According to the rules governing the auctions of licences to bandwidth, the NBTC passes all upfront licence fees to the government.

The auction winners pay the upfront fees in instalments.

The Bt170 billion is made up of the total upfront fees for licences to the 1,800-megahertz spectrum their holders will pay in the second and third instalments and the total upfront fees of 900MHz licences that will be paid in the second, third and fourth years.

The NBTC has already received Bt80.78 billion as the first instalment of fees for the two 1,800MHz licences.

The second and third instalments of a combined Bt20.19 billion each will be paid in the second and third years.

The NBTC received Bt8.04 billion from True Corp for the first instalment of the 900MHz licence fee.

Advanced Info Service, which won the other 900MHz licence in the re-auction of the licence that was forfeited by a unit of Jasmine International, is expected to pay the first instalment on June 27.

They will pay the second and third instalments of a combined Bt8.04 billion for each instalment in the second and third years and a combined Bt119.79 billion in the fourth year.

Duangporn Rodphaya, director-general of the Foreign Trade Department, said the government would continue to release rice from the stockpiles in the second half as it foresaw high demand due to drought in many countries, resulting in lower production.

There are still about 10 million tonnes of rice in the government stockpiles, including the 2.24 million tonnes up for auction tomorrow.

“The government will [send officials] to South Africa and Mozambique to sell rice under G2G [contracts], and will gradually consider open bidding for rice during the rest of the year,” she said.

The government also plans to sell rice to Indonesia and the Philippines under G2G contracts.

Meanwhile, China has asked for a postponement of negotiations to purchase 1 million tonnes of rice as Chinese officials are not available. Previously, the meeting was set for this coming Friday.

However, Chutima Bunyapraphasara, permanent secretary of the Commerce Ministry, said China would soon set up a new appointment and continue its plan to purchase rice under a G2G contract.

This collaboration will allow TAT to reach this target group directly and rapidly.

“Through this effort with Baidu, Chinese tourists will have a wealth of information even before their departure and can always find more information upon their arrival in Thailand,” he said.

Hu Yong, general manager for global business of Baidu, said the agreement signed yesterday would help stimulate tourism in Thailand even further and also support systematic, accurate and quality information for Chinese tourists.

“This elevates the relationship of our two countries to the next level,” he said.

It paves the way for the two nations to enhance communication channels online to promote tourism to the people of China.

“TAT and Baidu will publish tourism products and services information for tourists to [plan] their trips seamlessly, encompassing destinations and tourism products,” Yuthasak said.

Baidu is ready to support and share information beneficial to Thailand, such as the trends of Chinese tourists. This will help the efforts to adapt and innovate tourism strategies in the future, he said.

The Chinese company also offers Baidu Maps, a modern mapping-service technology that helps Chinese people experience travel abroad. The locations of tourist attractions, restaurants, products and services in Thailand are now easily accessible via Baidu Maps, which counts more than 500 million users.

Baidu Maps is another channel for Thai businesses can use to reach a wider Chinese audience.

Baidu is a leading provider of Chinese search engines as well as a developer of various applications to enhance online searches.

It also provides an array of platforms for businesses in various fields. There are an estimated 10 billion searches per day.

TAT and Baidu will work together on the “Amazing Romance in Thailand” project for next month by compiling information on locations related to love and romance, such as 100 love-confession spots, 100 honeymoon places and 100 wedding destinations.

For the “Women’s Journey” project, there will be a push notification on Baidu Maps, welcoming Chinese tourists to Thailand.

Information on the shops and businesses participating in the project and the privileges for women tourists will be provided throughout August.

They will also cooperate on promoting a “Smart Guide” project containing information about key tourist attractions in audio form as well as a video with “Tips for a Happy Holiday in Thailand”.

Baidu’s shares have been trading on the Nasdaq stock market in the United States under the ticker symbol “BIDU” since 2005.

The five broadcasters said on May 23 that they were withholding payment pending the final ruling by the Central Administrative Court on a suit they filed against the NBTC last August for Bt9.55 billion in damages over the regulator’s alleged negligence in marshalling the transition from analog to digital TV. However, the court has still not made a ruling.

Pakdee Manaves, the NBTC’s deputy secretary-general, said the five broadcasters must make their payments within 30 days after receiving the written notices.

The department will meet with representatives from these industries: agriculture and food; electric appliances and parts; automobile and parts; textiles and garments; jewellery and ornaments; construction; healthcare products; and lifestyle.

Malee said that in the second half of this year, the department would emphasise the plan to drive exports in both major and emerging markets.

The director-general said the department would set up a business-matching activity when the prime minister and deputy prime ministers visit other countries.

The targeted countries in the second half of the year include Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, other Asean nations, China, and India. Malee said that exports were likely to recover in the second half thanks to economic growth in many countries, notably in the US.

The European Union’s economy is expected to stay the same, she said.

Malee said with the rising oil price, economic growth in the Middle East should also recover and increase purchasing demand, which would benefit Thai exports.

The ministry is targeting export growth of 5 per cent this year.

Other economic agencies have forecast growth of 0-2 per cent.

In September, the department will hold a meeting with Thai trade representatives overseas to estimate the export figure this year and draw up strategies for next year.

The 13th RCEP Trade Negotiations Committee meeting began in Auckland yesterday and concludes on Saturday.

Ronnarong Poonpipat, deputy head of Thailand’s Trade Negotiations Department, said Asean states shared the view that the regional group needs to demonstrate its leadership by speeding up the talks so that the draft agreement could be proposed to the leaders of RCEP’s 16 member countries when they meet in September this year.

“It is a crucial for RCEP nations to conclude the negotiations within this year. Asean as a key member of the grouping, has agreed to help wrap up the talks soon,” he said.

Ronnarong said officials should wrap up all discussion issues and point out whether each topic could be finalised or not, as each issue has been discussed over many rounds of talks.

Discussion issues include the liberalisation of trade in goods, services, and investment; |intellectual property right laws; rules of origin; customs procedure; trade facilitation; sanitary and psyto-sanitary standards; technical barriers; electronic commerce; finance; telecommunication; and economic cooperation.

Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn had earlier emphasised during the recent Asean Economic Ministers’ Retreat in Chiang Mai that they would like to see the RCEP agreement finalised this year to ensure that Asean is the centre of trading and the key to drive the negotiations.

Previously, RCEP countries had agreed to reduce tariff on 65 per cent of trade in goods – about 8,000-9,000 goods items – to zero immediately, while tariff on 20 per cent of trade in goods would be reduced to zero within 10 years after RCEP’s implementation.

Tariff on the remaining 15 per cent of trade in goods would be negotiated in the future, as they are considered sensitive products for each country.

RCEP will also discuss whether they can cut tariffs for 100 per cent of trade in goods or reduce the items on the sensitive lists as much as possible, he said.