The Finance Ministry may extend the reduction of diesel excise tax when the tax cut period expires on May 20 but the new reduction rate may be just Bt1.5, not Bt3, a ministry source said Monday.
The source said the extension of the excise cut would depend on several factors, including the global oil situation and the government’s capability to find other sources of income.
Following the resolution of the Cabinet, the Excise Department issued a ministerial directive, which took effect from February 18 to May 20, to reduce the excise tax on diesel oil by Bt3 to Bt3.2 per litre.
The source said there is almost a month before the current tax cut period would expire and the global oil price situation may already improve by that time. In that scenario, the excise cut would not be necessary.
The source explained that the Russia-Ukraine war has continued for over 60 days. During the first period of the war, the global oil prices rose to US$120-130 per barrel and gradually declined to the current price of US$105 per barrel. The source said the oil price was not expected to rise more than the current level but it expected to go down after the war situation eased.
The source said if the Finance Ministry had to extend the excise cut, the cut would be Bt1.50, not Bt3 as in the current practice.
Apart from the excise cut, the government also had the Oil Fund subsidize the retail price of diesel at the rate of 50 per cent for the price that is higher than Bt30. Without the tax cut and partial subsidy, the diesel price would have risen to Bt38 per litre from Sunday, the source added. On Sunday and Mondy, diesel oil retails for Bt31.94 per litre.
So far, the government has lost its revenue by Bt17.1 billion from the excise tax cut for diesel from February 18, the source said.
Fortunately, the government could offset the loss of revenue from revenues from state enterprises that had better performance than expected, the source added.
If the government extends the cut on diesel excise tax, it would have to look for other sources of income to meet its target income of Bt2.4 trillion this year, the source said.
Initially, the Excise Department projected revenue from oil excise tax for 2022 at Bt200 billion. But when the government cut the diesel excise for three months, the department lowered its projected income from oil tax to Bt180 billion, the source said.
The Commerce Ministry has approved a proposal to increase the quota for import of maize and other crops to make animal feeds for three months to tackle shortages, Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit said on Monday.
Jurin was speaking to reporters after chairing a meeting of the maize policy and management committee and the food policy committee at the Kitiyakara Voralaksana Hall in the Commerce Permanent Secretariat Building.
Representatives from the Internal Trade Department, the National Farmers Council, the Crops Growers and Traders Association, the Thai Feed Mill Association, the Thai Tapioca Trade Association and the hen farmers association attended the meeting.
Jurin said the meeting was held to approve a joint proposal made during a meeting of representatives from five sides recently. The five sides are: representatives of the Commerce and Finance ministries, representatives of maize and tapioca farmers, the Crops Growers and Traders Association, the hen, chicken, and pig farmers associations and the Thai Feed Mill Association.
The meeting agreed with the proposal of the five sides to allow more imports of maize and other crops for making enough feeds for hen, chicken and pig farmers, Jurin said.
The meeting recommended animal feed-makers to import raw materials from neighbouring countries, especially Myanmar, during the next three months.
Jurin said the Commerce Ministry will hold an online business matching activity for Thai importers to match sellers in Myanmar on Tuesday.
The meeting also approved three other measures:
— The requirement for importers of wheat to buy maize in the country in the ratio of 1:3 will be suspended from now until July 31.
— The import quota of maize will be increased from 54,700 tonnes to 600,000 tones from now until July 31 and the import tariff on maize will be reduced from 20 per cent to zero during the period.
— The Commerce Ministry will help hold online business matching for importers of raw materials for making animal feeds.
The quotas of all raw materials during the period will be increased to 1.2 million tonnes during the period, Jurin added.
Thai export performance remains patchy despite hitting a 30-year high in March, the Thai National Shippers’ Council (TNSC) said on Sunday.
Thailand’s exports in March increased 19.5 per cent from a year earlier to US$28.85 billion, rising for the 13th consecutive month.
However, export performance varied from sector to sector.
The biggest rise was seen in exports of gold, at 1,046.7 per cent, followed by computers, gems and jewellery, oil and fat, and sugar.
But revenue from automotive exports products fell 12.8 per cent in March, the TNSC pointed out.
“When we subtract gold, oil and military supplies from the tally, the real total export of Thai products expanded only 8.9 per cent,” TNSC chairman Chaichan Charoensuk pointed out.
