News from Thailand – December 9, 2012

News out Thailand – December 9, 2012

The lifeless bodies of an American (40) and a Briton (35) were found yesterday in an apartment in Rangsit (Pathum Thani). In the room, the police found an empty bottle of anti-drug medication and a box of pills against drug addiction, both belonging to the Briton.

The American taught English at a private institute in Future Park Rangsit and the Brit was probably also a teacher. According to the American's girlfriend, her boyfriend suffered from gout and took sleeping pills because he suffered from stress. The police suspect that the men died of an overdose of sleeping pills.

– Five women who were forced to work as sex workers in Bahrain returned to Thailand yesterday. With great interest, they arrived at Suvarnabhumi with balaclavas over their heads. The five are part of a group of 21 Thai women who were lured to Bahrain: 12 worked in the Arabian hotels and the rest in Exhibition Plaza. They could be saved because one of them managed to call her mother. He alerted the Pavena Foundation for Children and Women, after which the ball started rolling.

– Between January 1 and December 4, 67.071 people dengue fever contracted, of whom 70 died. Compared to last year, the number has increased by 7 percent. Dengue fever is on the rise, especially in the big cities. For 2014, the Disease Control Department expects 90.000 to 100.000 cases of illness. Individuals between the ages of 10 and 24 are most susceptible to the disease.

– A 52-year-old elephant in the Asian Elephant Foundation hospital in Lampang received an injection yesterday because his health deteriorated sharply due to a bacterial infection. The elephant, named Plang E-kher, was suffering clostridium perfringens, a bacteria that causes tetanus. The animal was taken into the shelter in 1998 after a monk ransomed her from a man in Mae Hong Son. It was then seriously injured on its legs.

– Two thousand small and medium-sized companies with 50.000 employees will be in dire straits next year, when the minimum daily wage is increased to 300 baht. They will have to adapt or cease operations. Somjasee Siksamat, director of the Bank of Thailand's Statistics Office, said yesterday at a workshop organized by the Ministry of Employment.

The increase, she says, will be a 'shock', but it is nonetheless necessary as wages have been held at unrealistically low levels in recent years and wage increases have lagged inflation. "It's time for companies to realize they can no longer hire people at these low wages."

To survive, Somjasee said, companies will need to improve staff quality, productivity and effectiveness. She predicts that a number of workers will lose their jobs, that inflation will increase and the baht will strengthen. Importers of Thai products may consider ordering less as the price of products rises as a result of higher labor costs.

Companies most affected by the wage increase are manufacturers of plastic products, textiles, electrical appliances, steel, chemicals, embroidery, cars and motorcycles. These companies are largely dependent on manual workers.

According to a study by the Bank of Thailand, companies can survive if they increase labor productivity by 8 percent and production efficiency by 2,5 percent.

Somkiat Chayasriwong, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Employment, thinks it will be all right. He points to several studies carried out after the April increase in the first 7 provinces. Unemployment did not appear to have increased significantly and the good news was that increased competition had improved productivity.

– Prime Minister Yingluck will visit the South on Thursday. The prime minister wants to encourage the security services. Yingluck's visit comes in response to the recent murders of teachers and the robbery of a defense volunteer station.

The governor of Pattani has asked soldiers and police to give advance notice when they visit a post, because the men who raided the post were wearing military uniforms that resembled military uniforms.

– The driver (45) of the mayor of Pattaya was shot dead yesterday morning when he drove home on his motorcycle. He was shot twice by someone in a black sedan and later died in hospital. Besides working as a driver, he also ran a liquor store at Bali Hai pier.

– The Thai Railways (SRT) is at risk of collapse if major improvements are not made. The company currently makes a loss of more than 10 billion baht per year, which, according to Minister Chadchat Sittipunt (Transport), amounts to 20.000 baht per minute. He made that calculation yesterday at the Thai Railway Reform workshop.

Chadchat said the government plans to invest 2,2 trillion baht in the country's infrastructure. 65 percent of this amount goes to the railways. The accumulated loss of the SRT currently stands at 98 billion baht. A large part of the income comes from the management of real estate and assets. Three properties that have not yet been commercially developed account for 84 billion baht.

"The debt problem is not a cause for concern," says Chadchat. What is problematic is the predicted decrease in the number of passengers and the amount of cargo. For most people, the train is not the main mode of transport.

SRT Governor Prapas Jongsanguan says previous governments have severely neglected the SRT. For example, no new locomotives were bought in the past 10 years and debts piled up due to the construction of new railways.

