Headlines summary as of 29 March 2021

 News

• Updates related to COVID-19 (as of 28 March):

Newly confirmed case(s)	Total Cases	Provinces with confirmed cases	Discharged from hospital	From 15 Dec, totally confirmed cases
77	28,734	66	27,239 (at 94.80%)	24,497
Local transmission	From abroad	Being hospitalised/ in field-hospital/ quarantined	Confirmed cases in Bangkok	Death toll	Accumulated cases from active case finding
58 [32 (get tested in hospital) + 26 (active case finding)]	19 (in SQ)	1,401	2,133 (+32: 12 from active case finding)	94 (+1)	16,040

• On Friday, the CCSA has approved the Phuket province plan to open its resorts to international tourists without quarantine from 1 July onwards. As, the Southern beach resort has not witnessed any local transmission for more than 90 days. The proposed scheme is to allow vaccinated tourists with negative covid test results to enter the island, providing that population on the province have sufficient rate of inoculation. The President of Thai Chamber of Commerce believe that during the reopening, there will be 100,000 tourists travelling to the province.–Prachachat, Reuters
• The Ministry of Public Health has put private hospital advertisement of covid vaccine on hold as it is against the law to have medical facilities to open for vaccine reservation.—Thai Rath

Politics

• Yesterday, the police cracked down a minor protest site next to the Government House for two times. At dawn, the police cleared the protest site. After that protestors called for support to take the site back before being cracked down again by the Riot Control Police.—Krungthep Turakij
  • Wassana Nanuam, Army reporter, posted on her FB that the reason why the crackdown occurred yesterday was that the new cabinet is scheduled to take a group photo in the Government House lawn this Tuesday. Security forces concern that the protestors which has been camping there for quite some times will yell at the cabinet. And it is also reported that the PM has ordered the police to clear the protest site as the yelling disturb his work concentration.—Wassana Nanuam
  • A group of protestor is going to gather in front of the Government House on Tuesday when the cabinet is going to take a group photo.—Krungthep turakij
• Nida poll released it latest political popularity poll where PM Prayut remains on the second most popular candidate for the country leader, followed by former Pheu Thai Chief Strategist Sudarat. Meanwhile, main Opposition Pheu Thai party remains on the second most favourable party Thai people support, followed by main ruling Palang Pracharat Party, Move Forward and Democrat. The popularity of the PM dropped by two percent from the latest poll late last year. On both the candidates and political parties, ‘do not support any of the choice’ secured the top of the chart.—Nida Poll
• The Royal Gazette published a Royal Decree to hold special Parliamentary session on 7 April.—Royal Gazette

Myanmar

• On Sunday, around 3,000 ethnic Karen villagers fled to Mae Hong Son province in Thailand following air attacks by the Myanmar army on an area held by KNU. It is reported that the villagers fled as there were rumours that the Myanmar army would strike again on 28 March.–Matichon And it is reported that there have been at least 2,000 people sought asylum in UNHCR on the Thai side.–PPTV, Bangkok Post
• On the Myanmar Army Establishment Day, there were delegates from eight countries attended the military parade, including Thai Army representative. On the same day, there was a report that the Army killed 114 protestors.—Krungthep Turakij
• Former Deputy PM and FM Surakiart Sathirathai came out to comment that the situation in Myanmar is too violent to claim ASEAN’s non-interference principle. The former Thai top diplomat said he concerns that Bangkok inaction in such a mass violation of human rights will tarnish Thailand image in the international community. He proposed Bangkok to conduct ‘Quiet Diplomacy’ having Myanmar Army to hold talks with Aung San Suu Kyi.–Matichon

Economic

• Here’s the updated timeline of welcoming international tourist back to the Kingdom—Krungthep Turakij, Than Settakij
  • Phase 1 from 1 April-30 June:
    • Minister of Tourism and Sports had outlined the Area Quarantine scheme which will ease up the quarantine timing. For tourists with vaccination, the quarantine will be down to 7 days; 10 days for unvaccinated tourists and 14 days for tourists from high-risk countries.
    • The scheme will be tested in 5 provinces spearheading by Phuket and followed by Krabi, Phang-Nga, Chiangmai, Koh Samui and Pattaya.
  • Phase 2 from 1 July-30 September:
    • Sandbox model with a potential ‘travel bubble’ between city-to-city or island-to-island.
    • The scheme will be held in Phuket, Koh Samui and Chiang Karn in Loei.
    • For Phuket, any vaccinated tourist can enter the island wihtput the need to quarantine from 1 July onwards.
    • This phase will attract tourists from China, UK, Singapore, UAE, Israel and Russia. And from 1 October, the scheme will includes tourists from India, Australia, China, Russia and UK.
  • Phase 3 from 1 October onwards:
    • No Quarantine but with vaccine certificate and tracking systems.
    • On conditions that more than 70 percent of medical staffs got vaccinated.
• Deputy Government spokesperson said that the government will sign three contracts relating to the Thai-Sino high-speed train project between Bangkok and Nakhon Ratchasima today. The contracts will be signed by the State Railway of Thailand’s governor and the contracting parties.—Bangkok Post
• Yesterday, the government spokesperson conveyed the usual PM weekend message that The government stands ready to help businesses affected by a giant container ship blocking the Suez Canal in Egypt as the supply chain in many countries is beginning to feel the pinch from the blockage.—Bangkok Post

