He and three deputy ministers will take office on Thursday.

The ministry will also provide advice to farmers on how to deal with the situation, he added.

The ministry has called on people everywhere to save water as this year’s rainy season is expected to remain drier than normal.

Foreign investors net bought Bt1.27 billion of stocks compared to Bt687.18 million by individual investors.

Other Asian markets closed mixed yesterday, with the Singapore exchange ended down 9.39 points from Friday at 3,347.95.

Bursa Malaysia closed at 1,627.37, up 2.92 points from Friday while the Hang Seng index gained 83.26 points from Friday to close at 28,554.88.

These cases involve share manipulation, digital asset frauds and the selling of digital assets without an official licence from SEC, said secretary-general Ruenvadee Suwanmongkol, adding that the it had filed a share manipulation charge in one of cases.

Given the growing number of cases over the past few years, the SEC will now be sharing information on all allegations with the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) and the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) from the start of investigation, Ruenvadee said.

Previously, she said, the SEC’s investigation of each case would take a year and a half and it might lead to further inquiries by other units. However, in some cases, the final verdict would be that reached by the SEC in the first place .

With the three units working closely together, the SEC aims to shorten the investigation process. Perpetrators of these crimes have been using more sophisticated tactics for stock manipulation and digital asset frauds to escape detection by the authorities.

For instance, some would use a number of accounts to manipulate stocks over a longer period of time. Thus, it requires the resources of all three units in the investigation, she said.

The SEC and AMLO will work together to solve most cases while the DSI will focus on cases involving more than Bt100 million each, she explained.

In regard to digital assets, the SEC is in the process of approving licences for digital asset exchanges, brokers and dealers, Ruenvadee said.

The SEC has approved licences for three digital exchanges, while another is being developed and will apply for approval once the project is completed, she added.

Furthermore, the watchdog is implementing new technologies to increase security level and boost investors’ confidence in the Thai stock market, she said.

For example, the SET will deploy artificial intelligence to monitor trading behaviour, aimed at detecting signs of share manipulation.

Earlier today, the regulator signed two memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) with AMLO and and DSI respectively to increase the level of information sharing in the investigation of money laundering, share manipulation and digital asset fraud cases, among others.

The three units will be working together and sharing relevant information on all cases from the start of investigation, said SEC secretary-general Ruenvadee Suwanmongkol.

This close cooperation will shorten the process of investigation as the responsibility of each case will no longer need to be transferred between units when the jurisdiction overlaps, she said.

The EEC covers the provinces of Chachoengsao, Chonburi and Rayong to the east and south of Bangkok.

Association secretary general Srisuwan Janya said that if its plea was ignored, it would join with people in the three provinces to take the case to the Central Administrative Court and Constitution Court.

Ad spending on cable/satellite TVs fell 20.91 per cent during the month to about Bt174 million as digital and terrestrial televisions saw a 6.72 per cent decline to about Bt5.929 billion, followed by 5.44 per cent for cinemas.

Meanwhile, in-store media posted the biggest growth in June, rising 15.48 per cent year on year to about Bt97 million, followed by transit ad at 15.48 per cent to Bt97 million.

Ad spending on outdoor media and radio also gained, growing by 6.12 per cent and 1.95 per cent in June to Bt607 million and Bt418 million.

Ad spending in the first six months of this year dropped by 2 per cent year on year to about Bt50.7 billion, with transit and outdoor being the only media segments showing increases of 6.07 per cent and 1.32 per cent to about Bt3.14 billion and Bt3.37 billion.

Magazines and newspapers saw the biggest losses of 21.13 per cent and 17.74 per cent to Bt515 million and Bt2.38 billion year on year in the first half, followed by 13.31 per cent for cable/satellite TVs to Bt1.07 billion.

Cinema ad also dropped 4.04 per cent to Bt3.68 billion while ad spending on radio declined by 3.63 per cent to about Bt2.17 billion in the period.

Digital and terrestrial TVs saw a slight drop of 0.58 per cent to Bt33.07 billion as in-store media posted zero growth at Bt514 million in the first half.

The association’s manager, Kukrit Arepagorn, attributed the rise to growth in demand from China, which imported 25,000 tonnes of Thai chicken products in the first five months, up 1,462 per cent from the same period last year. Demand from other countries had also increased by up to eight per cent in the first five months, to 138,000 tonnes. Exports to South Korea, Japan and Malaysia also rose, he said.

With the strong demand in the market so far this year, the association expects Thai fresh and processed chicken exports to achieve the target of 900,000 tonnes by the end of 2019. However, in terms of value, the growth will be curbed by the fact that the baht has strengthened from Bt32 per dollar last year to an average of Bt30.6 this year, he said.

