The four-day visit starts today.

Apiradi said Thailand would participate in a special session of the Asean-Russia Summit, while a bilateral discussion would take place between Prayut and Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

At the summit, three sets of |document will be ratified includ-|ing an action plan to strengthen bilateral ties between Asean and Russia and a recommendation report of a group of experts involving the Asean-Russia strategic partnership.

Apiradi said that the ministry’s other key issues were an initiative involving the Eurosian Economic Union and a memorandum of understanding for the expansion of trade and economic cooperation between Thailand and Russia.

Prayut will lead more than 30 major private enterprises in meeting with some 100 Russian private enterprises tomorrow at the Thai-Russian Business Dialogue.

They aim to convince Russian companies to invest in Thailand, said Hiranya Sujinai, secretary-general of the Board of Investment.

The Thai private enterprises cover sectors such as food, rubber, electronics and finance.

“Russia has high potential in scientific and technological advancement and innovation. We want to invite Russia’s business groups to invest more in Thailand,” Hiranya said.

Russian businesses are mostly involved in Thailand’s tourism sector and small-sized operations in others sectors, particularly software and digital content.

Russia is Thailand’s largest Eurasia trade market. Trade between the two countries totalled US$2.35 billion (Bt83 billion) in 2015.

Thai exports to Russia include automobiles and auto parts, rubber products, jewellery and processed fruits.

Eurasia also includes Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan.

First-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) expanded the highest in three years to 3.2 per cent, compared to the previous quarter’s 2.8 per cent.

The country’s economy grew a seasonally adjusted 0.9 per cent in the first quarter, boosted by public spending and tourism, according to the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB).

Private consumption rose 2.3 per cent, continuing from the previous quarter’s 2.6-per-cent increase, while public consumption climbed 8 per cent compared to the 4.8 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year.

Given disbursement of investment in rural sectors for roads and water resources management, public investment remained high with a 12.4-per-cent increase.

Pornpen Sodsrichai, the central bank’s director of the Macroeconomic Office at the Bank of Thailand, said that first-quarter economic growth at 3.2 per cent came close to the central bank’s forecast.

The expansion was mainly driven by services, particularly high growth in tourism, and consistent rise in public spending, she said.

However, both internal and external risks particularly weak exports need to be monitored in the next periods while the country’s private spending remained low, she said. Thai exports will depend on the global economic recovery, she said.

In the first quarter of 2016, Thai exports continued last year’s slump, contracting 1.4 per cent. Although exports edged up 1.1 per cent in terms of quantity, the value of the exports dropped 2.4 per cent amid the economic slowdown in Thailand’s trading countries.

Thai gold exports to the United States, the Europe, China and CLMV (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) fell 5.1 per cent, although there was an expansion in exports to five other Aseanmarkets and Australia.

The NESDB revised its estimate for this year’s GDP growth to 3-3.5 per cent from 2.8-3.8 per cent. Last year’s growth was 2.8 per cent.

It forecast Thai exports to contract 1.7 per cent for the whole |of 2016. Growth is forecast in |the range of 3-3.5 per cent this year.

The BOT kept its policy rate unchanged last week but saw|higher risks to growth from |slowing consumption and investment.

Nalin Chutchotitham, HSBC’s economist for Thailand, said domestic demand was partly boosted by a series of fiscal stimulus measures introduced since September 2015.

“Based on our calculations, final domestic demand contributed about a 3.6 percentage points to headline GDP growth in the first quarter of 2016, less than the 4.3 percentage points in the fourth quarter of 2015,” she said.

Furthermore, the large contribution to growth from net exports was again due to import contraction while goods exports stayed weak.

Nopporn Thepsithar, chairman to the Thai National Shippers Council, said he foresees greater opportunity for the Thai economy to recover this year and to grow between 3-3.5 per cent, driven by the growth of tourism and investment.

“Key factors to drive the economy this year are tourism and investment in the government’s infrastructure development projects and private investment, which would follow the government’s investment,” he said.

The export sector may slightly help drive GDP growth as Thai shipment has still been affected by the uncertainty in global economic growth, Nopporn added.

Tim Leelahaphan, Thailand economist at Maybank Kim Eng Securities, said the first-quarter figures showed domestic demand was growing but the markets |were too pessimistic about Thai growth.

“We see domestic demand is growing. One could speculate that this was due to the ramping up of production before the great number of holidays in April and May but more data is needed to confirm this,”

“We maintain our above-street view and currently have this year’s growth at 4 per cent, against the market forecast of 3.20 per cent,” he said.