Headlines summary as of 24 March 2021

News

• Updates related to COVID-19:

Newly confirmed case(s)	Total Cases	Provinces with confirmed cases	Discharged from hospital	From 15 Dec, totally confirmed cases
69	28,346	66	26,873 (at 94.80%)	24,109
Local transmission	From abroad	Being hospitalised/ in field-hospital/ quarantined	Confirmed cases in Bangkok	Death toll	Accumulated cases from active case finding
61 [44 (get tested in hospital) + 17 (active case finding)]	8 (in SQ)	1,381	1,892 (+43: 13 from active case finding)	92 (+0)	15,846

• As Bangkok health authority keep on active case findings, the cluster in the Bang Kae district market is still significant, today health authority flags 61 newly confirmed cases and 4,768 cases awaiting results.–Prachachat
• Yesterday, the cabinet had the resolution to file Thai iconic food ‘Tomyum Kung’ as the intangible cultural heritage to UNESCO. The Culture Minister said that this enlistment will create a positive image for Thai food.–Prachachat

Politics

• The student-led protest will hold the demonstration at Ratchaprasong Intersection from 5.00pm. Today’s protest is organised by United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration and have minor protest leaders as the main speakers.
  • It is reported that the UFTD pick today as a day of mass gathering as the attorney-general may file arrest request to the court on the monarchy defamation charges. This will be the last chance the main figures will walk free.—Inside Thailand
• HM the King has officially endorsed the new portfolios as three ministers were out of position due to a court verdict.—see attached for the new cabinet
  • Trinuch Thienthong (PPRP MP) as the Education Minister
  • Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn (PPRP MP) as the Digital Economy Minister
  • Sinit Lertkrai (Democrat MP) as the Deputy Commerce Minister
  • Weerasak Wangsupakitkosol (Bhumjaithai MP) as the Deputy Transport Minister
  • The Democrat Party and Bhumjaithai Party swapped their portfolio (earlier Democrat held the Deputy Transport Minister post and Bhumjaithai held Deputy Commerce Minister post).—all media outlet
• In response to the dense reports that the Interior permanent secretary setting up a spare party as an alternative to the main ruling PPRP, there have been reactions from main government figures:
  • The PM said he would like to focus on this government before thinking of the next government. He affirmed he still does not have the idea of setting a new political party.–Prachachat
  • Deputy PM and PPRP leader Prawit replied by saying “I don’t know.”–Prachachat
• It is reported that the government, in the weekly cabinet meeting, is eyeing to schedule an extraordinary parliament session on 7-8 April to discuss on different issues, including the postponed Referendum Bill.–Matichon
  • Deputy PM and the Government legal pundit said he personally thinks that the session is too early for the related agencies to amend the Referendum Bill accordingly.—Thai News Agency

Australia

• Bhumtham Wechayachai, advisor to the Pheu Thai leader, said after he met with Australian Ambassador to Thailand that the Australian envoy has concerns with the situation in Thailand and keep watching how Thailand could democratise and dissolve political conflict. Once the conflict dissolved, it will be beneficial to the investment and international cooperation.—INN News

Economic:

Cabinet’s Decisions, 23 March 2021

• Extend the third phase of Rao Tiew Duay Kun (We Travel Together) domestic tourism scheme to cover an additional 2 million people.  The scheme will run from May – August with stringent measures in place to prevent fraudulent activities.

• Approved the new Tour Tiew Thai domestic tourism scheme where the government will subsidise 40 percent (maximum 5,000 Baht) for travellers who purchased tour packages worth at least 12,000 Baht from tour companies.  The scheme targets 1 million people and will run from May- August.

• Acknowledged the Labour Ministry’s report on the social security Mor 33 Rao Rak Kan scheme, for which 1,000 Baht was disbursed to 5.7 million social security registrants, thereby generating 5.7 billion Baht for the economy.  Source: Naew Na

• Approved the Bank of Thailand’s (BOT) financial measures worth 350 billion Baht.  This is repurposed from the remaining sum of the BOT’s 500 billion Baht soft loan, which saw a low disbursement rate of 26.6 percent. 
• Soft loan (250 billion Baht) – it aims to help businesses, particularly hotels, revive and restart.  The terms of the soft loan were revised, such as by expanding the target group to include both new and existing borrowers, raise credit limits, lengthen loan tenors, amend interest rates and lengthen guarantee period.
• Asset warehousing scheme (100 billion Baht) – the measure encompasses the transfer of collateral assets for debt settlement.  It also giving debtors the right to rent their assets or buy back their assets at a later period. 