Thailand’s Adul Chotinisakorn said on Monday it was agreed on July 3 that preferential tariff privileges could be granted for products from certified exporters on receipt of a document from the exporter or manufacturer proving their origin.

It’s being called “certificate of origin self-certification”.

The issue had long been a stumbling block among the 16 nations seeking to finalise the RCEP, which are all 10 Southeast Asian countries, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

The agreement allows each country to choose a model for establishing proof of origin rather than tying them to certification based on specific products, Adul said, thus increasing convenience for businesspeople and flexibility in trade between nations.

“Reaching an agreement to use certificate of origin self-certification was key to helping solve problems and supporting negotiations on related issues and ensuring that the RCEP is concluded in accordance with the goal announced at last month’s Asean Summit,” Adul said.

Agreement was reached at the same meeting on a means of calculating of raw-material proportions across the region, rules for member-countries to maintain confidentiality, and guidelines for managing products and raw materials that are “the same and can be used interchangeably”.

With the election of the new Thai cabinet recently, the country crossed another milestone in its return to a participatory form of government.

“We expect the new government to focus on healing the divide in the country. If the efforts show progress in the next few years, the much-talked-about reconciliation in Thailand may start. We believe this may allow a more normal form of democratic politics to take root. The Thai government’s strong credit metrics, at the ‘BBB+’ foreign currency credit rating level, could improve further in this scenario.

“The risk is that the Thai economy’s weakened competitiveness might exacerbate the disparities in the country before the impact from these efforts can be felt,” said S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Kim Eng Tan. “Political instability may become a greater issue again if that happens.”

Thailand’s sovereign credit fundamentals have weathered well the 15 years of political uncertainty since 2005. Where political uncertainty exacted its cost is in Thailand’s competitiveness and economic potential. During the 15-year period when the Thai economy grew an average 3.5-per-cent annually while every other major South and Southeast Asian economy grew by 5 per cent or more.

“Weakening competitiveness could erode Thailand’s sovereign credit support over time,” Tan said. “Apart from weighing on economic growth, it could reduce the government’s capacity to cope with its fast-ageing population.

“However, we believe recent developments increase the likelihood that Thailand could avert this pessimistic scenario. Despite the controversies around the recent parliamentary polls, the elected government has a stronger mandate to implement changes with long-lasting impact than the coup government,” he continued, stressing that the report does not constitute a rating action.

Quarterly price growth of +1.2% in the predominately domestic markets of prime south west London properties from Fulham through to Wimbledon, means this part of the market, unlike others, is showing modest annual price growth.

“This primarily reflects a shortage of stock, which has been particularly pronounced in this part of London,” says Prapaporn Boonkajornkul, head of International Residential Sales at Savills. “Some Savills south-west London agents tell us that a lack of stock is now the biggest constraint on their market, which has led to a narrowing of expectations between buyers and sellers.

“Across the prime London markets as a whole, we’ve seen the surprise return of competitive bidding. This results from relatively low stock levels and buyer commitment to securing the very best properties in a fragile marketplace.”

In the high-profile, high-value markets of prime central London prices fell by a further -0.9% in the quarter, resulting in year-on-year price falls of -3.6%, similar to the levels seen since the end of 2017.

This means that price falls across all prime central London value bands have now converged at around -20% below their peak of market 2014 levels.

“Traditionally that is an indicator that the market is close to full re-pricing,” says Prapaporn. “However, despite a currency play, which means that they are now 40-per-cent cheaper than in June of that year for a US dollar-based buyer, prime central London remains highly price sensitive in the light of ongoing political uncertainty.

“Indeed, in a survey conducted in mid-June, 90 per cent of Savills agents in central London named Brexit uncertainty as the single biggest challenge in this market.”

“Savills Five-year forecast predicts that higher level of global wealth will assist long-term demand with 12.4-per-cent growth anticipated over 5 years,” Prapaporn noted,

“There are a number of indicators for sellers to be more optimistic. But we face heightened uncertainty over what a new prime minister will mean for Brexit, the economy and, critically, tax policy, which suggests the prime markets will remain price sensitive across the remainder of 2019,” she added.

“We have already seen stamp duty reform raised by Boris Johnson and his supporters. While it remains to be seen whether a compelling case can be made for cuts at the top end of the market from a tax revenue perspective, such a move now seems more likely than it did under the previous administration.

“Sellers who hold out for a stamp duty cut to oil the market will need to weigh this against the risk of further disruption to the market that could result from a no-deal Brexit or the possibility of a higher tax environment in the event of a change of government.”