“If these projects are proposed to the Cabinet, they will go ahead swiftly, early next year. I’d like to see the East Economic Corridor Project [get under way] in the fourth quarter” of this year, Somkid said.

After a recent meeting with the Transport Ministry, he said the East Economic Corridor Project would be submitted to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on August 31 before forwarding it to the Cabinet next month.

The East Economic Corridor Project consists of four key transport-infrastructure projects that the ministry is responsible for – Bangkok-Rayong high-speed railway, U-tapao International Airport, a seaport as well as a ferry port.

The train project will be forwarded to the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Committee before going to the Cabinet.

The airport and Chuk Samet Port will be funded by their owner, the Royal Thai Navy.

Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said that on August 31, the overall picture of the East Economic Corridor Project with benefits from the transport-infrastructure projects would be proposed.

The land-development plans for the four high-speed railways will also be proposed. The lines are Bangkok-Rayong, Bangkok-Hua Hin, Bangkok-Phitsanulok-Chiang Mai, and Bangkok-Nakhon Ratchasima.

After sounding the market with the private sector, these development plans will be opened for PPPs.

The property development will begin along the Bangkok-Rayong route with five potential stations –Pattaya, Chon Buri, Sri Racha, Rayong and Chachoengsao.

The Bangkok-Rayong project was given Cabinet approval for bidding expected early next year.

The Bangkok-Phitsanulok route was opened for Japan and it was conducting a feasibility study on the return on investment from fares and land development.

The result will be presented to the Cabinet in November before the project is designed.

The Bangkok-Nakhon Rat-chasima train project, which has China as Thailand’s partner, will be discussed in Beijing tomorrow to finalise China’s design of the 3.5-kilometre first section.

The design by China for the 11km second section will be delivered in November and for the 110km third section in February.

Thailand and China will draft a contract for the design and construction of the Bangkok-Nakhon Ratchasima high-speed-rail project and its progress will be reported to the Cabinet today.

The four foreign operators are two companies from China, one from Japan and one from Indonesia.

TOT, which is one of the top fixed-line broadband service providers, will set up the company to run its fixed broadband service. Currently TOT has 1.3 million |fixed-line broadband service subscribers.

TOT president Montchai Noosong said the strategic partner would help TOT survive the intensely competitive fixed-line broadband market

At the same time, TOT and CAT will have three similar core businesses merge to form new companies namely, the National Broadband Network (NBN), the Neutral Gateway Network (NGN), and the Internet Data Center (IDC). TOT will lead the creation of NBN, while CAT will lead the establishment of NGN and IDC.

Montchai said that TOT was preparing to hire consultants for creating the consolidated companies and the fixed broadband company, with hiring expected to finish next month.

Wireless broadband

In a related issue, Montchai said TOT expected to seek a strategic partner for its plan to develop a wireless broadband service on its 60 megahertz of 2.3 gigahertz specctrum by end of this year.

He said TOT was in the process of selecting an adviser to find the strategic partner.

TOT forecasts securing a profit margin from the project of around Bt3 billion a year, starting from next year.

In July, TOT’s board approved the plan to seek the partner for this investment by sending invitations to international telecom suppliers and local telecom operators to propose the business plan.

According to the new investment, there are two distinct parts.

The first involves inviting all foreign suppliers – there are currently three, Hauwei, Ericsson and Nokia – to submit investment plans with financial terms.

The second part involves surveying potential capacity demand on the 2.3GHz network by Advanced Info Service, Total Access Communication and True Group.

TOT is conducting the technical test on the 2.3GHz service along certain sections of the Skytrain routes and in Ratchburi.

This year TOT is expected to suffer a total loss at around Bt10 billion. Its revenue in the first six months was Bt12.45 billion, below the expectation of Bt18.1. billion, and with a loss of Bt6 billion.

“We expect the missing connection of the Purple Line to the MRT Blue Line for one station with one kilometre in distance to be available in the middle of next year and also the two extensions of the MRT Blue Line to open service within three years,” Sombat Kitjalaksana, managing director of BEM, told The Nation.

Last month, the prime minister ordered parties involved in the project to solve the problem of finding an operator for the MRT Blue Line’s two extensions, including the missing link between the Purple Line’s Tao Poon Station and the Blue Line’s Bang Sue Station.