• Bank of Thailand (BOT) Governor Sethaput anticipates that the Thai economy will rebound to pre-COVID-19 levels in Q3 of 2022, with the recovery slow and uneven as tourism remains sluggish.  The number of foreign tourists might return to normal levels in 4-5 years at the quickest.  Sources:  Bangkok PostKrungthep Turakij  Post Today

Tourism

• Airlines Association of Thailand said airline workers must be vaccinated within the next 2 months to coincide with the launch of Phuket’s tourism sandbox project, slated for July.  Inoculation of airline workers will boost the rebound in tourism and therefore the economy.  Source: Bangkok Post

• Tourism Department has launched Safety Zone projects, with the goal being to pioneer 5 types of safe and clean zones for tourists in accordance with the new norm.  The project will debut in 5 areas comprising Ban Saen beach in Chonburi province, old town zone in Nan province as well as Yaowarat area and Asiatique shopping mall in Bangkok.  If successful, the Safety Zone projects will be implemented throughout Thailand.  Source:  Khao Sod

Others

• Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor (GWM) plans to start production of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) at its manufacturing plant in Thailand by 2023, given that Thailand is expected to become a major EV production base.  GWM is also in talks with partners including the state energy authorities as well as real estate developers and shopping malls to expand the number of charging stations to serve BEV drivers.  Source:  Bangkok Post

• Due to the pandemic, some 10,000 Village Funds with over 40,000 members are unable to repay their debts, which are at risk of becoming NPLs.  DPM Supattanapong instructed the Government Savings Bank and Bank of Agriculture and Cooperatives to negotiate with the Village Funds to offer assistance to these debtors to prevent them from going bankrupt.  Sources: Krungthep TurakijBangkok Post

• The Agriculture Department plans to regulate the use of hemp and cannabis seeds, saying importers must seek permission from the department.  Source:  Bangkok Post

Headlines summary as of 23 March 2021

News

• Updates related to COVID-19:

Newly confirmed case(s)	Total Cases	Provinces with confirmed cases	Discharged from hospital	From 15 Dec, totally confirmed cases
401	28,277	66	26,766 (at 94.66%)	24,040
Local transmission	From abroad	Being hospitalised/ in field-hospital/ quarantined	Confirmed cases in Bangkok	Death toll	Accumulated cases from active case finding
383 [46 (get tested in hospital) + 337 (active case finding)]	18 (in SQ)	1,419	18,49 (+352: 323 from active case finding)	92 (+1 a 75-year-old Thai male with health conditions)	15,829

• 318 out of 401 newly confirmed cases are from the active case findings in an Immigration Bureau Office in Bang Khaen.
• Deputy PM and Public Health Minister Anutin said prior to the weekly cabinet meeting that he will take the second Sinovac jab today. The top health official informed the press that the Thai-developed vaccine as produced by GPO is making progress and have been inoculated in more than 100 volunteers. The vaccine is expected to be deployed next year.–Reuters, Krungthep Turakij, Matichon

Politics:

• HM the King has received all the injured from the violence on 20^th March protest under the King’s patronage.—all media outlet
• Cancel culture remains salient in Thai politics with the new campaign to boycott hotpot chain MK Suki for their continual support of the right-wing Top News outlet.–Prachachat
  • The son and daughther of the Higher Education Minister from the royalist Action Coalition for Thailand (ACT) Party posted their photos eating MK dismissing the ban.–Matichon
  • Background: Top News is a new online television outlet pledged to protect and uphold the monarchy. Many of its anchor left Nation TV earlier when the TV channel was under boycott for their reports on the pro-democracy protests.

Analysis/opinion:

• It is reported that as the Parliament has passed half of its term, the inner circle of the government is eyeing to set up a new political party as the intra-party conflicts in the main ruling Palang Pracharat Party (PPRP) is beyond repair. Deputy PM and PPRP leader Prawit is reportedly told Interior Minister Anupong to set up the party as a spare party for the upcoming election and the Interior permanent secretary is set to lead the party after this retirement in September.—Krungthep Turakij

Economic:

Australia

• Australia is evacuating thousands of civilians from the state of New South Wales, which is being inundated by the worst flood in 60 years.  Sources:  Matichon Khao Sod

