiation process.  Should the UK join the trade pact first, Thailand’s negotiations will become more difficult as it will need to negotiate with 8 rather than 7 member countries.  At the same time, South Korea, Taiwan and China have expressed interests in joining the trade pact, which will make it more difficult for Thailand to accede should it continue to delay its moves.  Ministry of Agriculture noted that while CPTPP will put Thailand’s farmers at a disadvantage due to the UPOV 1991 provision, these restrictions may also compel Thailand to innovate new plant varieties. Source:  The Standard 
• MFA recently convened a CPTPP Media focus group.  MFA told the media that Thailand should not dismiss the chance to accede to CPTPP and could submit its negotiation request letter to Japan as soon as it is ready, rather than at the CPTPP Committee meeting convened annually in August as previously understood.   This is because Japan had recently considered the UK’s negotiation request.  If UK succeeds in acceding to CPTPP, it could raise the standards required for Thailand to join the trade pact.  The new post-COVID19 trade rules and regulations would also make it harder for Thailand to join the Global Value Chain.  The MFA and Commerce Ministry do not expect the United States to re-join CPTPP in the near future since the US is more concerned with protecting and stimulating the domestic economy.  Source:  Krungthep Turakij
• Thailand and ASEAN countries plan to rev up discussions with Canada to establish a scope of negotiations for the ASEAN-Canada free trade agreement (FTA), ahead of the ASEAN-Canada Economic Ministers Meeting in September this year.  To this end, Commerce Ministry recently organised a webinar series to publicise the results of its studies on ASEAN-Canada FTA.  The studies disclosed that compared to CPTPP, the ASEAN-Canada FTA will strengthen the value chains among ASEAN countries as it offers more flexibilities in terms of customs rules and regulations.  ASEAN countries that are not CPTPP members will benefit from rules of origin agreement in the ASEAN-Canada FTA, which will increase their trade value by 1.4 billion USD.  Meanwhile, the ASEAN countries that are CPTPP members will see trade value go up by 546 million USD.  Commerce Ministry will also organize public hearings for ASEAN-Canada FTA from June 22-29.  Source:  Prachachart Turakij Bangkok Post

Others

• NESDC said the Thai government has much to do to improve its ranking in IMD’s world competitiveness index and achieve its goal of becoming second in ASEAN over the next few years.  In particular, Thailand needs to accelerate digitalisation to facilitate ease of doing business, upskill workers to, restructure the industrial sector to become an advanced industry and improve its education.  Source:  Bangkok Post
• Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) aims to offer city bubble and activity-based travel agreement in sandbox areas to ease quarantine requirements in Thailand and the visitor’s home country.  Travel bubbles under sealed routes can be conducted based on activities, such as wedding bubbles and baby bubbles for those seeking IVF treatment.  The target groups include travellers from Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Vietnam.  Source:  Bangkok Post
• TAT signed an MoU with the Thai Chamber of Commerce (TCC) to launch the Hug Thais project in Phuket to coincide with the island’s reopening under the sandbox model.  The project promotes locally-made products with the goal of helping local businesses and SMEs, in which both domestic and foreign tourists are eligible to receive discounts and cash voucher for purchases from the retail sector.  The project is anticipated to generate more than 100 billion Baht for the local economy within 6 months.  Source:  Manager Online