Headlines summary as of 8 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
71	26,441	63	25,777 (at 97.49%)	22,204
Local transmission	From abroad	Being hospitalised/ in field-hospital/ quarantined	Confirmed cases in Bangkok	Death toll	Accumulated cases from active case finding
48 [41 (get tested in hospital) + 7 (active case finding)]	23 (in SQ)	579	992 (+1)	85 (+0)	14,688

• After the first week of vaccine roll-out, it is reported that 828 people out of 25,864 people have shown undesirable symptoms or equal to 3.2 percent. The first batch of vaccine is that of Chinese Sinovac.—Thai Rath

Politics

• Yesterday, the main ruling Palang Pracharat Party (PPRP) beat the coalition Democrat Party in the by-election in the Southern province of Nakhon Sri Thammarat by around 4,000 votes (unofficial numbers).—Krungthep Turakij
• On the weekend, there were a series of protests on both sides of the political camps:
  • On Saturday, there were four protests:
    • Monarchist vocational school students gathered in front of Central World Department Store pledging to resist all those anti-monarchists.—Thai Rath
    • Around 10 former Redshirt protestors who threatened to protest in front of the main ruling Palang Pracharat Party MP Sira Jenjaka ended up adjourned before being able to protest in front of the vocal MP house.—Thai PBS
    • ‘Marching Through the Heaven’ walked from the Northern suburb of Rangsit to Kasetsart University.
    • ReDem protestors gathered at Lad Prao intersection before marching to the Bangkok Criminal Court where protestors burn what they claimed to be rubbish. There were violence occurred before the gathering as Piyarat ‘Toto’, the leader of WeVolunteer Guard was captured without an arrest warrant.—all media outlet
    • The Metropolitan Police held a press conference later that the areest of Piyarat was due to the fact that the guard leader was about to instill violence.—Thai Rath
• The attorney-general has agreed to press charges against 18 main protest figures, 15 of which were charged with sedition; while, three of which (Panusaya ‘Rung’, Jatupat ‘Pai’ and Panupong ‘Mike’) were also charged with Article 112 lese majeste.–Matichon Krungthep Turakij
• Nida Poll issued its survey result of the who is the most desirable Bangkok Governor candidate. The survey result showed that 29.96 percent of the participants have not decide; 22.43 percent prefer former Transport Minister Chadchat; 15.51 percent prefer former police chief Chakthip; 7.68 percent prefer the current Governor. As for any candidate from political parties the popularity is rated from Pheu Thai (4.49%)-Move Forward Party or Progressive Movement (4.26%)-main ruling PPRP (3.27%) and Democrat (2.66%).—Krungthep Turakij

Economic:

Akara Mine

• The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) will investigate Akara Resources Plc after a civic group accused it of using proxy shareholders, which is an offence under the Foreign Business Act.  The ‘Civic Group for Mineral and Gold Mining Reform’ had made several accusations against the gold mine operator, such as charges that it operates a mine beyond its licensed zone, discharge of hazardous substances, money laundering and tax evasion.  Since 25 February, the DSI had established several committees to investigate these cases, with the proxy shareholder being the latest case to be taken up by the DSI.  Sources:  Bangkok Post   Thansettakij Matichon

Others

• Inflation declined by 1.17 percent YoY in February 2021, marking the 12^th consecutive month of decline.  Commerce Ministry (MoC) attributes this to the government’s measure to cut down on electricity and water charges to reduce people’s living cost during the pandemic outbreak from Feb to March.  Prices of fresh food also declined due to the increasing supply and lower base price.  However, fuel price increased while production capacity and consumption are picking up as export improves for the second straight month, with manufacturing capacity returning close to pre-COVID level.  As such, February’s core inflation increased by 0.04 percent YoY.  MoC projects the 2021 inflation will average at 1.2 percent.  Source:  Post Today Bangkok Post 

