Thailand is looking to export halal chicken to Saudi Arabia now that ties between the two kingdoms are starting to normalise, Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit said on Saturday.
He added that his ministry’s Department of International Trade Promotion and Department of Foreign Trade have been discussing the issue with their Saudi Arabian counterparts for a while now.
“We will sell chicken – halal chicken – to Saudi Arabia. Progress has been made in talks and we are just waiting for an official normalisation of bilateral relations,” said Jurin, who also doubles as deputy prime minister.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha visited the wealthy Middle East nation at the invitation of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud.
The commerce minister added that apart from chicken, other Thai products also have the potential for export to Saudi Arabia, which he described as a wealthy market and a window to other states in the Middle East.
He likened Prayut’s recent visit to “opening the door” for the Commerce Ministry to work more comfortably with their Saudi counterparts.
Both sides have agreed to rebuild ties after they were soured over the “blue diamond affair” when a janitor stole a king’s ransom in jewels and rare gems in 1989. The deaths of three Saudi diplomats and the disappearance of a Saudi businessman in Thailand were also linked to the theft.
The Revenue Department plans to ease tax rules for investments in digital assets by allowing traders to offset annual losses against gains for taxes due on cryptocurrency investments, and exempt transactions from withholding tax and value-added tax, which is normally collected at 15 and 7 per cent respectively.
“The rules will apply to transactions conducted via business operators or exchanges regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC],” Ekniti Nitithanprapas, director-general of the Revenue Department, said on Friday.
Other criteria include the offsetting of losses against gains being done within the same tax year.
Ekniti added that the department will issue a guidebook on tax calculation for digital asset traders on January 31. The guide will also cover details on two eligible cost calculation approaches, which are first-in, first-out (FIFO) and moving average cost. Traders can switch between these approaches in the next tax year.
“The Revenue Department will discuss with digital asset communities and relevant agencies the possibility of amending related laws to further improve tax collection on digital assets,” Ekniti said. “For instance, adding a revenue code that lets business operators or exchanges collect withholding tax and submit to the department, and imposing financial transaction tax instead of VAT for digital assets that serve as securities.”
Digital assets have significantly expanded in Thailand over the past few years, with average daily trading increasing from 240 million baht to 4.83 billion baht. Total estimated asset value has also jumped from 9.6 billion baht to 114.5 billion baht, while the number of digital asset users has surged from about 170,000 to more than 1.9 million people.
The Finance Ministry predicts a 4-per-cent growth in Thailand’s gross domestic product (GDP) this year, fuelled by higher domestic spending and 7 million foreign tourists.
This forecast is based on the 1.2 per cent boost to the economy, as the last quarter of 2021 saw an estimated 0.9-1.3 per cent expansion, ministry spokesman Pornchai Theeravet, who also doubles as the Fiscal Policy Office director, said on Friday.
Thailand’s growth in the second half of last year was higher than expected as it was propelled by a jump in exports, the government’s stimulus measures, the private sector’s higher consumption and investment expansion, the official said.
The export sector grew by about 19 per cent last year, thanks mainly to the recovery of its trade partners, compared to a 6.5 per cent drop in 2020.
Also, the number of foreign arrivals after Thailand’s reopening was higher than expected, he said. Since reopening on November 1, the country has seen as many as 420,000 foreign arrivals compared to 180,000 in the previous year.
Pornchai said the easing of Covid-19 measures has also pushed up consumer spending, which should boost the Thai economy by about 3.5 to 4.5 per cent.
Consumption of the private sector is expected to grow 4.5 per cent year-on-year, while exports will expand 3.6 per cent.
The resumption of the Test & Go scheme for foreigners from February 1 is expected to attract as many as 7 million arrivals.
However, Pornchai pointed out that some factors could affect economic growth, such as more Covid-19 waves, fluctuations in global economy and finance, slow recovery of the labour market, disruption in supply chain and surge in the price of energy and crude oil.
A House committee will on February 10 conduct a hearing on the bidding for a licence to operate the ThaiCom 4 communication satellite once the current concession expires next year.
The ThaiCom 4 or IPStar is a commercial telecommunication satellite operated at 119.5 degrees East via two-way KU-band spot beams.
ThaiCom Plc had received a 30-year concession to operate the satellite, which was handed over to National Telecom Plc when the concession expired in September 2011.
The company, owned by INTUCH Holding, continued operating the satellite after the handover because National Telecom lacked the expertise required. However, its operating concession is scheduled to expire next year.
Meanwhile, Palang Pracharat MP Kalaya Rungwichitchai said the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications (NBTC) wants the bidding procedure to kick off well before the licence expires so the country’s telecommunications system does not hit any obstacles.
Kalaya chairs the House committee on telecommunications and digital economy and society which is overseeing the issue.
NBTC, which aims to have the bidding wrapped up by June, told the panel that only a handful of companies in Thailand have the expertise to operate satellites. Kalaya also pointed out that the bid winner will also need to have huge sums of money at their disposal to put forward as a guarantee.
She went on to say that her panel fears there may be a perception of collusion due to the low number of bidders and would like to hear the opinions of the agencies concerned.
