Thailand’s army chief on Wednesday urged teachers in the country’s insurgency-racked south to stay at home after 6pm to avoid falling victim to militants as the new school year gets under way. Nearly 160 teachers and other school staff have been killed during a nine-year-old insurgency that has gripped Thailand’s Muslim-majority deep south, bordering Malaysia. [...]

As Asian economies continue to be resilient to European financial woes, British firm Synergy, a manufacturer and supplier of flavour-enhancing ingredients, is setting up a new factory in Samut Prakan province. Geoff Allen, managing director of Synergy Flavours (Thailand), said the company’s decision to establish its first facility in Asia comes from Thailand’s advantages in [...]

Manmohan Singh will be here on May 30 on his way back from Japan and leave for New Delhi on May 31. Yingluck has already visited India twice once as Chief guest at the Republic Day last year and later for the Asean India commemorative summit to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the India Asean [...]

“Children and women will not be spared,” warned the leaflet. It wasn’t an idle threat. On May 1, Islamist insurgents from the Pejuang Kemerdekaan Fatoni – the Fatoni or Pattani Fighters – opened fire on villagers outside a grocery store in Thailand’s restive deep south. A 2-year-old boy was killed along with his father and [...]

More than eight million residents and tourists in southern Thailand – - many of them in famous travel hubs such as Phuket, Hat Yai and Koh Samui – - were caught off guard by the country’s biggest-ever power blackout Tuesday night, plunging much of the region into darkness. Nerves were rattled by the sudden power [...]

On the outskirts of the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai, a group of twelve migrant families lives in a makeshift camp comprised of houses constructed from scrap metal. They share three toilets between them, and each home consists of nothing more than a single room, whose flimsy walls and roof provide little privacy, and [...]

Charles River, an enterprise-wide front- and middle-office investment management solutions provider, today announced that SCB Asset Management Company Limited has selected the Charles River Investment Management Solution Version 9 (Charles River IMS) and broker-neutral Charles River FIX Network for automated portfolio management, electronic trading and execution management, and compliance monitoring. Charles River has a well [...]

Sunday marked the third anniversary of the culmination, with 89 deaths, of what has become known in Bangkok as “savage May.” Although an estimated 26,000 people assembled at a rally Sunday in Bangkok to mark the occasion, Thailand has calmed down from the long stint of political turmoil and violence. “We all have little things [...]

Thailand’s deputy prime minister, Chalerm Yubamrung, plans to introduce a contentious amnesty bill into parliament on Thursday that will stoke new political tensions three years after bloody street protests and a military crackdown exposed Thailand’s deep divisions. The so-called reconciliation bill would absolve all political offenders involved in protests since a 2006 coup and open [...]

Thailand’s economy shrank 2.2 percent in the three months to March from the previous quarter – the first contraction in more than a year – as manufacturing output fell, official data showed on Monday. The decline followed a blistering year-long recovery from devastating floods in late 2011 that hit major factories north of the capital [...]

Critics at the Second Asia Pacific Water Summit in Chiang Mai have taken aim at the Thai government’s $12 billion water management plan. Academics and policy makers said the flood programme was expensive and unsound. They said the plan does not factor in environmental or health impact assessments on flood prone areas, violating Thailand’s constitution. [...]

Thailand’s deputy prime minister, Chalerm Yubamrung, plans to introduce a contentious amnesty bill into parliament on Thursday that will stoke new political tensions three years after bloody street protests and a military crackdown exposed Thailand’s deep divisions. The so-called reconciliation bill would absolve all political offenders involved in protests since a 2006 coup and open [...]

Thailand’s growth was slower than economists estimated in the first quarter as exports cooled, boosting the case for the central bank to cut interest rates. Gross domestic product increased 5.3 percent in the three months through March from a year earlier, after expanding a revised 19.1 percent in the previous quarter, the National Economic and [...]

Thailand and Laos agreed to boost cooperation in various sectors during their second Joint Cabinet Retreat in the northern Thai capital of Chiang Mai on Sunday, Thai News Agency (TNA) reported. Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her Laos counterpart, Thongsing Thammavong, signed several agreements, including on administration and maintenance of the fourth Thai-Lao Friendship [...]

Around 12,000 Red Shirt protesters rallied in Bangkok Sunday to mark the third anniversary of a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests which exposed Thailand’s deep divisions, police said. About 90 people were killed and nearly 1,900 wounded in a series of street clashes in May 2010 between demonstrators and security forces, which culminated in the [...]

Thailand’s leaders say they’re concerned delays of the high speed rail link between Thailand and Laos via China could continue, after the Laos side placed the project on hold over Chinese involvement. Speaking at a Thai and Laos cabinet meeting last week, Thailand prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra said his cabinet has convened with Lao’s government [...]

Prime minister Sheikh Hasina flew off to Thailand on Sunday morning for a two-day tour to attend the Second Asia-Pacific Water Forum. She left on a Biman Bangladesh Airlines special flight headed for Chiang Mai with her entourage. Hasina is expected to address the inaugural session of the Asia-Pacific Water Forum on Monday at Chiang [...]