• Ministry of Tourism and Sports (MoST) held a meeting with tourism operators to prepare for Thailand’s reopening as the COVID-19 situation eases.  In April, MoST expects to implement the ‘Area Hotel Quarantine’ (AHQ) program in which visitors could roam free within the hotel premise after 3 days if they test negative for COVID-19.  However, they will not be allowed to leave the hotel until they complete the 14-day quarantine.  By Q3 and Q4 this year, travel bubble will be pioneered starting with the 5 provinces, namely Chiang Mai, Chon Buri, Phuket, Krabi and the 3 island of Surat Thani province.  The AHQ proposal will be submitted to the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration.  Source:  Krungthep Turakij  Bangkok Post

• Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) projects the 2021 tourism revenue to reach 1.2 trillion Baht, of which 870 billion Baht will be from domestic tourism.  TAT will continue to roll out campaigns that target single travellers with high-purchasing power.  It is also discussing with NESDC to revise the terms of the tourism campaign, which originally targeted the elderly, to target all tourists with incentives to travel through tour companies.  TAT hopes to implement it in mid-March once it is approved by the cabinet.  Source:  Poojarkarn

• The former UNCTAD Sec-Gen Supachai enthused that Thailand implement fiscal stimulus to overcome the Covid-19 crisis, without being concerned about the public debt-to-GDP ratio overshooting the 60 percent ceiling. He emphasised the importance of restructuring the economy to pivot towards bio economy, reforming the education system to produce skilled labour with expertise that match market demands, ie: digital technology, promote FDI, SMEs and community economies.  He noted that SMEs should be given better access to funding given the banks’ strong fiscal position. Thailand also needs to increase private investment to 27-30 percent of GDP from the existing 23 percent to escape the middle-income trap.  Sources:  Krungthep Turakij Bangkok Post

• Commerce Ministry plans to speed up the export of around 200 million eggs by the end of August in a move to resolve the ongoing oversupply situation.  While domestic egg production stands at 42 million eggs per day, domestic consumption had dropped to 38 million per day due to the lack of international tourists and more students learning online.  Source:  Bangkok Post

• Thailand ranked 3rd in ASEAN, 9th among 40 Asia-pacific countries and 42nd in the World on the most recent on Economic Freedom index. Singapore tops the list for the second consecutive year, followed by New Zealand and Australia.  Source:  Pattaya Mail

Headlines summary as of 5 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
79	26,241	63	25,641 (at 97.71%)	22,004
Local transmission	From abroad	Being hospitalised/ in field-hospital/ quarantined	Confirmed cases in Bangkok	Death toll	Accumulated cases from active case finding
65 [22 (get tested in hospital) + 43 (active case finding)]	14 (in SQ)	515	983 (+6)	85 (+1)	14,616