“Exporters still need to monitor the global situation closely – especially the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and China’s lockdown to curb the spread of Covid-19 in Shanghai, which are likely to affect Thai exports for months to come,” he added.
In March, Thai exports of cars fell by 2.6 per cent, pickup trucks by 29 per cent, automotive components by 4.2 per cent and air conditioning components by 6.1 per cent.
Thai automotive exports have been dropping for the past seven months on low demand from markets such as Australia, Japan, Malaysia, India, Vietnam and the United States.
Aviation authorities expect the number of flights to and from Thailand to recover to pre-Covid levels late this year after entry restrictions were lifted on Sunday.
The Civil of Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) reports that is seeing more international flights following the cancellation of the Test & Go scheme yesterday.
Thailand is currently recording about 44,500 flights per month – 33,500 domestic flights and 11,000 international flights.
CAAT estimates that this total will rise to 83,500 flights late this year, with 53,000 domestic and 30,000 international flights. The latter figure is close to the 2020 pre-Covid level of international flights landing and taking off in Thailand, it added.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha had monitored the lifting of Test & Go restrictions on Sunday and thanked government agencies for a smooth transition, government spokeswoman Traisulee Taisaranakul said.
Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob informed Prayut that there were no serious problems, apart from some congestion at Thailand Pass counters during the peak time for flight arrivals. Airports responded by deploying additional staff at the counters and ensuring travellers maintained social distancing in queues.
Only a few passengers had to be transported from the airport to quarantine at their hotels on Sunday, mainly because they were unvaccinated, the spokeswoman said.
Although Prayut boasted that Thailand has fully reopened, the Thailand Pass system remains intact and requires foreign travellers to register before arrival. They need to show either proof of full Covid-19 vaccination or a negative RT-PCR test taken within 72 hours. Those failing to meet these criteria face five days in hotel quarantine with an RT-PCR test on day 4 or 5.
On Sunday, 96 flights landed at the Suvarnabhumi Airport, bringing in 16,868 passengers. Nearly all had been fully vaccinated or showed proof of a negative RT-PCR test, the spokeswoman said. Only 11 were required to undergo hotel quarantine.
Meanwhile, Phuket Airport saw 27 flights carrying 4,400 arrivals, only 18 of whom had to be quarantined at their hotels.
Data released by the National Economic and Social Development Council shows that some 37.9 million people or 98.1 per cent of people in Thailand were gainfully employed in the fourth quarter of 2021.
This was slightly higher compared to 98 per cent in the last quarter of 2020 and 97.6 per cent in the third quarter of 2021.
As of the fourth quarter of 2021, 1.64 per cent of the working-age population or some 630,000 people were unemployed, with 380,000 of them having lost their job.
Meanwhile, the labour sector has expanded by 4.1 per cent with new graduates joining it. However, up to 49.3 per cent of them have degrees in business and social science, which does not match the demands of the labour market.
Of the unemployed population, 2.27 per cent have been relying on benefits from the social security scheme, though this number has been dropping for the past five quarters.
Separately, Thailand’s Wage Committee set a new minimum daily wage rate on January 1, 2020, but the rate allocated was different in each province.
The provinces with the highest minimum daily wage are Chonburi and Phuket at 336 baht, while the lowest at 313 baht are Narathiwat, Ayutthaya and Pattani. Bangkok and its adjacent provinces come in somewhere in the middle with 331 baht.
The Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) is offering incentives for customers who switch from paper bills to electronic bills.
The first 6,000 users who register for the MEA e-Bill scheme will receive 140 PTT Blue Card Points for discounts and privileges at participating restaurants, theatres, hotels and stores.
Switching to electronic bills will save on paper and reduce deforestation, MEA said.
The agency, which is responsible for distributing electricity in Bangkok, Nonthaburi and Samut Prakan, said its new system will make bill payment more convenient for customers in line with the Thailand 4.0 strategy and digital government plan.
“Apart from facilitating electricity users, it also helps reduce carbon dioxide emissions and garbage volume,” MEA said.
