Northeast Rubber has set its 2021 revenue target at Bt22 billion in line with the substantially growing demand for rubber, the company’s chief executive officer Chuwit Jungtanasomboon said recently.
The firm produces and distributes ribbed smoked sheets as well as standard and mixed rubber to manufacturers in various industries plus middlemen in both local and foreign markets.
He added that demand from rubber-glove producers has continued to rise.
The company expects half of its total sales next year to come from the local market.
Govt confident economy will cross 4% growth mark, central bank not so sure
EconDec 07. 2020Deputy Prime Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow
By The Nation
The government is confident the economy will expand no less than 4 per cent next year, said Deputy Prime Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow.
Supattanapong, who also doubles as energy minister, said the government will continue to seek more measures to lift the economy, which is struggling in the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Earlier, the Bank of Thailand’s governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput said he expected economic growth next year to be below 4 per cent as the tourism and export sectors may not recover fully.
Speaking at a separate event, Sethaphut said the bank was ready to control the rising baht to mitigate the impact on the export sector as well as execute a monetary policy to support economic growth.
Economic growth this year is expected to be better than the earlier estimate of minus 8 per cent, he said, adding that the bank will revise its growth forecast for 2020.
He said growth next year will be less than 4 per cent as the number of foreign tourists is unlikely to reach the previously estimated 9 million.
However, he expects the figures for consumption to enter the positive territory next year.
Earlier, the Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking predicted that the Thai economy will grow 2 to 4 per cent next year, while exports will grow 3 to 5 per cent.
By THE NATIONThe price of gold over the next two weeks is expected to fluctuate within a small range, while in the long term it will show a downward tendency, Gold Traders Association chairman Jitti Tangsitpakdee said on Monday.
“One of the factors that could affect the price of gold next year is the economic and international trade policies to be announced by the newly elected US president,” he said. “Traders should keep a close eye on international atmosphere starting as early as January.
“The gold price early this year was at Bt21,500 per baht weight, and then it gradually rose to the highest on August 7 at Bt30,400 per baht weight before falling again to Bt25,400 per baht weight in October,” he added. “The price as of this morning was Bt26,300, rising a little from last week, which is enough to attract investors and those prefer saving money in the form of gold.
“About 95 per cent of gold being sold this year are gold bars, while few have been buying gold ornaments,” added Jitti.
“Also, people have been selling off their gold jewellery as they need cash during this economic recession. This has resulted in gold shops suffering low profits as gold bars have a lower profit margin than gold ornaments.
“Gold shops need to be extra careful in cost management, as their profits are dropping while their fixed costs are still the same,” he said.
Crudely made temple statues have recently become social-media sensations for their simplicity and ridiculousness, though some netizens wonder if they are the result of corruption.However, many have put these creatures down to unskilled monks or workmen trying their hand at sculpture.The beautifully modelled mythical creatures gracing Thai temples have always featured in photography, but now this “naïve art” has also become a subject of art, much to the confusion of resident monks.Temples attracting camera-toting tourists include Wat Chaiyaphum Karam in Ubon Ratchathani, Phra That Kham Kaen in Khon Kaen and Wat Mak Rangsarit in Nakhon Sawan.
Miss Thailand contestants stopped off in Lampang province on Sunday as part of their publicity trip to the North.
There they visited the Mae Moh Mine Museum to learn how electricity arrived in Thailand and checked out a field of Mexican sunflowers nearby.
They also visited Wat Phra That Lampang Luang Temple and the Elephant Conservation Centre in Ko Kha district, where they checked out the elephant hospital and even helped out at feeding time.
The operation and maintenance (O&M) project of M6 Motorway (Bangpa-In – Nakhon Ratchasima) for a distance of 196 kilometres, and the M9 Motorway (Bangyai – Kanchanaburi) for a distance of 96km are currently undergoing plan adjustment, the Department of Highways said.
The department’s director-general, Sarawut Songwilai, said the updated plans would be submitted to the Cabinet by January 2021.
“The reasons we need to adjust the plans are due to changes in the bidding process, as the project had been initiated back in 2012 and there have been changes in the geographic condition of the construction areas,” he said.
“Also, on the routes that run through such facilities as irrigation canals, the height of bridges would need to be increased and therefore require a corresponding budget.”
Sarawut added that the department had estimated the cost of construction of the M6 Motorway at Bt70 billion, while the price offered by the bidder was Bt60 billion.
“We estimate that the plan adjustment would require an additional Bt6.8 billion from the Bt10 billion that we have left,” he said.
“The updated plan should be finished within this month, and after it is approved by the Minister of Transport it would be proposed to the Cabinet by January next year.”
The Bangpa-In – Nakhon Ratchasima Motorway will start the test run period around the end of 2022. Currently, 92 per cent of construction has been completed.
The O&M project will be handled by bid winner BGSR Consortium, which consists of BTS Group Holding, Gulf Energy Development, Sino-Thai Engineering and Construction and Ratch Group, for 30 years after it opens for public use.
BGSR offered Bt21.3 billion, lower than the estimated Bt33.25 billion cost of the O&M project.
Construction of the Bangyai-Kanchanaburi Motorway is now 40 per cent complete. BGSR is also the bid winner for the O&M project.
It is expected to open for public use within 2023.
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration reported 21 new cases in state quarantine facility over a 24-hour period on Monday.
The cases includenine Thais aged between 21 and 44 who returned from Tachilek city in Myanmar on December 4 and tested positive for Covid-19 on the same day. They were immediately sent to Chiang Rai Prachanukroh Hospital for treatment.
Four Thais aged 25 to 45 returned from the United Kingdom on November 30 and checked into a state quarantine facility in Chonburi where they tested positive on December 4.
An American woman, 47, and a seven-year-old boy who travelled from the US on December 4 tested positive on the same day at an alternative state quarantine hotel in Bangkok.
A Thai ship crew member, 23, and a mechanic, 33, who arrived from Singapore on November 30 and checked into a state quarantine facility in Bangkok, tested positive on December 5.
An Estonian man, 61, who arrived on November 28 and checked into an alternative state quarantine hotel in Bangkok, tested positive on December 3.
An Indian man, 40, who arrived on November 28 tested positive on December 3 at a quarantine hotel in Bangkok.
A German man, 61, who landed on November 21 was found to be positive on December 3 at a quarantine hotel in Bangkok.
A Nigerian medical tourist, 20, who arrived from the United Arab Emirates on December 4 was found to positive on the same day. She is at an alternative hospital quarantine hotel.
Meanwhile, 15 patients have recovered and been discharged.
The total number of confirmed cases in Thailand has risen to 4,107 (1,125 in state quarantine), of whom 179 are in hospital and 3,868 have recovered and been discharged. The death toll remains unchanged at 60.
According to the Worldometer, as of 10 am, the total number of confirmed cases worldwide has risen to 67.39 million (up by 534,942). Of them, 46.58 million have recovered, while 19.27 million are active cases (106,139 in severe condition) and 1.54 million have died (up by 7,537).
Thailand ranks 151st for most cases in the world, while the US tops the list with 15.16 million, followed by India 9.67 million, Brazil 6.6 million, Russia 2.46 million and France 2.29 million.
Dr Sophon Iamsirithaworn, general communicable diseases director at the Department of Disease Control, told the press that there are so many cases from Tachilek because though the 1G1 hotel, where many of them work, was closed on November 24 due to the outbreak, infections spread because people lived in airconditioned surroundings without wearing a mask. So far, at least 36 patients have been linked to this location.
Chief executive officer Chuwit Jungtanasomboon 
Deputy Prime Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow 
Illustration credit: Kun-gee 
SootinClaimon.Com 