Politics

• In response to the violent crackdown in Myanmar, Thai MFA has arranged a relief flight to help evacuate Thais on 16 March.—Krungthep Turakij
• The Constitutional Court has issued a press release saying that the court will make a verdict on 11 March from 9.30am whether the Parliament has the authority to amend the Constitution and set up the Constitutional Drafting Assembly. The Parliament is scheduled to vote for the third reading of the motion on 17 March.–Prachachat
• The drums are beating up for the upcoming protests on Saturday, as of now there will be at least four gatherings:
  • ReDem has voted in their Telegram group that the meeting on Saturday will be a march from Lad Prao intersection to the Criminal Court in central Bangkok from 5pm to 8pm. The theme of the protest is to dumb rubbish in front of the court.
  • Former red-shirt protestors will gather at Lotus mall in Rangsit before marching to Infantry 11^th Regiment.—Naew Na
  • A long march led by a protest leader Jatupat ‘Pai’ Boonpattararaksa will walk from suburb Rangsit to Bang Kaen intersection.
  • A royalist ‘Vocational Students for Monarchy’ is scheduled to gather at CBD Central World Department Store this Sunday.—Daily News
• In a related gathering, Sulak Sivaraksa, prominent social critique joined the ‘เดินทะลุฟ้า’ (Walk through the heaven), a long march from the North-eastern province of Khon Kaen to Bangkok. The march started from 16 February and reach the suburb of Bangkok yesterday. The march will stop at Rangsit and will walk from Rangsit to Bang Kaen intersection on Saturday and will continue to the Democracy Monument on Sunday.–Matichon
• The prison governor of Bangkok Klong Prem Central Prison was transferred to be hang as a Correction Department ombudsman (reportedly inactive post) for the incident of the King portrait in front of the prison burned down.–ThaiPBS
• This weekend there will be a by-election in the Southern province of Nakhon Sri Thammarat. The constituency is the stronghold of Coalition Democrat Party. This will be a competition of four parties, including the main ruling Palang Pracharat Party.
  • The leaders of Democrat Party, including former PM Abhisit Vejjajiva also went down South to help the campaign.—Thai Rath
  • Deputy PM and Palang Pracharat Party (PPRP) leader Prawit Wongsuwan is scheduled to be in the province today.—National News Bureau of Thailand
  • A media reports that considering DPM Prawit will go down to the by-election constituency for the first time, even though there has been many by-elections with Prawit absence, this weekend election is going to be a high-stake for PPRP and Democrat parties.—Krungthep Turakij
• On the issue of the Cabinet Reshuffle, the PM came out to say yesterday that there will not be an ‘outsider’ (people outside of the Coalition parties) to fill in the vacant portfolio. The PM has asked coalition parties to haste the nomination process by the end of March and will present to the King for endorsement.–Manager, Thai Rath
• After social media platform giant Facebook targeted Royal Thai Army for its involvement in online Information Operation (IO) against dissents in Bangkok politics and in Muslim-majority Southern Thailand, the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) spokesperson said the ISOC as an organisation did not involve in the operations, rather those accounts were personal accounts.—Thai Rath
  • ISOC spokesperson said “ISOC also doesn’t engage in operations as reported in the news. We act as a centre for coordination to provide relief and refuge to the people.”  Facebook has suspended 77 accounts, 72 pages and 18 groups on Facebook and 18 accounts on Instagram linked to the Thai military and targeted audiences in the southern provinces of Thailand.–Reuters

Economic:

• DPM Supttanapong expects foreign investment to fully recover in 2022 as his focus for 2021 will be on nursing the domestic economy.  DPM Supattanapong and DPM Wissanu will both be hands-on in rolling out pilot plans on regulation reform and improving the ease of doing business.  Also addressed will be other obstacles to foreign investment such as immigration, visa applications, smart visa renewal and Customs procedures.  He also eyes slashing corporate income tax for foreign investors as per JFCCT’s recommendation to make Thailand more competitive against Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore.

• DPM Supattanapong remained confident the economy will grow by 4 percent in 2021 despite the JSCCIB’s forecast that growth will span 1-3 percent.  The DPM thinks 2021 economy will be driven by export, domestic consumption and domestic tourism.  He expects domestic revenue this year to rebound to the 2019 pre-COVID-19 level of 1 trillion Baht.

• Tourism and Sports Ministry is considering launching Phase 3 of the domestic tourism program Rao Tiew Duay Gun, which will offer 2 million additional rights until July 2021.  MoST will submit it for the cabinet’s consideration next week. Source: Krungthep Turakij Bangkok Post

• Thailand’s export of fresh fruits increased by 15.4 percent to total 104 billion Baht in 2020, which is at odds with the -6 percent contraction in Thailand’s overall export.  This is attributable to Thailand’s reputable and high-quality agricultural produce.  Another reason is the synergy between the Agriculture and Commerce Ministries that helped the private sector to penetrate new markets through online and offline channels.  Source:  Thai Government website Manager Online