Tourism

• Tourism Authority of Thailand will submit the Phuket Tourism Sandbox model for CESA’s approval on this Friday 26 March.  Similarly to the travel bubble scheme, the sandbox model will allow tourists from designated countries to fly directly to Phuket without quarantine requirements from 1 July onward.  The first batch of tourists could possibly come from China or long-haul markets. Phuket will test this model before Thailand reopens its borders in October.  Phuket Tourist Association estimates the sandbox scheme will bring in 84.3 billion Baht to the island.  Sources:  Bangkok Post Khao Sod

• At the Thailand Tourism Forum 2021, hoteliers pressure the government to speed up the COVID-19 vaccination timeframe and use an emergency decree to allow companies to quickly import and administer the vaccines.  Hoteliers demand the government roll out a concrete vaccination roadmap and digitise the paperwork needed for tourists to enter Thailand.  Reopening date should start on July rather than October, considering that 50 percent of hotel workers have already lost their jobs.  Source:  Bangkok Post

Others

• Economists contended that while Thailand will soon become a full-fledged ageing society, it is still stuck in the middle-income trap.  Thai households also have a low rate of savings.  TDRI’s survey found that only 0.5 percent of total households (120,000 families) in Thailand had an income exceeding 2.8 million Baht.  This is at odd with NESDC’s research that said those in urban areas will need a saving of 4.3 million Baht per household to have sufficient cash for the retirement age of 60.  Economists suggest the government reform the economy by integrating innovations and technologies, upskilling human labour and build up financial security for the elderly.  Source:  Bangkok Post

• Transport Ministry plans to launch three motorway projects worth a combined 83.52 billion Baht this year.  The first project is the Ekkachai-Ban Phaeo motorway in Samut Sakhon (19.7 billion Baht), followed by the Rangsit-Bang Pa-in motorway (28.13 million Baht) and lastly the Srinagarindra-Suvarnabhumi airport motorway (35.68 million Baht).  Sources: Bangkok Post Prachachat Turakij

• PM Prayut instructed Finance Ministry to accelerate the launch of fresh economic stimulus measures, as well as to extend existing stimulus packages, such as the third phase of the government co-payment subsidy scheme; the Rao Chana cash handout scheme; and Social Security Section 33 scheme.  Finance Ministry revealed Fiscal that spending through the government co-payment scheme almost reached 100 billion Baht, while the Rao Chana cash handout scheme amounted to 147 billion Baht.  It was reported that the supply of savings in the economy has increased since the pandemic struck, with DPM Supattanapong asking Finance Ministry to launch measures to stimulate spending and spur domestic econom.  Sources:  Krungthep Turakij  Bangkok Post

• Commerce Ministry signed MoUs with 36 state and private agencies to implement 16 measures to prevent the problem of fruit oversupply.  This year, the supply of fruit is expected to further increase by 23 percent to 5.4 million tonnes, especially pineapples.  Source:  Bangkok Post

• Thai-Chinese joint venture SAIC Motor-CP aims to bolster the MG brand’s foothold in the Thai electric vehicle (EV) industry by increasing investment in battery production for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV).  The company will increase battery production capacity to 700-800 units per month, up from 300-400 units under the PHEV Battery Shop project to be carried out at its car manufacturing plant in Chon Buri.  Source:  Bangkok Post

• Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) eyes a 4 percent growth for its farm lending scheme to 69 billion Baht for this financial year.  BAAC will build up a social safety net for farmers and farming communities with networking partners to upgrade farm products and services; invest more in R&D, marketing and social and environmental care.  Source:  Bangkok Post

Headlines summary as of 22 March 2021

News

• Updates related to COVID-19:

Newly confirmed case(s)	Total Cases	Provinces with confirmed cases	Discharged from hospital	From 15 Dec, totally confirmed cases
73	27,876	66	26,663 (at 95.65%)	23,639
Local transmission	From abroad	Being hospitalised/ in field-hospital/ quarantined	Confirmed cases in Bangkok	Death toll	Accumulated cases from active case finding
64 [22 (get tested in hospital) + 44 (active case finding)]	7 (in SQ)	768	1,497 (+21: 13 from active case finding)	91 (+1 a 60-year-old Thai male with final stage lung cancer)	15,492

• As of Saturday 20 March, CCSA announced that Thai Health Authority has inoculated 69,927 people, almost half of which are health officials.
• Thai Health Authority has notified the public of the new cluster in construction site in Bangkok’s suburb Samut Prakarn province. As of yesterday, there have been 17 confirmed cases. The authority has detected this new infection group as they went to have a COVID test as required to extend work permit.–Prachachat, Bangkok Post
• Pattaya Mayor gave a media interview that the sea-side resort is going to open the city to international tourists from 1 April 2021. The mayor said the city will open for tourists who got the complete doses of quarantine. The vaccinated tourists will need to go on area quarantine for three days then can leave the city after 14 days.—Inside Thailand