Rattana Theanvisitskool, deputy director-general of the Business Development Department, said the department and the ETDA will set up a taskforce to monitor and categorise online traders to protect consumers.

Cheating complaints

“The two agencies will deal with complaints of cheating from consumers and investigate so that the government will be able to enforce existing laws to regulate and control online traders,” she said.

Under the cooperation, the Information and Communication Technology Ministry’s ETDA and the Commerce Ministry’s DBD will carry out a thorough investigation of the trader under complaint, based on its IP and domain name, and laws will be enforced if it is found guilty.

On the other hand, the two agencies will present e-Commerce Website Award to traders who are reliable, creative, and have a high standard of operation.

The ETDA expects the number of online traders to keep growing in the following years, boosting the online trading value by 17.5 per cent in the next five year to more than Bt2.8 trillion a year.

Ratthasat Korrasud, senior director of ETDA , said the value of e-Commerce in Thailand in 2020 is expected to reach more than Bt2.5 trillion, up by 17.5 per cent from last year’s figure.

Total value of the e-commerce market in Thailand last year is expected to increase by 3.65 per cent year-on-year to Bt2.11 trillion. For this year, trading is expected to reach Bt2.2 trillion.

Of the total trading last year, most fall under the category |of business-to-business worth about Bt1.23 trillion in value, followed by business-to-customers, about Bt410 billion, and business-to-government, about Bt390 billion.

The growth forecast for 2016 is changed to 3.00-3.50 per cent (mid 3.25 per cent), from 2.80-3.80 per cent (mid 3.30 per cent). This is against Bank of Thailand’s 3.10 per cent forecast.

NESDB Secretary-General Porametee Vimolsiri noted that risk factors remain, ranging from global economic recovery, decreases in commodity prices to financial market volatility which would influence the dollar/baht exchange rates.

He urged the government to continue with its focus on public spending and infrastructure investment projects as well as ensure the efficiency of economic stimulus measures.

The NESDB revealed today that the economy expanded 3.2 per cent in the first quarter, compared to the quarterly growth rate of 2.8 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year. Boosting the economy were mainly government spending and an increase in household spending as well as more tourist arrivals. Meanwhile, exports in the first three months of this year showed 1.4 per cent contraction from the same period last year, to US$52.26 billion. The current account surplus in the quarter accounted for 16.6 per cent of gross domestic product.

The think tank also expected exports to shrink by 1.70 per cent this year, against previous contraction forecast of 1.20 per cent.

Maybank Kim Eng Securities’ economist Tim Leelahaphan maintains his view that the annualised growth rate would be 4 per cent in 2016.

“Markets were too pessimistic about Thailand’s growth for quite some time already. However, we maintain our above street view. What we will see this year is more stimulus to come and more infrastructure in the second half. We also see that exports could be better than the market expects this year… Looking forward, the military will continue to boost growth, helping a sector affected by the drought. Infrastructure projects will move forward,” he said.

Nalin Chutchotitham, HSBC’s economist for Thailand, did not share similar optimism. She noted that the first-quarter numbers showed that economic recovery remained uneven across sectors. Underlying growth remained relatively changed from the previous quarter, as reflected in the seasonally-adjusted sequential growth of 0.9 per cent in the first quarter against 0.8 per cent in the fourth quarter.

“Downside risks to GDP growth remain, especially from weak export demand. High household debt and tepid farm income growth also suggest that private consumption is unlikely to pick up significantly in the near term. Additionally, weak business sentiment and political uncertainty are likely to keep private investment growth in check,” she said.

In the first quarter, private consumption expanded by 2.3 per cent on year, slower than 2.6 per cent in the previous quarter. Meanwhile, public consumption accelerated to 8.0 per cent, from 4.8 per cent.

Among the well-known names are Royal Dutch Shell Group in the energy sector, Philips for consumer electronics, Unilever for food and consumer products, Heineken for beverages, and ING Bank, which holds a major stake in TMB Bank.

Ambassador Karel Hartogh said in an interview to mark the Netherlands’ King’s Day that diplomatic relations between Thailand and the Kingdom of the Netherlands dated back to the 17th century when Ayutthaya was still the capital.

In 2004, Queen Beatrix, who abdicated the throne three years ago, visited Thailand to mark the 400th anniversary of Thailand-Netherlands relations.