BEM’s stock closed up 0.63 per cent at Bt7.95 in response to the good news that the Mass Rapid Transit Authority (MRT) had completed its revenue-sharing regulations for the Blue Line’s extension.

If negotiations are successful, BEM will likely run the whole 55km loop of the Blue Line with 42 stations, which includes the existing Bang Sue-Hua Lamphong main route and the two extensions of Hua Lamphong-Bang Khae and Bang Sue-Thaphra.

Insiders believe that BEM, which also operates the new 42.Purple Line running 42.8km in length with 32 stations from the northern suburbs, would have benefits from operating the extended routes of the Blue Line.

This means that the existing Blue Line, whose concession ends in 2029, will be extended to 2049 – the same term as the the extended routes’ concession.

BEM could enjoy an upside gain in the long term, expected at about Bt1.1 billion-Bt3.4 billion a year, if the company was granted the |operating concession for the Blue Line’s extension, KGI Securities Thailand reiterated in its latest analysis.

However, the higher revenue assumed ridership of 600,000 passengers a year, a 20-per-cent stake at the initial stage, average fare per rider of Bt29 and the kick-start of the Blue Line’s extension in 2019.

Sombat said the company was likely to open talks next month with the committees in line with the order.

The result of the talks would hopefully be satisfactory to both sides.

However, he declined to go into detail on how much the ticket |fare for the extended routes should be, as this would depend on the business model, or which kind of concessions to be granted by the government.

“There should be some kind of support from the government if it wants to keep the fares at a low level,” he said.

As a 28-per-cent owned subsidiary of Ch Karnchang, he said BEM was poised to invest more, around Bt20 billion to Bt30 billion, for the operation of the extended routes of the Blue Line.

Recently, the company successfully raised funds via issuing debentures worth Bt16.5 billion.

“We need at least 30 more trains of three cars each, doubling what we have right now for the existing MRT Blue Line,” said Sombat.

The company was also interested in running other commuter trains – which are under the government’s process to open bidding – like the Pink Line (Khae Rai-Min Buri), Yellow Line (Lat Phrao-Samrong) and Orange Line (Thai Cultural Centre-Min Buri).

“For Thailand, the status of being the primary Asean gem and jewellery centre could be an irresistible unique selling proposition,” Cavalieri said.

He was delivering a keynote address at a dinner talk held recently by the Commerce Ministry’s Department of International Trade Promotion, to support the 58th “Bangkok Gems and Jewellery Fair”, which will take place from September 7-11. Senior government and industry representatives attended the talk to map out strategies that would drive the Thai industry into the world’s top three.

Cavalieri proposed that Thailand become an “easily accessible and navigable gateway to the massive Asean region, which has a population of 600 million people – larger than those of the EU [European Union] and North America, and the third-largest labour force in the world behind China and India”.

Gateway to world market

Thailand also has the potential and all elements to serve as one of the world’s gem and jewellery centres to connect and act as a gateway to the world’s gems and jewellery industry, he said.

Cavalieri also advised Thai gems and jewellery businesspeople to make the “US market their primary target, since 55 per cent of the production of diamonds and gemstones are consumed in America”.

To break into the Chinese market, he added, they need to present themselves carefully in an unambiguous, structured and coordinated manner and promote events like the Bangkok Gems and Jewellery fair.

Reflecting on Thailand’s past robust growth and pride in the jewellery business dating back to 2004, Cavalieri said all the essential ingredients seemed to be there – raw materials, infrastructure, skilled workforce and a gemology community. Twelve years later, Thailand “has yet to fulfil the promises that existed in 2004”, he said. “Were you able to optimise your potential? In all honesty, I suggest you have not.

“Since 2004, while Thailand has been considered by many as second-tier, at least three Asian countries have played a more central role in global trade than Bangkok. One, of course, it can be argued, is Hong Kong, but today both Mumbai and Dubai are mentioned as well,” he said.

The ministry’s International Trade Promotion Department will allocate the largest proportion of its trade-promotion budget for Asean markets, focusing on Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV).

Malee Choklumlerd, director-general of the department, said it had been allocated a budget of Bt2 billion for the upcoming fiscal year (October 2016 to September 2017), and up to 25 per cent would be spent on export-promotion activities in Asean countries, focusing on CLMV.