Politics

• Yesterday was the birthday anniversary of the PM. The King gave the PM a flower vase on his birthday occasion.—Thai Rath
• The protest led by ReDem group turned violent as 13 police officers and 20 protestors got injured. The police announced they have apprehended 28 people, including two minors (14 and 15 years old).— Reuters
  • As reporters were shot with rubber bullet when the police cracked down protestors, media organisation issued a statement regarding the violence on 20 March calling for tolerance from all parties.—Thai Rath
  • Police said they have warned the media to leave the area as they are going to use rubber bullet, but the media did not leave. The Police also said that there is a report that the King’s portrait was being burn during the crack-down.—Thai Rath
  • Sudarat Keyuraphan, Sarng Thai Group President, said she did not agree with the violence used by the police. She said she could not think of a way to amend the constitution, after the third reading did not pass the Parliamentary vote.—Thai Rath
• It was reported repeatedly that current permanent secretary of the Interior Ministry who is going to retire this October will set up a new political party for the PM to take part in the next election. The permanent secretary is reported to set up “Ruam Thai Jai Sarng Chat” party as the main ruling Palang Pracharat Party is too conflictual to handle. The ‘rumour’ came high on bulletin as the perm-sec attended a Pheu Thai MP’s mother birthday ceremony.–Prachachat, Matichon, Than Settakij

ASEAN/World

• After a local media posted photos of Thai merchants with Thai security forces delivering 700 bags of rice and other food supply to Myanmar military as after the coup KNU had cut off the supply chain, the 4^th Infantry Commander denied the allegation saying the army does not involve in such delivery.—Thai Rath, Reuters

Economic:

CPTPP

• Commerce Ministry is chairing a meeting between the cabinet-appointed CPTPP subcommittee on Goods, Trade, Service & Investment and 29 government agencies today.  It is among the 8 sub-committees established by the cabinet on 5 February to provide recommendations on whether or not Thailand should accede to the CPTPP.  The cabinet-appointed committees will build on the work of a similar report previously compiled by the parliament-appointed CPTPP committee.  The cabinet-appointed committees are asked to submit their recommendations to the cabinet within 90 days, or by mid-April.  Sources:  Ban Muang Matichon

Tourism

• Phuket Tourist Association is pushing ahead with the proposal to reopen Phuket to foreign tourists without quarantine from 1 July.  Through the Phuket Tourism Sandbox scheme, the resort island must administer 933,174 doses of vaccines to a target population of 466,587, including Phuket residents, before April 15.  Public Health Ministry said it is possible to fulfill Phuket’s demands for 933174 doses of vaccines, provided that local production of Astra Zaneca vaccine could start mid this year. 

• Businesses on Bangkok’s Khao San Road expect to lose money after health authorities announce the banning of customary activities during the Songkran holiday.  Khao San Road Business Association anticipates a daily income of 10 million Baht from the 10,000 visiting tourists this year, compared  100 million Baht per day in the pre-COVID-19 period.  Sources:  Bangkok Post Kao Hoon

• Samui is being considered as the first destination to open to foreign arrivals under the Samui Wonder Island plan.  It will also mark the pilot launch of the Samui Sealed Route Model, in which tourists will be allowed to travel to specific destinations, but will not mingle with locals, if they are COVID19-free after 7 days of quarantine.  If the Ministry of Public Health approves of the plan, Samui will welcome the first batch of international tourists from Singapore on 1 July.  Source:  Post Today

Non-Tariff Barriers

• Customs Department is drafting measures similar to Non-Tariff Barriers to protect domestic SMEs from low-priced imports that are exempted from import tax and VAT.  Currently, the import of parcel posts worth 1,500 Baht or less are enjoying duty and VAT waivers, which has created an unlevel playing field for local SMEs.  The Revenue Department previously proposed that the tax waivers be removed, but Customs had dismissed the proposal on the basis that it is difficult to screen the content of the millions of parcels imported into Thailand every day.  Source:  Bangkok Post

Others

• The government forecasts that the ‘Made in Thailand’ scheme will generate 1.77 trillion Baht for the local economy.  The scheme requires that government uses at least 60 percent of local products in its state projects in a move to help local businesses and SMEs.  If the items sourced are steel and iron, the proportion is raised to 90 percent.  Businesses can join the scheme by submitting their applications to the Federation of Thai Industries.  They will be given with certificates, which companies could use to join the bidding for state projects.  Source: Bangkok Post