Under a separate campaign, customers who sign up for e-bills and register at https://eservice.mea.or.th/measy will get 500 MEA Points and another 500 points after joining the MEA Point programme. The 1,000 points can be redeemed for a 100-baht reward. Registrants will get another 80 points each time they make their payment via e-bill, or 50 points after paying via other channels.
Total spending on the government’s three consumption-stimulus schemes reached 70.45 billion baht as of April 30, according to the Finance Ministry.
The “Khon La Khrueng” (Let’s Go Halves) co-shopping scheme accounted for more than 85 per cent of total spending, with 61.83 billion baht – 31.49 billion baht spent by its 26.27 million registrants and 30.34 billion baht covered by the government. Under the scheme, the government covers 50 per cent of bills for basic necessities including food, capped at 150 baht per day and 1,200 baht per person.
The other two campaigns grant funds to state welfare card holders and people in vulnerable groups to spend at participating shops. The 13.37 million state welfare card holders have spent 7.91 billion baht while 1.31 million people in vulnerable groups have spent 704.9 million baht.
The Finance Ministry said most of the subsidy was spent at food and beverage vendors (25.74 billion baht), followed by general shops (21.28 billion baht), Commerce Ministry Blue Flag shops (10.74 billion baht), OTOP shops (2.83 billion baht), service providers (1.1 billion baht), and public transport (117.4 million baht).
The three campaigns, the latest phases of which ended on April 30, saw a total of 40.95 million people exercise their rights under the government’s plan to boost domestic consumption amid the economic recession due to Covid-19.
Bitkub Blockchain Technology, Bitkub Chain and Blockchain Total Solution Provider which aims to be an infrastructure of the Thai blockchain ecosystem by allowing anyone to interact with decentralized applications, has been operating for 1 year on April 28, 2022.
In the past 1 year, there were serveral special events on Bitkub Chain.
The first block on Bitkub Chain To begin with, the first block on Bitkub Chain was generated on April 28, 2021 at 1:23 PM. via Proof-of-Authority (PoA) consensus which was validated by 11 Node Validators to strengthen a network protocol on Bitkub Chain. This event was the beginning of a big move on Bitkub Chain.
Bitkub Chain Scan (BKC Scan) Within the same day (April 28, 2021), Bitkub Chain Scan (BKC Scan) publicly opened for the first time and let the users access to the digital token contract address in which they can monitor the blockchain transactions via “Bitkub Chain Block Explorer Mainnet”. For instance, the users can monitor the block minting rate, transaction and digital tokens. Bitkub Chains scan also provide the testnet for developer named “Bitkub Chain Testnet” to effectively run and test the project on Bitkub Chain.
Digital asset wallet (Bitkub NEXT) On May 7, 2021, Bitkub NEXT, the digital asset wallet on Bitkub Chain was publicly announced. Initially, Bitkub NEXT can only use via web browser and android application in which the IOS application will be launched soon according to the roadmap. At present, Bitkub NEXT can be globally used for 80 countries and there are about 933,141 users on Bitkub NEXT. (*Updated on April 25, 2022)
FANS Token On the same day (May 7, 2021), FANS Token, digital collectible and non-fungible token (NFTs) market, was also publicly announced. FANS Token marketplace operates on transparent and secure blockchain technology. To clarify, FANS Token is an official encrypted digital currency within the FANS Ecosystem, which includes a few key elements, including but not limited to token distribution system, digital wallet, trading platform, digital asset creation platform, NFT marketplace, community platform, as well as reward redemption mechanism. The users can enjoy several activities from Thai influencer such as Kaykai Salaider, Bie The Ska, Pleum VRZO, Kyutae Oppa and SpriteDer SPD.
KUB Coin Followed by the announcement of KUB coin, a native coin on Bitkub Chain for several utilities such as gas fee, fee credits, lock & drop and redemption for partners’ services and products. KUB coin initially open for trading on May 20, 2021 on Bitkub Exchange.
Developer Program On May 20, 2021, Bitkub Blockchain Technology announced “Developer Program” for blockchain developer. The developer program contains several tools such as API references, Bitkub Chain testnet, and project identification and registration. This will give a good opportunity to blockchain developers to effectively develop the project on Bitkub Chain.