• The Investor Confidence Index survey conducted by Federation of Thai Capital Market Organizations (FETCO) for the upcoming period of March – May 2021 saw the index surging by 14.8 percent as investors maintain brighter economic outlook following the vaccine distribution.  Foreign investors also expect that more fund inflows will head to Thailand, resulting in foreign investors’ confidence index in the Thai capital market hitting an all-time-high (since the launch of this survey in 2014), with the index surging by 40 percent MoM.  Segments that are of interest to investors are tourism and leisure, followed by banking and energy.  Sources:  Krungthep Turakij Bangkok Post

• Government spokesperson Anucha said reviving the economy remains the government’s top priority for the rest of this term, with its series of domestic stimulus measures set to kick into high gear.  In addition to supplying public updates on the nation’s Covid-19 situation, his public relations team has been putting out information about Thailand’s ongoing reforms and its strategy to transition to a Bio-Circular Green Economy model.  Source:  Bangkok Post

• Countries such as China, Thailand and Australia halted the coronavirus within their borders by shutting off entry to outsiders and aggressively quashing infections that slipped in.  But that success made it less urgent for many Asian countries to quickly vaccinate their citizens and they won’t reach herd immunity until 2022, far behind the US and Europe, said Goldman Sachs.  Thailand, where up to 20 percent of the economy was tied to tourism, is likely to be one of the worst sufferers from closed borders.  NESDC has repeatedly slashed forecasts for 2021 economic growth and now predicts that foreign visitor number this year will be 3.2 million, less than a tenth of the 2019 total.  To reach that, it expects that 50 percent of the Thai population will be vaccinated by the end of 2021 – an assumption some experts think is optimistic.  In Phuket, businesses are urging the Thai government to let them pay privately to vaccinate hotel, restaurant and tourism workers so they can let in foreign visitors.  Otherwise, Phuket likely won’t reach herd immunity for at least another 1.5 years- an untenable situation, said Phuket Tourist Association.  Source:  Wall Street Journal

Headlines summary as of 3 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
35	26,108	63	25,483 (at 97.61%)	21,871
Local transmission	From abroad	Being hospitalised/ in field-hospital/ quarantined	Confirmed cases in Bangkok	Death toll	Accumulated cases from active case finding
25 [17 (get tested in hospital) + 8 (active case finding)]	10 (in SQ)	541	975 (+3)	84 (+0)	14,557

• Thai cabinet approved 6.38 billion THB budget to procure 35 million doses of more COVID-19 vaccine with a bid to inoculate at least half of the Kingdom’s population by 2021. The government spokesperson said after the weekly cabinet meeting that the cabinet had a resolution to procure more vaccines from AstraZeneca for the second phase of vaccine roll out which will cover half of the population nationwide from June to December.—Thai Rath
• The PM said after the cabinet meeting that he has commissioned a study to look into issuing COVID-19 vaccination certificates for international travellers to enter the Kingdom. The scheme will be an step-up effort in reviving the tourism sectors harshly affected by the pandemic. The PM affirmed that the process will be done with caution, as it needed to see the effectiveness of the vaccine first.–Reuters
• Thai Army held a press conference affirming the earlier report by an investigative outlet Isra News Agency that a Thai peacekeeper in South Sudan was involved in a corruption to jab other peacekeepers with saline solutions while selling the real African flu vaccine to vendors. The Thai Army personnel was sent back to Thailand since March 2020.—Thai Rath