President Saakashvili is visiting Thai city of Chiang Mai, which hosts water security summit on May 19-20 On the sideline of the second 2nd Asia-Pacific Water Summit, President Saakashvili met Thailand’s prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, as well as Laos prime minister Thongsing Thammavong. Saakashvili said in televised comments that the visit was part of his [...]

The Philippines’ largest national flag carrier, Cebu Pacific (PSE:CEB) announced it will begin direct flights from Manila to Phuket, Thailand, starting August 16, 2013. CEB is the first and only airline to provide direct air services from the Philippines to this popular island destination. Using its fleet of brand-new Airbus A320 aircraft, CEB will operate [...]

Thailand and Cambodia yesterday agreed to strengthen cooperation and solve any border conflicts with mutual trust. Defence minister ACM Sukampol Suwannathat met his Cambodian counterpart general Tea Banh at a general Border Committee (GBC) meeting at a golf resort in Rayong province. After the meeting, Sukampol told the press that both countries had agreed to [...]

Thailand’s asset management industry is one of the most investor-friendly in the world, according to a study by Morningstar, the US-based mutual fund tracking service. Thailand’s fund industry ranked third with a grade of B, behind the United States (A) and South Korea (B+), in the 24-country survey. Three other countries achieved B grades: the [...]

Struggling to cope with a slump in demand, Tata Motors has taken a call to postpone the development of its new assembly plant in Thailand worth 10 billion baht (around Rs 1,839 crore). The automaker has instead decided to break into Thailand’s passenger car market during the third quarter of this year with the introduction [...]

Thailand has agreed to offer duty free market access of selected Bangladeshi products to its market as it seeks to increase bilateral trade and investment, a commerce ministry statement said. The agreement came at the 3rd meeting of Bangladesh-Thailand Joint Trade Committee, held from May 14-15, 2013 in Bangkok. Commerce minister Ghulam Muhammed Quader led [...]

American born entrepreneur William Heinecke, 64, makes his debut among the world’s billionaires, thanks to a surge in the value of his Minor International hotel and food company. Shares of the outfit, in which he has a one third stake, were up 5 percent on Thursday; they have nearly doubled in the past year. Minor, [...]

Thailand’s government is phasing out the use of shackles in prisons in a move aimed at improving its international human rights standards. Hundreds of inmates convicted of major crimes in the country had to wear shackles on their hands and feet. Some shackles can weigh as much as five kilograms. The move has been welcomed [...]

Thailand has limited the use of shackles on more than 500 prisoners who committed serious crimes in a move to conform to international human rights standards. Prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra said Wednesday the initiative also shows the government’s intent to switch its emphasis from punishment to rehabilitation of inmates. Under the pilot project, 563 well-behaved [...]

Enhanced Thai-Bangladeshi cooperation will double the trading volume between the two countries to $1.7 billion in the next three years, Thailand’s commerce minister said Wednesday. Boonsong Teriyapirom said after a meeting of the Thai-Bangladeshi trade committee that the two countries had agreed to map out an “operation plan” to minimise their trade imbalance, jointly organise [...]

Thai rice exporters have cut a forecast for 2013 exports of the grain to 6.0 million tonnes from 6.5 million, a trade body said, hit by uncompetitive prices caused by a government purchase scheme and a strong baht currency. The latest export forecast was down 13 percent from the 6.9 million tonnes Thailand exported in [...]

Thailand’s state-owned PTT Pcl (PTT), Southeast Asia’s first importer of liquefied natural gas, is set to get a spot cargo from Yemen at the Map Ta Phut terminal. The GDF Suez (GSZ) Point Fortin, with a capacity of 154,982 cubic metres, is scheduled to arrive at the terminal on Wednesday, according to a PTT official [...]

Aon Plc said its latest rankings of all the world’s countries left Thailand with a rating of four out of five on the company’s terrorism risk map. It cited “(n)ear daily attacks by separatist militants” in the deep South. According to Aon, the top-10 countries at risk from terrorism are, in order, Afghanistan, India, Iraq, [...]

Separatist insurgents in Thailand’s southern border provinces are committing war crimes by targeting children and other civilians, Human Rights Watch said today. The Thai government should address the cycle of deadly reprisals by investigating and prosecuting state security personnel implicated in abuses against ethnic Malay Muslims. On May 1, 2013, around 8:30 p.m., four insurgents [...]

Any Thai who marks the anniversaries of the May 1992 “mobile phone mob” uprising and May 2010 red-shirt uprising with the same solemn sincerity should be commended. From a general observation, it’s unlikely that there are many such people. The country’s political divide has run deep and the two bloody events do not share many [...]

Thailand and Bangladesh plan to forge closer cooperation under the Joint Trade Committee (JTC), meeting this month, aimed at doubling bilateral trade between the two countries within the next three years. The Third JTC meeting will be held in Bangkok on Tuesday and Wednesday. Piramol Charoenpao, director-general of the Trade Negotiations Department, said the JTC [...]