Political news

– Will ruling party Pheu Thai now or not continue with the parliamentary consideration of the proposal to amend Article 291 of the constitution? Yesterday, a source claimed that the party will fine-tune its own proposal and then start over. PT would fear legal problems if the opposition goes to the Constitutional Court.

But yesterday PT Samart Kaewmeechai said the committee that allegedly made this proposal has yet to submit its final report. "No one has seen that report, so how can anyone say that the government intends to kill its own proposal?" According to Samart, there is no reason to agree to the proposal.

The opposition is demanding that the government first hold a referendum on the need for change. Only then could the constitution (of 2007) be revised article by article. The opposition opposes the PT's plan to write a new constitution. That should be done by a citizens' assembly, after Article 291 is amended.

Pheu Thai insisted yesterday that she will continue on the same path. When parliament meets again from 21 December, the controversial amendment will be discussed and voted on in the third term. Then the citizens' assembly can get to work.

PT spokesperson Sunisa Lertpakawat once again denied that the entire procedure is not aimed at rehabilitating former Prime Minister Thaksin, but the opposition does not believe that.

Economic news

– 3G in the 2,1-gigahertz wavelength is expected to be available in major provinces from April. On Friday, the telecommunications committee of the NBTC (National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission) granted the licenses to AIS, Dtac and True Move. The committee stipulates that the providers reduce their rates for sound and data by 15 percent. They must also provide data on the protection of their customers and measures in the event of malfunctions. The permits will be handed over in mid-December.

Last Monday, the Administrative Court gave the green light to the permits. The National Ombudsman had asked the administrative court to rule whether the auction in October was 'free and fair'. This is a requirement of the constitution. But the court did not consider the petition, because the NBTC has no official status and the Ombudsman is therefore not competent. The Ombudsman has 30 days to appeal.

– China is lobbying hard to build the high-speed line Bangkok-Chiang Mai and Bangkok-Nong Khai. China also wants to invest in this second line, because it can be used for the transport of goods. China also wants to build a connecting line to Dawei in Myanmar later.

On Friday, Chinese Vice Minister of Railways Lu Chunfang met with Prime Minister Yingluck. He told her that China can build a high-speed rail line for US$20 million per kilometer. In Japan a kilometer costs $81 million and in Germany $50 million. China is also said to have advanced construction technology and security measures. The minister has promised to use Thai workers for the construction.

Thailand can choose from two speeds: 250 and 300 kilometers per hour. A ticket for the fastest train should cost 2,5 baht per person/kilometer, the slightly slower train 2,1 baht.

A feasibility study is currently being conducted into the Bangkok-Chiang Mai and Bangkok-Nong Khai lines. Chinese experts have advised starting with the 54-kilometer route between Bangkok and Ayutthaya. That would be ideal if Ayutthaya hosts the World Expo in 2020, something the government is aiming for.

– The conflict over the chairmanship of the Federation of Thai Industries is not over yet. Dissatisfied members will make another attempt later this month to get rid of the chairman. Chairman Payungsak Chartsuttipol hit back on Friday with a press conference attended by his fans, representatives of major companies such as Toyota, PTT Plc, Charoen Pokphand and the Saha group.

According to the dissidents, Payungsak has done too little to persuade the government to postpone raising the minimum daily wage from 1 January. Earlier they held a 'wild' meeting and elected a new chairman, but he has since withdrawn.

Raising the minimum wage is particularly sensitive for labour-intensive small and medium-sized enterprises. Those companies are afraid that they will not be able to afford the higher wage costs.

– Although the Bank of Ayudhya (BAY) will open 50 new branches across the country next year, the focus will now be on electronic banking. The bank is thus responding to the changing lifestyle and financial behavior of customers. Nevertheless, most money transactions still take place via the ATMs of the 600 branches. Per month it is an amount of 6 to 7 million baht.

Simple Q has now been installed in all branches; these are machines on which customers indicate whether they want to deposit, withdraw or transfer money plus the amount. The data goes to a counter employee who processes the transaction. It took an average of 7 seconds for the customer to sign, a time savings of 53 seconds compared to the traditional transaction.

– The business community in Trat province has been instructed to prepare for the opportunities offered by the opening of the Koh Kong industrial estate, just across the border in Cambodia. The site will be opened by Prime Minister Hun Sen later this month. Companies from Japan, South Korea and Thailand have invested in the site. The border post in Khlong Yai is now being expanded to handle the influx of goods.

www.dickvanderlugt.nl – Source: Bangkok Post