Headlines summary as of 7 January 2022

News

• The CCSA committee headed by the PM has made the following restrictions in a bid to curb the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron strain:
  • The CCSA spokesperson said that the current transmission tendency is beyond the worst-case scenario and expected a couple of ten thousands daily new cases.
  • The CCSA has rearranged the COVID prevention areas into controlled area (orange) nation-wide but allowed 8 provinces to remain the tourist prototype provinces (Bangkok, Kanchanaburi, Krabi, Chonburi, Nontaburi, Pathum Thani, Phang-nga and Phuket), effective from 9 January 2022.
  • The CCSA has also made the following measures
    • Work From Home until 31 January 2022;
    • The entertainment complexes (pubs and clubs) will be deferred to be reopened for the time being;
    • As for the tourist prototype provinces, alcoholic beverages will be allowed for dine-in until 9.00pm;
  • As for measures on entering the Kingdom:
    • The CCSA has cancelled the Omicron risk countries (as it has been transmitted worldwide);
    • Three more sandbox schemes in Surat Thani (Samui, Pha-ngan and Tao islands); Phang-nga (entire province); and Krabi (entire province);
    • The deadline of Test&Go scheme for anyone who was granted Thailand Pass is 15 January 2022;
    • The new application of Test&Go scheme is deferred until further notice;
  • The CCSA spokesperson said that there is no restriction on inter-provincial travels. It is just the Public Health Ministry’s recommendation and request for people’s cooperation.

Politics

• The Royal Thai Navy spokesperson said that the RTN has not proposed the budget for the second and third Chinese submarines due to the economic situation.–Matichon

Economic:

RCEP

• Department of International Trade, Ministry of Commerce (MoC) has rolled out the ‘Form RCEP’ Certificate of Origin to ensure Thai exporters benefit from preferential tariff under the trade pact, effective since 1 January 2022.  Form RCEP uses Electronic Signature & Seal (ESS), which reduces issuance time of each form to 10 minutes.  The form also has QR code that enables the importing country to verify the form’s authenticity, which significantly reduces costs for Thai exporters as well as enhances Thailand’s competitiveness.  Form RCEP is one of the 118 services available on the MoC Online One Stop Service centre.  Source:  Prachachat Turakij

Others

• The Ministry of Commerce’s announcement banning the export of pork from Thailand for 3 months in a move to ensure sufficient supply of domestic pork and curb the rapid rise of pork prices was published in The Royal Gazette on 6 January 2022. Sources:  Royal Gazette announcement 1 Royal Gazette Announcement 2
• Federation of Thai Industries is confident the government can control the spread of Omicron variant even as the Public Health Ministry elevated public health warning level from level 3 to 4.  FTI said it would be concerned if the daily infection number exceeds 30,000 per day and agrees with the government’s policies of partial lockdown.  Source:  Bangkok Post
• Federation of Thai Capital Marketing Organization (FETCO) revealed that its Investor Confidence Index for the next 3 months had declined by 4.24 percent compared to the previous months.  However, it remains in the bullish zone as investors bank on the inflow of foreign capital and the recovery of the Thai economy.  The Thai capital market is expected to see a monthly inflow of over 10 billion Baht, wherein the SET Index could reach 1,870 points in 2022.  Foreign capital began to enter the Thai stock market 4-5 months ago and the trend will continue since SET remains the most liquid stock market in the region.  Source: Naew Na  Bangkok Post
• The Revenue Department is working to introduce an inorganic law to collect 15 percent capital gains tax on the profits from cryptocurrency trading.  Tax also covers Bitcoin mining transactions and the dividend/interest from cryptocurrency investment.  Source:  Bangkok Post
• The Securities and Exchange Commission plans to control the trade of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as it plans to require operators of NFT marketplaces to apply for a business license.   Operators said the implementation of the rule may decelerate the growth of NFTs in Thailand may drive operators to use platforms abroad instead.  Source:  Bangkok Post
• The prolonged suspension of the Test & Go scheme could cost the tourism sector at least 7 billion Baht in the month of January.  It is expected that the number of tourists in January will plunge by 50 percent to 100,000 from November and December.  For example, some 47,737 tourists who have registered for Thailand Pass through the Test & Go system after 10 January 2022.  Should they cancel their trips to Thailand, the country could already lose up to 3.34 billion Baht of revenue.  Sources: Krungthep Turakij Bangkok Post