The ambassador said economic and business cooperation between two countries figured prominently in the bilateral relationship as evidenced by the long-standing presence of many Dutch companies in Thailand.

In other words, the Dutch population may be small, but its economic and business footprint is not, considering the global scale of Dutch multinational firms operating here.

For example, Shell is one of the world’s biggest energy firms, while Unilever is one of the world’s leading food and consumer-goods companies. This has made the Netherlands one of the European Union’s leading investors in Thailand.

In terms of bilateral trade, exports from Thailand to the Netherlands amounted to 2.3 billion euros (Bt92 billion) last year, while Dutch exports to Thailand amounted to 1.07 billion euros.

The Port of Rotterdam plays an important role as a port of transit for Thai export products.

Dutch companies are also active in Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar, which are overseen by the Dutch Embassy in Bangkok. Many of these firms have adopted corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a significant policy, with Pactics, a specialist in micro-fibre accessories, one of the good examples in Cambodia.

Another example is DiepVu Laos (DVL), a garment manufacturer that specialises in the production of work-wear garments and laundry wear for leasing purposes.

Both companies have integrated the concept of CSR in their respective business models, which has not only contributed to the success of their businesses, but also benefits the local communities and environment.

Regarding Myanmar, Hartogh said the Netherlands recently upgraded its trade mission in Yangon to a full-fledged embassy after the changing political environment in that country.

Dutch companies have expertise in water management, agriculture, shipping, food security and healthcare among others, so they are preparing to expand businesses in Asean countries.

Hartogh said Laos also had a special economic zone in Savannakhet province while Vietnam had been doing quite well economically, so there was now increased cross-border regional competition for Thailand.

Regarding the foreseen Thai-EU free-trade agreement, he said negotiations were on hold because of Thailand’s political situation.

Thailand is currently one of the Netherlands’ major trading partners in Asean along with Indonesia and Vietnam.

The ambassador said Thailand could improve its business climate further, for instance by increasing its transparency in government and business services, such as with regard to customs affairs, while suggesting that the foreign business ownership law could be improved.

THAILAND and Pakistan are set to wrap up their bilateral free-trade agreement negotiations this year and the pact could be implemented next year.

After leading the Thai team for the third round of negotiations in Bangkok last week, Sunanta Kangvalkulkij, deputy director-general of the Trade Negotiations Department, said that Thailand and Pakistan had made big progress in the free-trade pact.

She said they had finalised the agreement on customs and trade facilitation and expected the remaining issues to be wrapped up by the end of this year.

She said the two sides had also made a lot of progress on a tax-reduction format, sanitary standards, and investment.

“If the pact is enforced, it should create greater benefits for both countries in terms of more trade and investment,” Sunanta said.

“Pakistan will not only be a potential market, but also a gateway for penetrating South and Central Asia.

“Pakistan could also be a source of raw materials, while Thailand could also be springboard for Pakistan to reach Asean markets.”

In another plus, she said more Thai investors should invest in Pakistan after Thai companies had already invested there.

Thai investors in Pakistan include Siam Cement, Thai Urethane Chemical Industrial, and CP Pakistan.

Thai goods expected to have a greater opportunity for export to Pakistan under an FTA include garments, leather goods, sport products, and chemical products.

Pakistan has FTAs with China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Mauritius. Besides Thailand, it is negotiating free-trade deals with Turkey and South Korea.

Last year, bilateral trade reached between Thailand and Pakistan reached US$1.03 billion (Bt46 billion), with Thailand exports to Pakistan worth $913.3 million, an increase of 4.4 per cent year-on-year. Pakistani imports to Thailand declined 14.6 per cent to $119.6 million.

Pakistan is Thailand’s second-largest trading partner in South Asia after India, and No 42 globally.

In preparation for the influx of students, organiser Outward Bound Singapore (OBS) is stepping up its environmental-protection initiatives.

Over five days last month, two experts from the US-based wilderness education firm National Outdoor Leadership School came to Singapore to train 13 OBS instructors in a conservation movement on how to enjoy nature responsibly.

There are seven main principles under the Leave No Trace programme, including repacking food to minimise waste, disposing of waste properly, not touching wildlife or historical and cultural artefacts and reducing campfire impact.

Noor Hisham, OBS senior assistant director of capability and sector development, said that while OBS camps had always included environmental initiatives, having instructors trained under the Leave No Trace programme provided a formal structure.