• On 23 March, Finance Ministry and Bank of Thailand will submit the revised Soft Loan Act to the cabinet.  The revisions were made to ensure the BOT’s 500 billion Baht soft loan is more accessible,  given that it reported a low uptake with only 133 billion Baht approved to 76,700 SMEs since April 2020.  MoF said the original Soft Loan Act was launched under the assumption that economic impacts of COVID-19 would be short-lived, but they must now be revised since the impacts are prolonged.  The revisions will incentivise commercial banks to provide loans and broaden its target group beyond SMEs to include larger companies.The revised Act also pave way for the implementation of asset warehousing concept.  Source:  Prachachart Turakij

• Thailand and the UK plan to sign an online MoU to set up a Joint Trade Committee on Commerce and Economic Cooperation on 29 March, paving the way for an FTA negotiation between Thailand and the UK after Brexit.  Source:  Bangkok Post

Headlines summary as of 12 March 2021

News

• Updates related to COVID-19:

Newly confirmed case(s)	Total Cases	Provinces with confirmed cases	Discharged from hospital	From 15 Dec, totally confirmed cases
81	26,679	63	26,056 (at 97.66%)	22,442
Local transmission	From abroad	Being hospitalised/ in field-hospital/ quarantined	Confirmed cases in Bangkok	Death toll	Accumulated cases from active case finding
67 [30 (get tested in hospital) + 37 (active case finding)]	14 (in SQ)	513	1,011 (+5)	85 (+0)	14,795

• Despite the prior arrangement for the PM and whole cabinet to take the Astra Zeneca jabs, it has been postponed until further notice. The Public Health Ministry held a press conference saying that as there have been postponements in many European countries due to potential side-effects of blood-clotting, Thailand health authority will postpone the AstraZeneca roll-out for the time-being.—all media outlet
• Thai Food and Drug Administration official told a media outlet that COVID vaccine Moderna will submit to Thailand its application for approval for its COVID-19 vaccine this month. Apart from the Moderna vaccine, India’s Bharat Biotech had started sending documents for registration of its vaccine.–Reuters
• Security apparatus are concerning that the escalating violent conflict in Myanmar is going to cause an exodus of refugees would spill into Thailand and potentially with the pandemic, considering the high infection rate in the neighbouring Myanmar. The PM is reportedly made an urgent order to the National Security Council to make a response plan.—Krungthep turakij

Politics

• Yesterday, the Constitutional Court made a ruling concerning the constitutionality of the charter rejig proposal that “parliament has the power to draw up a new constitution, though the people who hold the power to establish the constitution must first decide in a referendum whether they want a new one. If they decide they want a new charter and the draft of a new one is then completed, another referendum must be held for the people to endorse it.”—all media outlet (text from Bangkok Post)
  • With the verdict, the main debate is whether the first and second reading of the amendment motion is rendered nullified. If so, it needs to pass the referendum first before getting to step one again.
  • The Secretariat of The House of Representatives thinks that the Parliament can proceed with the third reading but has concerns with the timeframe of the referendum. The Constitution said that once the third reading is passed, the Decree to recruit the Constitutional Drafting Assembly needs to be in place within 30 days. With the verdict, the referendum needs to be done within 30 days, the secretariat said it is not possible in reality.—Thai Post
  • A vocal senator Somchai Sawaengkarn who proposed to file the motion to the Court has a different view saying that the Parliament cannot proceed to vote for the third reading.—Thai Post
  • A Senator who is concurrently serve as the spokesperson for the joint chambers committee on the charter rejig said that the first and second reading is no longer effective.This needs to go back to step 1.—Thai Post
  • The House Speaker said the first and second readings remain effective.—Thai Rath
  • An MP from the main ruling Palang Pracharat Party (PPRP) also said that this is up to the discussion in the extraordinary parliamentary session on 17 March, but personally he thinks the first and second readings are no longer effective and that the Parliament can’t proceed on to the third reading.—Thai Rath
  • The Coalition whip has the personal view that the third reading cannot be proceed.—Krungthep Turakij
  • The Opposition whip said that the third reading could be proceed but this is up to the House Speaker to decide on how to proceed.—Thai Rath
  • The Deputy PM and second largest ruling Bhumjaithai Party leader replied to the media inquiry whether he agreed with the verdict by saying “is there any other way? We needs to abide by the court verdict”.—Thai Rath
  • An MP from the ruling Chartthai Pattana Party and the secretary to the Charter Rejig sub-committee said that the verdict is in accordance with the current amendment process as the parliament is going to hold the referendum.—Krungthep Turakij

Economic:

Akara Mine

• The ‘Civic Group for Mineral and Gold Mining Reform’ handed a petition to PM Prayut, the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) and Anti-Corruption Committee, urging for them to investigate the claim that Akara gold mine now has ownership of the 44 plots of land which were granted Special Prospecting Licences (SPL) by the Thai government.  The civic group also asserted that these land was sold through an overseas stock market.  In response, Industry Minister Suriya verified that the granting of SPLs does not give Akara mine ownership of the land; rather it only grants Akara the right to explore for minerals, which can only be done also with the consent of the land’s owner (ie: the government).  The Thai government had taken to investigate the quarterly performance report of the Australia-based Kingsgate Consolidated Ltd and did not find any statement indicating that the company had taken ownership of the land.  DSI insists an investigation report looking into the practices of Akara Resources Plc has not disappeared.  Sources:  Thai Government website  Thai Rath   Bangkok Post  Thansettakij Prachachat Turakij

Others

• The Thai-Chinese Chamber of Commerce prepares to write to the CCSA to speed up the implementation of ‘vaccine passport’ scheme within March 2021 following the rolling out of Thailand’s inoculation scheme.  The forgoing of quarantine could help Thailand receive up to 8 million international arrivals, of which 2 million would be Chinese who trust Thailand as a safe destination and would start visiting as soon as April.  Sources:  Krungthep Turakij  Thai Rath

• According to a survey conducted by the Thai-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Chulalongkorn University, most Chinese businesses in Thailand (61 percent) are confident that more Chinese investments and tourists will flow into Thailand in Q2, given that the Chinese economy is anticipated to grow by 8 percent this year.  Some 85 percent of the respondents recognise tourism as the key factor in helping Thailand achieve a 1.5-2.5 percent growth this year.  They call for the government to have clarity on tourism reopening program.  Source:  Thansettakij

• The University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce reported that its consumer confidence index rose for the first time in 3 months in February to 49.4 from 47.8 in January due to the government’s economic stimulus measures and the promise of mass distribution of Covid-19 vaccines.  Source:  Bangkok Post

• The National Electric Vehicle Policy Committee is considering setting a new electric vehicle (EV) production target, where EVs will make up 50 percent of all car manufacturing by 2030 (1.25 million out of the total 2.5 million cars), up from the original target of 30 percent (750,000 cars). “The government will discuss the new EV target with state agencies and car manufacturers within March.  Additionally, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand is working with 6 major automakers — Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, MG, Nissan and Porsche to jointly develop EV charging infrastructure.  Source:  Bangkok Post

• The Japan-based Rating and Investment Information (R&I) maintained Thailand’s sovereign credit rating at A- with a stable outlook in support of the government’s economic policy framework and Thailand’s growth outlook.  R&I’s decision was made based on the government’s emphasis on developing high value-added industries and the EEC in kickstarting growth and attracting FDI.  Another factor is Thailand’s sound management of public finance and external finance, which aligns with the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2018.  Source:  Bangkok Post  National News Bureau of Thailand fb page, 12 March

• Thai Commerce Minister Jurin met with Canadian Ambassador HE Dr Sarah Taylor yesterday where they agreed to strengthen trade and investment.  They also agreed to speed up preparation for the ASEAN-Canada FTA talks.  Canada affirms it is ready to support Thailand to join the CPTPP.  Source:  Bangkok Post

Headlines summary as of 11 March 2021

News

• Updates related to COVID-19:

Newly confirmed case(s)	Total Cases	Provinces with confirmed cases	Discharged from hospital	From 15 Dec, totally confirmed cases
58	26,598	63	26,000 (at 97.76%)	22,361
Local transmission	From abroad	Being hospitalised/ in field-hospital/ quarantined	Confirmed cases in Bangkok	Death toll	Accumulated cases from active case finding
53 [17 (get tested in hospital) + 36 (active case finding)]	5 (in SQ)	513	1,006 (+12)	85 (+0)	14,758

• The Tourism and Sports Industry will make a proposal to the CCSA plenary meeting on 19 March introducing the ‘sandbox’ idea to allow international tourists to designated areas without quarantine. The ministry outlined four phases of the grand plan.—The Standard, Than Settakij, Krungthep Turakij

Time frame	April-May 2021	June-September 2021	October-December 2021	January 2022
Objectives	Increase the number of Area Quarantine	Increase the types of quarantine	Preparation for opening-up	Opening-up
Designated areas	Phuket, Surat Thani (Samui, Tao and Pha Ngan Islands), Krabi, Chonburi Chiang Mai and Bangkok	The entire country
Designated tourists	UAE, Israel, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, India and Russia	Vaccinated tourists/ from countries where there is more than 70% vaccinated rate
Quarantine schemes	14 Days (Day 0-3 In-room, Day 4-14 activities inside the hotel)	10 Days or less (Can enjoy activities inside hotel(s))	No quarantine or one day awaiting SWAB Test in areas that pass the public hearing.	Nation-wide no quarantine or only day 1 awaiting SWAB test result.