PUBG esports NFT On August 17, 2021, PUBG esports NFT was publicly announced under a cooperation between Bitkub Blockchain Technology and Invate x FPS Thailand. The several NFTs special cards includes player cards, caster cards, item cards and weapon cards were minted and airdropped to the users via QR scanning. This event was a big move of esports industry as being an early stage mover of minting new digital asset via the supportance from smart contract and blockchain technology.
Lock KUB & Get BONUS On September 1, 2021, Lock KUB and Get BONUS feature, one of the main utility of KUB coin was publicly announced. It is the first activity on Bitkub Chain opened for investors to lock KUB as bonus earning rewards. At present, there are 2 types of bonus which are KBTC and KUSDT (wrapped coins with KAP-20 technology).
Miss Universe Thailand NFTs collection (MUT NFT) On October 7, 2021, MUT NFTs collection was officially announced under the supportance from Bitkub Blockchain Technology. The collections regards to Miss Universe Thailand 2021 pageant with a special value given to the main collectors and fans. Miss Universe Thailand NFTs collection developed by Bitkub Blockchain Technology under decentralized network protocol called “blockchain”. The collectors and fans can feel a sense of the value and story alongwith getting closer to the contestants. Moreover, not only MUT NFTs collection was minted but the MUT crown item was specially introduced for gamer in Morning Moon Village as the special collection items.
Morning Moon Village A month later, on October 26, 2021, Morning Moon Village, the first GameFi on Bitkub Chain was publicly announced. It is an exploration farming game which revolutionizes the traditional DeFi yield-farming project with gaming mechanics and full 3D graphics. The game features NFT rewards in which the players can leverage the NFTs during the farming process.
Bitkub NFT Along with the announcement of Bitkub NFT on October 26, 2021. The primary non-fungible token (NFTs) platform that uses blockchain technology for data storage and maintains transaction record. It allows the users to virtually owned digital assets without consent from any entity. Indeed, it is the platform where NFTs are more than digital arts. As a result, Bitkub NFT is a big move on Thai’s NFTs market as followed by the new feature and innovation in the future.
Bacon Time : Cheers to Earn On February 3, 2022, Bitkub Blockchain Technology together with Bacon Time revolutionized esports industry again and publicly announced “Cheers to Earn” activity. An activity for voting the score on ROV Pro League 2022 Summer by using Bitkub NEXT and earn a reward as KUB coins.
Thai League NFT Within the same month (February 26, 2022), “Thai League NFT” was publicly announce with the cooperation between Bitkub NFT and Football Association of Thailand. The special 1.2 million NFTs comprise of top 16 Thai League football team (Rivo Thai League) can be collected by the fans using Bitkub NEXT and enhance the new dimension of experience of football supporters. In each NFT, there are a football power stat, which the fans can collect these NFTs to gain a top rank every month.
BKC Port On March 4, 2022, Bitkub Ventures (under Bitkub Capital Holding Group) invests in Loremboard Co., Ltd., and officially announced “BKC Port”. BKC Port is the data analytics tools for investors to help in portfolio management. It is the platform on Bitkub Chain, which shows the overall asset to help monitor revenue, profits, loss, coin price, opportunity cost and other useful tools.
BKC Oracle Followed by BKC Oracle on March 25, 2022, an important tool for developing smart contracts or dApps. It is a medium that bridges the data from off-chain to on-chain via smart contracts. This allow the blockchain developer to connect the secure and up-to-date data on Bitkub Chain infrastructure more easily. Also, BKC Oracle is the project developed by Loremboard team via the support from Bitkub Venture, the venture capital company under Bitkub Capital Group Holdings Co., Ltd. BKC Oracle will be the main infrastructure on Bitkub Chain connected the data from the real world to blockchain that support blockchain developers to use the tools and platform more efficiently. The obvious example could be “Data Feeds”, the leading feature on BKC Oracle that can extract cryptocurrency price data from off-chain in a real time within a couple minutes.
The first block on Proof-of-Staked-Authority (PoSA) consensus On April 1, 2022, 5519559 is the first block on Bitkub Chain after a change from Proof-of-Authority (PoA) to Proof-of-Staked-Authority (PoSA) consensus under a new radical changes announcement of network’s protocol called “Erawan Hardfork”. The purpose is to maximize the efficiency of the blockchain network and prepare for mass adoption in the near future.