Asean member states are major trading partners of Thailand, with 25 per cent of Thai export value earned from this region.

The budget allocated to Asean countries will be spent to promote trade in services and goods, especially Thai brand names, organising trade fairs and trade missions, setting up promotions in department stores, and creating networks for Thai traders with local distributors.

The remaining budget will be allocated to other markets, including 25 per cent to East Asia and Oceania, 20 per cent to Western Europe, 10 per cent to the Americas, and 5 per cent each to South Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. In addition, the International Trade Promotion Department will nominate Thai marketing representatives in many targeted markets.

Marketing strategies

Malee said the representatives would provide marketing strategies for Thai enterprises in response to local demand, while the government will be able to save the cost of setting up trade offices overseas.

At first, marketing representatives will be appointed for Lima in Peru, Ningxia in China, Hiroshima in Japan, Kolkata in India, and Sweden.

The department will spend about Bt20 million to Bt30 million on this project.

Next month, the department will invite representatives from the Board of Trade of Thailand, the Federation of Thai Industries, the Thai National Shippers Council and the Thai Bankers Association to a meeting in Bangkok with Thai trade officials posted overseas, to discuss export strategies, address trade obstacles and seek solutions.

The meeting is scheduled to be held during the September 7-11 “Bangkok Gems and Jewellery Fair” at Impact Muang Thong Thani.

Meanwhile, the National Food Institute expects the export of Thai foods to grow by 7 per cent this year to Bt972 billion, higher than the previous estimate of 5.6-per-cent expansion.

The more optimistic forecast is due to high demand but low supply in the world market, along with better confidence for the fishery industry after Thailand was upgraded to Tier 2 Watch List in the US State Department’s “Trafficking in Persons Report”.

In the first half of this year, the value of food exports rose 9.9 per cent to Bt474.84 billion on a low supply of agricultural goods worldwide due to drought.

The state agency said that the last time it raised these prices was in 2004.

It said the fees should be raised in line with the consumer price index (CPI).

Thailand Post said that based on a CPI this year that is estimated to be 37 per cent higher than in 2004, the service fee for sending a letter should be raised from Bt3 to Bt3.83, while the price for mailing a postcard should be raised from Bt2 to Bt2.67.

It said that the minimum price for sending a parcel should increase from Bt20 to Bt45.25, and money-transfer fee should be hiked from Bt10 to Bt30.22.

ICT Minister Uttama Savanayana declined to comment on the matter, as he had not yet seen Thailand Post’s request. According to the Postal Act 1934, increasing postal prices needs approval from the Cabinet.

Thailand Post wants the ICT Ministry to propose to the Cabinet a price ceiling for its services.

Thailand Post said that the hike in prices would reverse operational losses on these basic services and allow it to improve the services.

The state agency expects revenue to grow 22.6 per cent to Bt24 billion this year with a net profit of Bt3 billion.

In the first quarter it booked revenue of Bt12 billion and reported a net profit of Bt1.6 billion.

Countries participating in the Senior Officials Meeting-Asean Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry will include the 10 Asean member states – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam – plus China, Japan and South Korea (Asean+3).

The 10-point action plan outlines policy recommendations that can be considered by the attending countries to ensure that rice remains available and affordable across the region, especially in the face of increasing challenges from climate change.

The action plan dovetails with the Asean Integrated Food Security Framework and includes the |Asean Plus 3 Germplasm Development and Breeding Initiative.

This initiative in effect creates a regional platform for technology |collaboration that could improve |the genetic resources of |rice varieties available to the Asean+3 countries.

At the same time, it enables work to accelerate the development and deployment of climate-smart |rice varieties adapted to region-|specific conditions of drought, |flooding and salinity brought on by climate change.

In 2013, India, Nepal and Bangladesh entered a similar agreement to share released rice varieties with one another.

“The agreement meant that a new rice variety released in India could just as easily be released in Bangladesh or Nepal if they wanted a similar variety and vice versa,” explained Matthew Morell, IRRI director-general.

“Now is the time for Asean to make this commitment,” he said. “The rice industry feeds over 600 million people in the region each day. A joint investment in rice breeding can achieve food security for the entire region as well as create inclusive economic growth in the rice industry.”