The majority of Laotians working in Thailand avoid proper registration because they not only find it complicated but too expensive, according to research conducted by Ubon Ratchathani University. “Only about 10 per cent of Laotian migrant workers have registered themselves properly,” said Assistant Professor Pruek Taotawin of the university. “This means Thailand will continue to [...]

Thailand and Myanmar will sign a deal on May 27 to set up a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to manage the massive Dawei project for a deep seaport and economic zone, said prime minister’s Office minister Nivatthamrong Boonsongpaisal. The signing will take place after a meeting of the Joint High-Level Committee, co-chaired by Myanmar vice [...]

Thailand and Mozambique aim to strengthen their ties on trade and investment. After meeting with Commerce minister Boonsong Teriyapirom in Bangkok yesterday, Mozambican Foreign minister Oldemiro Baloi said his country expected closer cooperation in the government-to-government and private-to-private sectors. The two countries will sign a memorandum of understanding on trade and investment and have also [...]

Thailand has agreed to retrospectively re-examine rules of origin certificates issued to Indian gold importers after New Delhi said third-country gold was routed through Thailand to take advantage of concessional duty available under India-Thailand free trade agreement. If any certificate is found lacking, importer will have to cough up additional duties, spelling more miseries for [...]

Thailand was among 27 countries targetted by cyber criminals who stole at least $45 million by hacking into a database of prepaid debit cards and making withdrawals from ATMs.. The massive heist unfolded “in a matter of hours,” said the US prosecutor’s office for Brooklyn, New York. Prosecutors unveiled charges against eight people accused of [...]

Insurance Australia Group, which posted a $62 million pre-tax loss on its Asian business last year after severe flooding hit Thailand, is enjoying a reversal in fortunes. Both sales and profit have returned to the Thai operation this year, the head of the company’s Asian operations says. “We have rebounded exceptionally well, both at a [...]

India could export 8.3 million tonnes of rice this year and keep its title as top exporter in the world, while Thailand slips to third, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said Tuesday. India last year surpassed Thailand as the top exporter for the first time in three decades, shipping 10.3 million tonnes of milled [...]

The officer, who is not named by media because she remains undercover, was a finalist for the job and would have become the first female chief of clandestine operations. As one of the last remaining senior CIA officers who held leadership roles in the agency’s interrogation and detention programme, however, she was a politically risky [...]

This is part 3 of a series of posts on public debt in Thailand. The first post was on whether Thailand’s state-enterprise debt should be counted as part of public debt. The second post was comparing Thailand’s public debt to other countries. There has been a lot of concern raised in the media about public [...]

The Thai government should revoke a decision to shield military personnel from criminal prosecution for the 2010 political bloodshed, Human Rights Watch said today. A general amnesty proposed by the ruling party that would include those responsible for serious human rights abuses should be rejected. On May 1, the director-general of the Justice Ministry’s Department [...]

Thailand is preparing to do its first fixed rate public dollar bond in the offshore market since 1997 and now plans to be a regular issuer, according to Chularat Suteethorn, the director general for the Public Debt Management Office. “We have plans to go to the international capital market since we think that it is [...]

REC weren’t kidding when they stated a recent major Thailand solar project wouldn’t be the first one for the company in that nation. Last week, REC announced it will deliver 72 MW of its high efficiency solar panels for the construction of six solar farms in Nakhon Pathom and Suphan Buri provinces in Thailand. 293,040 [...]

TJA president Pradit Ruangdit said this year’s theme “Freedom without Intimidation” was used to reflect the current political climate in which both individuals and the media had been at loggerheads. Media freedom should not be abused, he added. “There must be campaigning among media organisations to act responsibly – to tolerate differences of opinion and [...]

An Algerian sought in connection with the “SpyEye” computer virus designed to steal financial and personal information was extradited by Thailand to the United States to face charges, officials said Friday. The US Justice Department said Hamza Bendelladj, known by his alias “Bx1,” would face charges in federal court in Atlanta, Georgia, for his role [...]

A lawyer for Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra has filed a defamation suit against an influential cartoonist alleging he compared the premier to a prostitute in a facebook post, police said Friday. Chai Rachawat, a cartoonist for a prominent daily newspaper, posted pictures of Yingluck on Tuesday accompanied by the words “… a prostitute is [...]

Thailand and Sri Lanka have agreed to double their trade to US$1 billion (29.6 billion baht) over the next three to five years. The two countries set the trade target at the 3rd Sri Lanka-Thailand Joint Commission meeting in Colombo on Thursday. Foreign minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul and Sri Lankan External Affairs minister Gamini Lakshman Peiris, [...]

Thailand’s national security chief said on Thursday that talks aimed at bringing peace to the violence-plagued south would press on despite an attack blamed on Muslim insurgents that killed six people, including a three-year-old boy. Paradorn Pattanathabutr, secretary-general of the National Security Council, was speaking after an emergency meeting called by prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra [...]