Politics

• The Constitutional Court is scheduled to deliver the verdict on the constitutionality of the charter rejig motion to set up a Constitutional Drafting Assembly.
  • The secretary-general of the main Opposition Pheu Thai Party said in a media interview that even though the Court makes the verdict to scrap the charter rejig motion, the Opposition will convene and expect to discuss this broadly with the Parliament. The Opposition will propose the motion to the Parliament again.—Inside Thailand
  • The Royal Gazette published the King’s order for the Parliament to convene for an extraordinary session on 17 March. The Parliament will convene to vote on the third reading of the motion.
  • The main ruling Palang Pracharat Party (PPRP) and Senate have joined hands to file the case to the court to make verdict into the matter.
• The issue of cabinet reshuffle is still on agenda:
  • The Coalition Democrat Party leader said that the third largest coalition has not submitted the portfolio lists. The party secretary-general will meet with the party’s executives on Friday to decide who will be eligible for the vacant position.—Krungthep Turakij
• On student-led protest fronts, the ‘March Through the Heaven’ group will call for an overnight march from the Democracy Monument to the Government House this Saturday from 2.00 pm.—Krungthep Turakij

ASEAN/World

• Thai MFA issued its statement on the situation in Myanmar.—Thai MFA

Economic:

• The Thai Chamber of Commerce (TCC) is working with the government to establish a mechanism for the private sector to procure COVID-19 vaccine.  TCC said the government has vaccinated only 30 percent of the population to date and should speed up the vaccination to an estimated 300,000 people per day or 10 million Thais per month.  Source:  Matichon newspaper, 11 March 2021

• Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) announced the Andaman sandbox concept, which will see some areas welcoming international tourists without quarantine in its 1^st phase in July, such a Phuket, Koh Ngai, Railway and Khao Lak.  The first arrivals could potentially come from China after Beijing said it will issue a digital COVID-19 vaccination certificate to its citizens to facilitate crossing borders.  This paves way for China and Thailand to exchange tourists via a quarantine-free program. The Association of Thai Travel Agents is hopeful that Thailand can receive 8 million Chinese visitors this year if Thailand could implement a travel bubble with China from June onward.  Source:  Bangkok Post

• Krungthai Bank’s Compass Research Centre noted that medical textile is a high-potential business in Thailand and across the Asia Pacific, with an estimated growth rate of 8.3 percent annually from 2020 – 2027 with value that could top 3 billion USD.  Medical textile is one of Thailand’s S-Curve industries and is being promoted by the Board of Investment.  Its popularity is reflected in BOI’s investment applications in this segment that increased by 4 times from 405 million Baht in 2018 to 2.5 billion Baht in 2020.  In the next 3-5 years, surgical face mask is expected to grow by 144 percent annually in the Asia Pacific.  Source:  Thansettakij  Naew Na

• The government should establish an SME Council to protect, strengthen and upgrade Thailand’s SMEs and MSMEs, asserted Worawoot Ounjai, former president of the Thai Retailers Association.  Thailand has 3 million SMEs and start-ups, with tourism SMEs making up half of all SMEs nationwide.  SMEs account for 32-35 percent of Thailand’s GDP, but they are currently ravaged by the pandemic and their rising credit risks make it hard for them to obtain bank loans.  Worawoot called out for the government to pay more attention to the small-scale businesses rather than the large conglomerates.  Source:  Siam Rath Bangkok Post

• In this oped, TDRI suggests that regulatory reforms could be another instrument to help Thailand rebound from the second wave of COVID-19.  This is because the government’s monetary and fiscal policies, ie: the Bank of Thailand keeping interest rate low and the government’s string of tax break and stimulus packages did little to boost the Thai economy.  The article pointed to TDRI’s Regulatory Guillotine project which advised that 85 percent (1,026 procedures) of the reviewed procedures could be amended or abolished.  This would save private sector’s and Thai people’s compliance costs by 133.8 billion Baht annually or 0.8 percent of GDP.  Source: Thailand Business News

• The Thai government is poised to sign an MoU to sell up to 1 million tonnes of rice per year in G2G deal with the Indonesian government in the last week of March.  Indonesia has been facing a shortage of domestic rice supplies, while Thailand is having difficulty exporting its rice because its price is more expensive that competitors’.  Source:  Bangkok Post

• According to Commerce Ministry (MoC), the Consumer Confidence Index for February 2021 increased to 45.5 from 43.2 in January 2021.  The index also indicated that consumers are more optimistic about the Thai economy in the coming months, with sentiment rebounding close to pre-COVID-19 level.  MoC attributes this to the vaccine rollout and the government’s stimulus packages.  Source:  Matichon Weekly The Standard

• The Thai Chamber of Commerce has been collaborating with its member companies, such as CP Oil, Lotus and Macro hypermarkets to buy and distribute vegetables and fruits across its retail outlets to alleviate the ongoing oversupply problem.  Source:  MCOT