Bangkok Post
Tax-collecting agencies unlikely to meet targets
The revenue target for the three tax-collecting agencies this fiscal year is unlikely to be met after the Covid-19 outbreak disrupted business activities.The Revenue Department’s tax collection fell short of its target by 2.2% for the first half of this fiscal year, and the magnitude ...
Wichit Chantanusornsiri
National forest reserve encroached in Mae Sot
Three large tracts of woodland — about 45 rai altogether — were found to have been encroached on inside the Mae Sot National Forest Reserve in Phop Phra district, according to a local media report. The encroachment was reported to the 6th Forest Protection Unit ...
Assawin Pinitwong
China's drain on Mekong
More water discharged from Chinese dams to the lower Mekong River in the dry season and less water in the rainy season. That means a reduction of drought and flooding in the lower Mekong countries. That was the ideal “cooperation” Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam ...
5G paves telemedicine path
Telemedicine is likely to be the new normal for public health services soon, thanks to the development of a series of robots for the task, including those tending to coronavirus patients at hospitals.“The arrival of 5G capabilities is well-timed, coming when efforts are being made ...
Komsan Tortermvasana
Big stimulus borrowing could spur yield-curve control
Thailand’s 1 trillion baht borrowing programme for economic stimulus could spur central bank steps to keep a lid on bond yields.The government is set to start raising money as early as May, stoking questions about the outlook for bonds. A plausible scenario is that the ...
IMF: Thai GDP down 6.7%
The IMF downgraded the economic forecast for Thailand in 2020 to a contraction of 6.7%, making it the worst performer among its Asean peers if the multinational lender’s projection holds true. The revision is attributed to the economic toll of the coronavirus.Despite this, the IMF ...
Oranan Paweewun
Index at 33-month low point
Business sentiment plunged to a 33-month low in March as the sector worried that the escalating coronavirus outbreak would drag the country’s economy into a deeper contraction than Thailand saw during the 1997 financial crisis.The University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC) reported today ...
Phusadee Arunmas
Fishermen struggling as restaurants shuttered worldwide
Just one kilogramme of freshly caught squid a day was almost enough to live on for Thai fishermen like Wisut Boonnak.Now the catch has halved in price and he’s spending more time on village duties.“It’s the biggest price drop that I can remember,” said Mr ...
Covid control measures likely to stay
Disease control measures that restrict everyday life are unlikely to be relaxed, but it will depend on how well people cooperate, a government spokesman said on Thursday.Dr Taweesilp Visanuyothin, spokesman of the government’s Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration, said on Thursday that the most important ...
Mongkol Bangprapa
Virus pandemic linked to destruction of wildlife and world's ecosystems
Covid-19 is the latest example of how human impact on biodiverse areas and wildlife habitats is linked to the spread of infectious diseases.After the novel coronavirus broke out in Wuhan, China in late December 2019, it didn’t take long for conspiracy theorists to claim it ...