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BOT backs off
from more credit controls
The Bank of Thailand (BOT) has ruled out further controls
on bank credits, following the announcement of new regulations to protect
credit cardholders on March 29.
Confirming that the central bank was not about to impose
any more credit controls, Tarisa Watanagase, BOT’s Deputy Governor for
Financial Institutions Stability, said that the BOT did not perceive any
worrying trends that would warrant additional regulations.
She expressed confidence that the new regulations
governing credit cards, with tough eligibility criteria and strict credit
limits for new cardholders, would reduce the number of cardholders with
monthly incomes of less than 15,000 baht. (TNA)
Government to rent out land to relieve slum crowding
Slum dwellers across the country could soon get better
accommodation, thanks to a Treasury Department plan to rent out Crown
Property land at cheap rates for the construction of new housing for them.
Announcing the plans, the department’s
director-general, Wisudhi Srisuphan said that the department had joined with
the Community Development Organization to develop 174 communities in 42
cities across 30 provinces.
Under the scheme, Crown Property land will be rented out
for periods not exceeding 30 years, with rents reduced by as much as 50
percent. Town planning regulations will also be relaxed in order to allow
the construction of new dwellings. In addition, slum dwellers will be
encouraged to find employment, with the establishment of community-based
savings cooperatives. (TNA)
Stringent safety measures for new subway system
As Bangkok poises itself for the introduction of a new
subway train system, the operators are promising stringent security checks
to ensure the safety of passengers. According to Praphas Wongsa-nguan,
governor of the Mass Rapid Transportation Authority of Thailand, the
authority is now working on security systems and emergency provisions prior
to the opening of the project in April.
Once the subway is opened, all stations will be manned by
security personnel who will be given practical and theoretical training in
security measures. Included in the training programs will be the use of
weapons and bare-handed combat.
The first trains will rumble through the tunnels for
public use on 13 April. (TNA)
Rice exports to reach historic high
Exports of Thai rice to the world market are expected to
reach a historic level this year, and Thai farmers will earn more money due
to higher paddy prices. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said he expected
exports of Thai rice this year could reach as high as eight million tons, an
all-time record.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives
is planning to set up a national rice agency to take care of the country’s
rice management in a full circle, from research and development projects of
rice species, and promotion of rice exports, and cultivation through
effective techniques and modern technology. The proposed national rice
agency would also support Thailand to become a full-circle rice hub in the
region, and would address the problem of corruption in rice projects. (TNA)
Micro finance scheme will
aid low-income earners
The Government Savings Bank (GSB) is ready to lead the way
in implementing the government’s micro finance scheme for low-income people,
which will help stimulate the Thai economy.
GSB’s Director-General Goanpot Asvinvichit said as a
leader in the project, as instructed by Finance Minister Somkid Jatusripitak,
GSB will assist this sector of society in gaining access to financial sources
in the formal sector with interest rates of only 1.0-1.5% a month, rather
than, traditionally, relying on those in the non-formal sector with higher
interest rates of 3-4% a month.
“The scheme is a social assistance contrivance for poor
people who need urgent loans to support their livelihood or are short of funds
in certain situations such as when their kids go back to school or when
someone in their family falls ill,” he said.
By moving first, GSB is confident that more local banks and
financial institutes will follow suite, which will also be related to the
government’s policy on the asset-to-capital conversion program. The GSB has
earmarked funds of 30-40 billion baht to support the agenda this year and will
approve loans to lower-income people to help set them free from debts.
The GSB will also address the government’s poverty
registration project, which is designed to help individuals and families who
are living below the poverty line, by allowing them to defer their payments to
GSB or other state-run banks that have joined the scheme. (TNA)
Fuel demand to double during Songkran festival
PTT Public Company Limited (PTT) reported that petrol
demand in the domestic market was expected to rise to 50 million liters a
day during the Songkran festival, nearly double from the normal 30 million
liters per day.
Fuel demand in provincial areas will be higher than that
in Bangkok and its peripheral areas, since a large number of people will
travel to celebrate the holiday in other regions of the country. PTT said it
will increase its fuel stock by 25% during the period to serve the rising
demand during this period. (TNA)
US-Thai FTA may cause more Americans to lose jobs
Some American businessmen have expressed concern that the
Thai-US Free Trade Area (FTA) Agreement, which is under negotiation, may
cause job losses among American workers due to the influx of cheaper Thai
goods, according to Thai Commerce Minister Wattana Muangsook.
Watana, who led a Thai delegation to visit the US, said
after a meeting with executives of the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington,
that even though U.S. businessmen support the idea to pursue the bilateral
free trade agreement between the Thai and the US governments, they raised
concern about possible negative effects that could arise in the future.
Thai and US negotiation teams will start their first
round of FTA talks in June. The talk is scheduled to be held in Hawaii, a
midway between Thailand and the United States. There will be follow-up
reports every two months, and preliminary talks are due to be concluded in
2005.
Annual trade between Thailand and the US is currently
valued at around USD 21 billion. The US is Thailand’s largest trading
partner, while Thailand is the 18th largest trading partner for the US. The
only other country in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
with which the US has entered into an FTA is Singapore. ASEAN groups Brunei,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand, and Vietnam. (TNA)
Exports soar 20 percent in first two months of the year
Figures released by the Ministry of Commerce show that Thai
exports soared by a stunning 20 percent over the first two months of 2004, with
exports of rice, seafood, electronic goods and automobiles exceeding their
growth targets.
Disclosing the new statistics, Deputy Commerce Minister
Pongsak Ruktapongpisal said that Thailand’s exports in February were worth
USD7.325 billion, up 22 percent, putting the total export figures for the first
two months of this year at US$14.449 billion.
Pongsak attributed Thailand’s export success to the
strengthening of important markets such as the US, Japan, the EU and Asia. In
addition, he cited cooperation between the public and private sectors in
penetrating new markets and expanding existing ones, in terms of both quantity
and quality of goods exported.
Export sectors which recorded notably high growth rates were
agricultural goods and industrial goods. Other high performing exports over the
first two months of the year were frozen, canned and processed seafood,
electronic goods and automobiles. The only blip in the figures came from
exports of chicken products, which plummeted by 39 percent as a result of avian
flu. (TNA)
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