Politics

• After being issued an arrest warrant by court, Thai dissent singer ‘Amy The Bottom Blues’ was arrested at a rental house in Ayutthaya for allegedly set fire on the King’s portrait at a central prison in Bangkok. Deputy Metropolitan Police Chief gave an interview with a media that the suspect will be transferred to the Police Hospital in Bangkok and will be investigated today.—Inside Thailand, Reuters
  • The suspect is going to be charged with violating the lese majeste law, arson, and computer crime act. The secretary to the Justice Minister said that the penalty from the charges could be as high as a death sentence.—Daily News
  • The authority is also eyeing to press charge against a star who was allegedly an accomplice to the suspect.—Krungthep Turakij
  • Main opposition Pheu Thai secretary-general gave a media interview regarding the Opposition MPs giving assistance to the suspect by saying that the case is a sensitive issue and will need to discuss among the Opposition again.–Matichon
• There are more signs of resistance on the issue of Constitutional Amendment:
  • Deputy PM Wissanu said this morning that in the process of setting up Constitutional Drafting Assembly (CDA) as being pushed by the Parliament (and has passed the second reading) could be in vain should the Constitutional Court decided that the Parliament does not have the authority to rewrite the Constitution. An MP from the main ruling Palang Pracharat Party (PPRP) has filed the case to the court to seek a verdict on the constitutionality of the proposal.—Daily News
  • A Senator posted on his FB page that even though he voted for the motion on setting up a CDA, but he has considered thoroughly and decided that he will not vote for the third reading of the proposal.–Prachachat
• The aftermath of the court decision to jail five MPs (three of which are concurrently holding ministerial positions) have led to the cabinet reshuffle and the issue is still ongoing.
  • The PM said that the military line-up will be finalised before the cabinet reshuffle. He said that there will military personnel who intend to leave the armed forces via early retire schemes.–Matichon
• UN Human Rights Office tweeted on their official channel saying that they are deeply concerned by the rising tensions over past weeks for the use of rubber bullets and tear gas. The UN Human Rights body urge the government to engage in meaningful dialogue with the protest movement.—UN Human Rights

Economic:

CPTPP

• In commemorating the 60^th anniversary of Canadian-Thai diplomatic relationship, Canadian Ambassador to Thailand, HE Dr Sarah Taylor, urges Thailand to accede to CPTPP to enhance its attractiveness as an FDI destination.  Canada stands ready to support Thailand’s accession process.  In this oped, the Ambassador also commends Thailand for making progress in joining RCEP.  Source:  Krungthep Turakij newspaper, 3 March 2021

Others

• Commerce Ministry revealed that in January 2021, Thailand’s two-way trade with its 18 FTA partners grew by 3 percent MoM to total 25.6 billion USD, making up 64.6 percent of Thailand’s overall trade.  Of this figure, Thai export is valued at 12.2 billion USD (+4.04 percent) with growth seen in the export of agricultural and industrial products.  Top export markets are Australia (+35 percent), New Zealand (+50 percent) and Malaysia (41 percent).  Import totalled 13.4 billion USD (+2.66 percent).  Source:  Department of Trade Negotiations Press Release

• According to DPM and Energy Minister Supattanapong, the government is revising Thailand’s investment incentives, from reforming regulations to resolving ease of doing business-related issues.  The Board of Investment and Eastern Economic Corridor Office are working on measures that target companies that want to relocate their production bases to Thailand.  To be finalised at the end of March, the incentives will make Thailand more competitive.  DPM Supattanapong is confident that the Thai economy will grow by 4 percent in 2021, despite the official forecast being only 2.7 – 3 percent.  Sources:  Krungthep Turakij Bangkok Post

• The Thai National Shippers’ Council forecasted that Thai export in 2021 will grow by 3-4 percent as manufacturing activities and global economies start to recover.  Thai export had already shown signs of rebounding in January 2021 through 2 months of executive growth.  Risk factors for this year include container shortage, Baht appreciation, shortage of migrant labour and international logistics issues.  Sources: Khaosod Bangkok Post

• Board of Investment (BOI) disclosed that investment value in the Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) industries saw a YoY growth of 17 percent in 2020, from 98 billion Baht to 11.5 billion Baht.  The number of applications also grew by 9.8 percent, from 450 to 494 projects.  For 2021, BOI will promote incentives for industries with high growth potential such as the medical and BCG industries.  Sources:  Post Today Thai Government website

