Disasters and emergency response
GSB suspends relief-loan applications after huge demand crashes system
The state-owned lender Government Savings Bank (GSB) temporarily stopped accepting applications for its Covid-19-relief loans on Thursday as more than 100,000 requests are pending in the system, amid online backlash.“We expect to resume taking loan applications again early next week,” said GSB director Withai Rattanakorn ...
Hospitals should not bill patients for Covid treatment, says NHSO
Private hospitals cannot charge Covid-19 patients for treatment, the National Health Security Office (NHSO) said.NHSO secretary-general Jadet Thammathat-Aree held a video conference with private hospitals nationwide on Wednesday. He said later that the NHSO had asked private hospitals not to charge Covid-19 patients.Private hospitals attending ...
Apinya Wipatayotin
Thailand says it’s not ‘fast spinning out of Covid-19 control’
With reference to your article Thailand fast spinning out of Covid-19 control published on May 13, 2021, I feel compelled to set the record straight as follows. The article’s claim that AstraZeneca has chosen Siam Bioscience to produce its vaccine was based on “unknown reasons” is ...
Third wave of pandemic could be death sentence for Thai hotels
Two years ago, the seaside in front of Seksith Pimolnat guesthouse on Phuket’s Patong Beach was packed. Holiday makers from Siberia, China, and the various corners of the European Union crowded together in a cacophonous revelry.Today, Patong is deserted. Another casualty of the coronavirus pandemic.“Many ...
Third Covid wave rocks Thai economy
Thailand and many of its neighbours are struggling with the spread of Covid-19 cases while they await the beginning of mass vaccination programmes to counter the pandemic.Thailand’s financial system has been hit hard by the latest coronavirus outbreak and the central bank says its economy ...
Thailand Said to Plan $22 Billion Borrowing for Covid Relief
Thailand plans to borrow an additional 700 billion baht ($22.3 billion) to fund measures to counter the worst wave of Covid-19 outbreak to hit Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, people familiar with the matter said.A meeting of the cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha on ...
Thai economy shrinks by 2.6% in Q1
The Thai economy shrank by 2.6% in the first quarter of this year — an improvement from a 4.2% contraction in the previous quarter — after it was boosted by a continued increase in agricultural production, recovery of non-agricultural production, acceleration in domestic investments, rise ...
Bangkok Post Reporter
Thailand’s GDP growth relies on vaccine rollout, NESDC says
Thailand’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of this year contracted by 2.6 per cent because the third wave of Covid-19 infections has hurt the economy and tourism industry, the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) said on Monday.However, it was a ...
The Nation Reporter
Thai banks strong, can weather uncertainty - BoT
Thailand’s banking system remained resilient with high capital buffers and liquidity to cushion economic uncertainty, the Bank of Thailand (BoT) said on Monday, as the country deals with a third wave of coronavirus infections.The outbreak, the country’s biggest so far, has hit consumption and tourism, ...
Third-wave dampens TAT’s bid to boost domestic tourism
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) believes it will not be able to meet its 2021 target because few people are travelling due to the third wave of Covid-19.TAT governor Yuthasak Supasorn said the organization expects 90 million locals to take trips this year, slightly ...
The Nation Reporter