With our intention, we thrive to be the digital infrastructure for mass adoption in Thailand and provide utility globally. With respect to our vision, we intend to democratize opportunities for everyone to have real ownerships and rights to their own digital assets or creations transparently without the need to trust in any single entity. Everyone must be able to transact easily and swiftly without knowing that there is a blockchain behind. We have a tremendous desire to show real economic value via a real-life and impactful use case for businesses.
Shareholders of Nation Multimedia Group Plc (NMG) have voted in favour of a proposal to change the company’s name to Nation Group (Thailand) Plc (NATION).
Chief executive officer Shine Bunnag has said a meeting on Friday saw shareholders unanimously approve the change of name, which will facilitate the company’s business restructuring plan under the “One Nation” policy.
“Nation Group is moving forward into the new landscape of the future while maintaining its role as an impartial and socially responsible media operation,” he said.
“The One Nation policy will combine our strengths and create a business synergy between eight media outlets under Nation Group, namely Krungthep Turakij, Kom Chad Luek, Nation Thai News, Nation TV 22, The Nation Thailand, The People, Khob Sanam, and Spring Online.”
Nation Group had earned the public’s trust as a fixture of Thailand’s media scene for the past 51 years, recognised for its commitment to the nation and its people, added Shine. “With the implementation of this policy, Nation Group will emerge with a strong financial status and cashflow, all set for future business expansion,” he said.
“We expect the new business structure to be completed within May.”
On Friday, NMG shareholders also voted to approve the purchase of 85.99 million shares of NBC Next Vision Ltd (NNV), or 99.99 per cent of its registered capital worth Bt239.72 million. Meanwhile they approved a Bt221.3 million loan for NNV to settle a debt with its parent, Nation Broadcasting Corporation Plc (NBC).
NMG shareholders also voted to sell 691 million shares or 61 per cent of NBC to Boonuea Chitthanom and Natthaphong Sitaworarat at Bt1.30 per share in a deal worth Bt898.3 million. Boonuea and Natthaphong are major shareholders of One to One Contacts Plc.
Both deals are expected to be completed before the end of July.
(PR News) Mr. Chatree Wattanakhajorn, Deputy Permanent Secretary for the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), presided over the opening ceremony of the “The First Bangkok Zero Waste Park” project implemented by the BMA to promote waste separation behavioral change in public places at the area of Benchasiri Park.
It is chosen to be a pilot area because this public park passed the Good Level of the Green Office Evaluation Criteria in 2020. It is also a public park located at the heart of the city with a large number of service users and surrounded by shops and business establishments whose owners and business operators have high potential to support the project.
In the past few years, due to COVID-19 situation, urban activities organized by business sector as well as tourism and service sectors had been reduced and it had also resulted in the decreasing number of waste. However, the BMA continues to focus on its mission to effectively manage waste and to make waste management sustainable in order to reduce the amount of waste brought to the final disposal to be as less as possible. Therefore, the BMA has been trying to encourage and promote the role of all sectors, be it government sector, private sector, or civil society, to become aware and see the importance of waste management and separation and change the behavior to reduce and separate waste at the source in order to reuse waste as renewable resource as much as possible.
The “Bangkok Zero Waste Park” project is implemented to promote behavioral change in waste separation in public areas. It is the cooperation between the BMA and its private sector network partners to encourage and promote the project. For example, new prototype waste containers are placed in 8 points inside Benchasiri Park so that the park service users suddenly realize and change their behavior to correctly separate and dispose waste. Signs are also installed to provide knowledge on waste management and to show the amount of waste that has already been separated in order to show the tangible result.
Moreover, a learning center is built inside Benchasiri Park to demonstrate the real use of waste that are separated in each category. The learning center is divided into 5 zones, namely 1. Exhibition and activity zone, 2. Recycle zone for displaying the garbage collection and recycling, 3. Organic zone displaying how to process the organic waste in various ways, 4. General waste zone showing the collection of general solid waste before sending to the disposal, and 5. Vegetable plot zone where the service users can constantly participated in the park’s activities.
The BMA will expand the idea of this project to other public parks and areas in the future.
The meeting agreed with the proposal of the five sides to allow more imports of maize and other crops for making enough feeds for hen, chicken and pig farmers, Jurin said.
The meeting also approved three other measures:
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