• In Q2 of 2021, the property developer SC Asset expects to launch an initial coin offering (ICO) in what will be the first of its kind in Thailand, after the Securities and Exchange Commission approved trading of real asset tokens this month.  These real estate-backed tokens will be backed by real estate development projects that are tangible and traceable.  If the accomplished, Thailand will be the first country in Asia-Pacific to launch such asset-backed token.  Source:  Bangkok Post

• The state-owned Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation (TCG) aims to launch a 20 billion Baht bad debt guarantee program to assist SMEs whose loans have turned into special mention loans or NPL.  The program will start in April and TCG will provide a maximum claim of 40 percent for financial institutions that are creditors of SME loans.  Source:  Bangkok Post

• New long-term corporate bond issuance tallied 106 billion Baht in the first two months of this year compared to 87.5 billion Baht in 2020.  Corporations are gearing up for a splurge of investment once the economy begins to recover ahead of a potential rise in interest rates.  Source:  Bangkok Post

• Thai Airways International (THAI) plans to raise 50 billion Baht over the next 2 years, according to its business rehabilitation plan submitted yesterday.  Source:  Bangkok Post

Headlines summary as of 1 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
80	26,031	63	25,324 (at 97.28%)	21,794
Local transmission	From abroad	Being hospitalised/ in field-hospital/ quarantined	Confirmed cases in Bangkok	Death toll	Accumulated cases from active case finding
64 [28 (get tested in hospital) + 36 (active case finding)]	16 (in SQ)	624	971 (+2)	83 (+0)	14,553

• On Sunday, Deputy PM and Public Health Minister Anutin volunteered to be the first person to take the first COVID-19 vaccine jab in the country. Others in the first batch included senior health officials and cabinet ministers. The PM just attended the event but was not inoculated as his age is above the recommended range.–Reuters
• A media ran a piece on five things to know about COVID-19 vaccine roll-out program, including information on the King’s owned Siam BioScience, the sole producer of AstraZeneca vaccine in the Kingdom.—Asia Nikkei Review
• Bangkok is rolling out its vaccine to its hospitals in high-risk groups.