In the past, various outdoor educators in the industry would share with campers tips on how to care for the environment. But educators may have differing views of what it means to protect the environment.

For instance, they could have different views on whether fires should be started outdoors – some may think bonfires are essential, others that fires are unnecessary, as they damage the environment.

“Is it wrong to start a bonfire? Not always. So under the Leave No Trace programme, OBS participants will be taught how to minimise campfire impact,” Hisham said.

Plans to make OBS compulsory for all Secondary 3 students in Singapore were announced last month during the budget debates for the Education Ministry, in a bid to toughen up young people here and provide them with a common experience in Singapore’s more rugged environment.

This is expected to kick in from 2020, by which time the new campus on Coney Island worth 250 million Singapore dollars (Bt6.4 billion) is expected to be ready.

Some 45,000 young people will be able to attend an OBS camp every year, up from the current 14,000 who use the existing OBS campus on Pulau Ubin.

Kim Yong Kang, an instructor who went through the Leave No Trace course, said it helped him understand how campers’ habits can affect the environment.

“Instead of simply telling campers not to practise certain habits like littering, we can use the terms we learned during the course to let them know about the consequences trash can have on the environment, such as how long it will take to degrade,” the senior training consultant of sector development at OBS said.

“In my opinion, the existing regulations appear to benefit the incumbent players in the analog system more than the new ones.

“For example, broadcasting service under state concessions is protected by law,” Supinya Klangnarong, a member of the NBTC’s Broadcasting Committee, said yesterday.

To ensure that viewers were not affected negatively by the birth of digital TV broadcasting, the NBTC decided to allow broadcasters to simulcast their analog TV programmes via their digital channels.

Supinya spoke about this issue at a public forum jointly held yesterday by the NBTC Policy Watch team and the Thailand Research Fund to follow up on the performance of the NBTC after five years in operation.

She explained that having such a privilege, analog TV broadcasters were likely to pay less in annual licence fees to the NBTC, as it was difficult to classify the clear sources of their revenue.

She acknowledged that this might be unfair for new players in the digital terrestrial TV business that were also facing difficulties due to intense competition in the market.

“Another issue affecting the ongoing transition to the digital TV system is the fact that major analog players like Channel 7 and Channel 3 want to keep their analog broadcasting services until their concession contracts expire,” she added.

Bangkok Broadcasting and Television has the right to operate Channel 7 until May 2023 under its concession with the Army, while MCOT’s concession with Bangkok Entertainment Company to run Channel 3 will run out in 2020. Supinya suggested that the simulcast period should be ended in 2018 when digital TV is fully available to all households.

Despite facing legal limitations, the NBTC has to seek ways to speed up the digital transition, she said.

In response to a notification from the Office of the Auditor-General suggesting that the simulcast of Channel 3’s full analog programming via digital channel 33HD appeared to violate broadcasting regulations, she said the decision on this matter aimed to support the transition to digital TV.

Pongpun Gearaviriyapun, director-general of the department, said yesterday that it would regularly send teams to inspect these three businesses and make sure they are not breaching the FBA by listing Thai nominees as major shareholders while foreigners are the true owners.

The close inspections are to ensure fair practice for Thais, the Commerce Ministry claims.

According to the department, many Chinese fruit dealers operating in Thailand are using the nominee dodge. Under the law, foreign dealers can only purchase fruits from farmers for export, and cannot sell them in the domestic market.

Meanwhile, the hot weather and long weekend in April caused a reduction in both the registration of new companies and business closures, the department reported.

The number of new business registrations last month dropped by 13 per cent year on year to 3,987, the lowest number so far in 2016, and down by 35 per cent from March.

However, Pongpun believes that more new businesses will register in May and the following months as entrepreneurs returned to do business as normal, thanks to the government’s investment projects, low interest rates and the growth of the tourism sector.

The department expects about 60,000-65,000 new companies to be established this year.

Initial investment capital last month also decreased by 16 per cent year on year, from Bt14.82 billion to Bt12.48 billion.

In the first four months of this year, the cumulative number of new registered companies declined by 2 per cent to 21,510.

Most of the new companies are engaged in construction, property development, machinery wholesaling, restaurants and food retailing, consulting, and hotels and resorts.

The department also reported that 897 companies shut down last month, down by 3 per cent year on year and by 24 per cent from March.

In the first four months, business closures dropped by 3 per cent year on year to 4,599.

More than 634,227 companies are actively operating in the country, of which 1,122 are public companies.