Deliberations of the SOM-AMAF will take place from Monday to Friday next week.

The BDD and involved agencies, including the Lands Department and Provincial Administration Department of the Interior Ministry, have already inspected 13 companies, most of which are engaged in condominium business in the province, but no breaches of the law governing foreign ownership have yet been found.

BDD director-general Pongpun Gearaviriyapun said yesterday that government agencies would continue to inspect companies seen as likely to have breached rules under the Foreign Business Act for foreign interests holding a majority share in protected businesses that are preserved for Thais.

“After inspecting firms in Chon Buri, the department has not found any breaches to date, but we will need to deepen our investigation into some firms, and will also continue to inspect companies in other tourism-targeted provinces. The next provinces [in our sights] are Prachuap Khiri Khan andChiang Mai,” she said.

The BDD has already withdrawn the business licences of 15 companies in Phuket and three in Bangkok for having a nominee structure that allows foreigners to hold a majority stake or using Thai nationality to do business instead of foreigners.

Meanwhile, the department reported yesterday that new business registrations in the first seven months of the year had fallen slightly to 36,711, a decline of 0.6 per cent from the same period last year.

Despite the drop, the BDD remains confident that the number of new companies will reach the target of 60,000-65,000 this year, thanks to the government’s economic-stimulus measures and the faster pace of economic growth. Last month, the number of new companies dropped 9 per cent year on year to 4,919.

Duangporn Rodphaya, director-general of the Foreign Trade Department, said yesterday that with the state still holding a large overall stockpile, the government would consider all factors carefully and monitor the market situation daily in reaching a conclusion on whether it should suspend further sales.

“The upcoming auction for 1 million tonnes of rice could be the last this year before suspending sales for three to four months during the harvest season, which starts next month. However, the ministry will continue to release lower-grade rice that is not fit for [human] consumption, as that would not affect the current crop,” she explained.

Philippines plans to buy

Meanwhile, as the Philippines has recently announced plans to buy 250,000 tonnes of 25-per-cent white rice from abroad, the government will join the bidding, despite the price of Thai rice being considerably higher than the prices offered by the Kingdom’s two major rivals, Vietnam and Cambodia, she added.

Duangporn said the government would hold talks with the Thai Rice Exporters Association about participating in the tender, as the Philippines wanted to purchase new-crop rice.

Thai 25-per-cent white rice is currently quoted at US$388 per tonne, while the Vietnamese equivalent is quoted at $335.

Charoen Laothammatas, president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association, yesterday said the government might need to suspend its rice-release plan for a few months after opening the upcoming round of bidding, as the main crop would be harvested late next month.

About 22 million to 23 million tonnes of rice are expected to enter the market, which would create a high level of supply, while the price of rice is falling because of weak demand in the world market, he said.

Charoen added that he was quite concerned that Thai rice exports would face tougher competition due to low global demand, while the price of Thai rice was much higher than that of its export rivals, and Vietnam in particular, by about $50-$60 per tonne.

The country may need to cut its rice-export projection of 9.5 million tonnes for this year in the next few months, he warned.

Vietnam, which is the world’s third-largest rice exporter, has recently lowered its own full-year export forecast from 6.5 million tonnes to 4.7 million tonnes because of decreased global demand.

Moreover, Charoen said the baht’s appreciation was another obstacle facing Thai rice exporters, particularly in light of the prevailing price difference between Thai and Vietnamese rice.

According to the association, the price of Thai 5-per-cent white rice dropped sharply between August 3 and August 10, from $447 per to $432 per tonne, while the price of equivalent Vietnamese rice was quoted at $350 per tonne.

Chookiat Ophaswongse, honorary president of the association, said the Philippines government’s decision to hold an auction for the purchase of 250,000 tonnes, while welcome, was for much less rice than in previous auctions by one of the world’s largest importers, which were usually for about 600,000-700,000 tonnes.

This all points to a gloomy world-demand situation, which could mean Thailand’s rice shipments this year coming in lower than targeted, he said.

By the end of July, the Kingdom had exported 5.6 million tonnes of rice, while Vietnam had shipped about 2.9 million tonnes.