Politics

• ReDem:
  • Krungthep Turakij prepared the timeline of the inaugurated ReDem movement which witnessed the most violence from all sides as followed:
    • ReDem group called for a major gathering at the Victory Monument before marching to the PM Residence in the 1st Infantry Regiment, the King’s Guard.
    • 2.20pm Protestors began to occupy Victory Monument (Phayathai side).
    • 3.15pm Local police informed the public gathering act. Protestors yelled back. Tension escalated.
    • 3.30pm The marching was postponed from 4.00 to 5.00 pm.
    • 4.00pm Deputy Police spokesperson announced the gathering was illegal.
    • 5.00pm Protestors marched from Victory Monument to Vibhavadhi Rangsit Road.
    • 6.00pm The advance team reached Army Veteran Hospital (next to the 1^st Infantry Regiment). Protestors climbed up container blocking the entrance to the regiment to cut down wires and moved the containers away. Protestors clashed with Riot Control Police.
    • 6.10pm Officials stationed in the Regiment announced the restriction not to enter the Palace perimeter (The Regiment was transferred to be under direct King’s control since 2019–Reuters). Protestors yelled back.
    • 6.30pm Riot Control Police advanced and captured some protestors from the Army Veteran Hospital. Protestors moved to confront with the riot police.
    • 6.45pm Some protestors threw firecrackers at the police.
    • 6.50pm Police retreated. Some protestors advanced and stand at 1-2 metres from the police.
    • 6.55pm A smoke is spotted within the police lines. Tear gas hit protestors.
    • 7.00pm Dr Tossaporn Serirak led the negotiation for the police to retreat. The police accepted. Tension deescalated.
    • 7.22pm Police gradually retreated to the hospital. Some protestors threw water bottles and firecrackers at the police. Police began using rubber bullet.
    • 7.50pm Protestors moved back to the entrance of the Regiment aiming to fulfill their mission.
    • 8.00pm Police started firing water cannon and tear gas at the protestors. Protestors were sandwiched between the hospital garrison and Sutisarn Intersection.
    • 8.30pm The vote on Telegram application (ReDem is operating on Telegram) indicated the adjourn of protest but some did not know the message.
    • 9.00pm Protestors confronted the police as the former yelled at police.
    • 9.20pm The police retreated while protestors threw water bottle at the police.
    • 9.30pm Firecracker sounds were heard several times. Protestors retreated. Some protestors advanced at the police.
    • 9.35 A major disperse occurred as police used water cannon and tear gas against protestors. Some protestors fled to a gas station nearby. Police came to capture protestors to Border Patrol Police Command.
    • 9.40pm Volunteer nurse asked for the ‘safe zone’ in front of the gas station.
    • 9.45pm Police Metropolitan Commander said the protestors has caused many police injured and the police had to use rubber bullet out of necessity.
    • 10.00pm The situation was still tense, and a lot of rubber bullet shells were found in front of the gas station.
    • 10.30pm Some protestors went to Din Daeng Police Station. Chaos occurred and fire was witnessed in front of the station.
    • 10.39pm A human rights civil society reported that at least 20 protestors were captured, including a 16-year-old student.
    • Midnight Riot Control Police secured in front of the Din Daeng Police Station and took control of the perimeter until 2.30am.
  • Wassana Nanuam, an Army reporter, reported that yesterday’s protest was retaliated with a ‘full crackdown’ was because the protest was in front of the Regiment owned by the King and is considered Royal perimeter.—Wassana Nanuam
• Cabinet Reshuffle:
  • Deputy Public Health Minister and Deputy Democrat leader Satit Pitutacha gave an interview to the media regarding the current power play within the Coalition that the third largest party joined the coalition on the condition of charter rejig. The amendment is the ultimatum that if not fulfilled he personally thinks that the party should leave the Coalition.—Inside Thailand
• Parliament dissolution
  • A vocal senator Wanchai Sornsiri came out to make his political predictions of major political changes by the end of this month of March. The changes could be in four key scenarios: major cabinet reshuffle, major shift in the coalition, change of the PM, and parliament dissolution. He said the ongoing delay tactics of the planned constitution could be one of the triggers the impact of one of these scenarios. In order for the PM to keep on with the status quo which favours his political power, dissolution might be the option to defer the Constitutional Amendment.—Inside Thailand
  • The secretary-general of the main ruling Pheu Thai Party came out to warn the government that now there is no rationale to dissolve the Parliament. He said should the PM chose that way, it will surely affect the process of the amendment. This will not be beneficial to the people.—Post Today
  • The secretary to the PM Office Minister Thanakorn dismissed the news on the dissolution and said the process of cabinet reshuffle is normal in politics.—Khao Sod

Analysis/opinion

• A media hinted why the Chinese Ambassador to Thailand who has been called back to Beijing for many months has not been back to the Kingdom. The media mentioned about the latest Wang Yi visit to Thailand and asked for the establishment of Chinese consulates at the same numbers as the American has. The absence of Ambassador could tell, according to the media commentator, pretty much the state of international relations.—Inside Thailand
• In the upcoming cabinet reshuffle, the PM is facing a great dilemma. Should the PM do not abide by the requests of MPs in the Palang Pracharat Party to appoint better portfolios for some main figures, the government may face a stumble when votes in the Parliament. However, if the PM bends to the requests of the PPRP and coalition parties and appoint politicians who might have mere power not potentials, this will put pressure on the government legitimacy. And could be the ‘end-game’ of the government.—Thai Rath
• The recent waves of dissents from the PPRP main figures to defy the PM in the upcoming cabinet reshuffle might be read as a sign of recession in popularity of the PM. The PPRP politicians see the situation as prone to the cabinet dissolution.—Krungthep Turakij

Economic:

Australia

• AFP news agency reported that facebook has lifted the ban on Australian news and ay local media companies for content after reaching a deal pending landmark registration.  Source:  Thai Government’s Public Relations Dept news

Others

• Korean Embassy’s Deputy Chair of Mission, Jeon Joyoung, said Thailand needs to be more proactive in attracting foreign businesses, or else lose to Vietnam.  While Thailand was a regional hub in the 1980s, it might not be for much longer.  For example, Korean investors prefer Vietnam to Thailand when deciding to relocate its supply chain or open new factories.  Mr Jeon contends that Koreans prefer Vietnamese’s work ethics, noting that human capital in Thailand is lacking and there is often a shortage of skilled workers especially in technology-focused sectors.  Source:  Bangkok Post

• Bank of Thailand revealed that the Thai economic conditions in January 2021 were affected by the new round of Covid-19, with the pace of economic recovery becoming more uneven, though the impact was smaller than the first wave last year.  Source:  Bangkok Post

• Tourism and Sports Ministry (MoST) aims to directly offer subsidies to tour companies that sell packages to the elderly to boost their liquidity.  Since the launch of the 5-billion-Baht elderly tourism package targeting those aged 55-75 is delayed due to COVID-19 resurgence, MoST said it would be more efficient if the subsidies are given to tour companies rather than to travellers.  The scheme targets was originally expected to inject 18 billion Baht into the economy. 

• MoST also eyes introducing area quarantine for inbound travellers where they will be allowed to roam within designated areas of the hotels after 3 days of quarantine.  The area quarantine is anticipated to be in place until the vaccine passport mechanism approved by WHO.  Source:  Bangkok Post

• Finance Ministry deliberates rolling out a financial remedy to 137,000 government contract employees to help with their living costs as their monthly pay are relatively modest, usually not exceeding 15,000 Baht.  Source:  Bangkok Post

• To help businesses save cost, the Excise Department is considering freezing the third-phase hike of the excise imposed on beverages with sugar-based sweetener from its original date of October 2021. Excise Department also affirms it will not introduce any new excise taxes this year as businesses are rattled by the pandemic.  Source:  Bangkok Post

• Thailand’s cross-border trade (including transit trade) is projected to rebound to a growth of 3-6 percent this year following last year’s 1.7 percent decline, helped by COVID-19 vaccine and worldwide economic recovery.  Foreign Trade Department expects cross-border trade to amount to 1.36 – 1.40 trillion Baht, up from 1.31 trillion Baht in 2020.  The main risk factors for this year is the political uncertainties in Myanmar.  Source:  Bangkok Post

• New business registration topped 7,283 in January 2021, the highest since January 2019, driven by the upbeat sentiment on COVID-19 vaccine rollout and improving economic outlook.  January’s new registration rose by 4.91 percent year-on-year and surged by 121 percent month-on-month.  The top 3 sectors for new registrations in were building and construction, real estate and transport and logistics.  Source:  Bangkok Post

• Thailand’s Manufacturing Production Index (MPI) in January increased by 6.03 percent to 101.82 from 96.03 points in December 2020 due to improving sentiments.  Plastic bead manufacturing, which rose by 10.8 percent YoY, was among the industries that boosted the MPI due mainly to work-from-home guidelines that stimulated demand for packaging products.  Source:  Bangkok Post

• Commerce Minister Jurin in consultation with the private sector has set sights for Thai export to achieve a 4 percent growth this year.  To this end, he has instructed Thai trade commissioners in 43 countries worldwide to proactively promote exports of various key items, recruit more local entrepreneurs to join its promotional activities and expand its network of e-commerce platforms abroad, particularly in agriculture and food sector.  Sources:  Thai Post Naew Na