Kalaya added that representatives of the NBTC, the National Telecom, Digital Economy and Society Ministry and ThaiCom will be invited to the hearing.
She said the hearing will consult on whether it is possible to lower the specifications in a bid to increase the number of bidders.
“But this may pose a problem because this business needs expensive equipment and special expertise,” the MP said.
She added that the NBTC representative admitted that the telecom watchdog has not done enough to launch public awareness campaigns on the issue, leading to a misperception that the national property will be sold to a private firm via the upcoming bid.
The baht opened at 33.30 to the US dollar on Friday, weakening from Thursday’s closing rate of 33.20.
The Thai currency is likely to move between 33.20 and 33.40 during the day, Krungthai Bank market strategist Poon Panichpibool said, adding that low market sentiment prompting foreign investors to sell Thai stocks will make the baht fluctuate and even weaken.
However, he reckons the baht will not drop much because there are not too many energy, financial or tech stocks, so the Thai market is benefiting from cyclical investments.
The baht’s resistance level will lie between 33.30 and 33.50, the level that exporters are waiting for to sell the dollar, he concluded.
Noble Development Plc aims to launch 18 projects worth a total 47.7 billion baht in 2022, chairman of the executive committee and co-chief executive officer Thongchai Busrapan said in an online press conference.
Noble expects revenue to exceed 11 billion baht this year with pre-sales of 28 billion baht, while the company is committed to becoming one of the top five property developers in Thailand in the future, Thongchai said.
Second vice-chairman of the board of directors and co-chief executive officer Frank Fung Kuen Leung said 2022 would be a challenging year but Noble is “best placed among its competitors” in overseas markets.
He said Thailand was the most favoured location for Asian buyers while the depreciation of the baht had created a further incentive for investment.
Leung told the conference that there was a strong indication of pent up demand for overseas buyers waiting for travel to resume and the depressed market had resulted in a need for diversification.
He said Noble’s strength lies in the company’s deep network of more than 550 distributors in nine Asian countries.
According to Leung, the company has struck a balance between premium and mass-market projects, and “horizontal” and “vertical” projects.
He said Noble aims to acquire 550 pre-owned units in the Midlands and Northern England in 2022, with total capital of roughly £100 million (THB4.5 billion).
Member of the executive committee and chief financial officer Arttavit Chalermsaphayakorn said that of the 18 projects that will be launched this year, 10 will be worth 16.9 billion baht while eight will be joint ventures with BTS Group Holdings and Hongkong Land worth 30.8 billion baht.
Twelve would be low-rise projects worth 18.8 billion baht and six high-rise projects worth 28.9 billion baht.
Chief business development officer Sira Udol told the conference that five condominium projects would be launched on Tuesday.
One of them, Nue Connex Condo Don Muang, connects Phahonyothin and Vibhavadi Rangsit roads and is near the SRT Red Line and BTS Green Line.
The project, valued at 2.2 billion baht with 1,178 units, is slated to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2023. Prices start at 1.09 million baht, or 52,700 baht per square metre. The next three condominium projects are Nue Z-Square Suan Luang Station, Nue District R9 and Nue Mega+ Bang Na.
The 289-unit Nue Z-Square, located near Suan Luang Rama 9 MRT station and Paradise Park, is valued at 700 million baht, Sira said.
The project is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2023, with prices starting at 1.79 million baht, or 78,000 baht per square metre.
The 1,005-unit Nue District R9 is close to Phra Ram 9 MRT station. The project, valued at 3 billion baht, is expected to be finished in the first quarter of 2025. Prices start at 1.89 million baht, or 95,000 baht per square metre.
Meanwhile, Nue Mega+ Bang Na is valued at 6.2 billion baht and features 1,442 units. The project, slated for completion in the second quarter of 2025, has prices starting at 2.9 million baht, or 134,000 baht per square metre.
Sira also said another condominium project – Nue Evo Ari – is in the pipeline. It will be located in Soi Ari 1 and is near the BTS Ari station.
The 488-unit project, valued at 2.9 billion baht, is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2025, with prices starting at 3.9 million baht, or 130,000 baht per square metre.
The media were also told that Noble was in the process of adding a digital-currency payment method to make purchases easier for both Thai and overseas customers. The process is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2022.
Mr. Takashi Hata will take over as the new President of Tri Petch Isuzu Sales Co Ltd, replacing Mr. Toshiaki Maekawa, from February 2, 2022, Tri Petch Group has announced.
Takashi Hata takes charge as new President of Tri Petch Isuzu Sales Co Ltd
Mr. Takashi Hata will take over as the new President of Tri Petch Isuzu Sales Co Ltd, replacing Mr. Toshiaki Maekawa, from February 2, 2022, Tri Petch Group has announced.
Tri Petch Group is the distributor of Isuzu vehicles in Thailand and Isuzu light commercial vehicles in Laos and Cambodia, including after-sales services and spare parts.
Mr. Takashi Hata has a wealth of experience in the automotive business, both in Thailand and other countries.
Mr. Takashi Hata.President of Tri Petch Isuzu Sales Co Ltd.
Mr. Maekawa served as the President of Tri Petch Isuzu Sales Co Ltd from March 2016 to January 2022. During the past six years, his outstanding performance led to several great business milestones for the Isuzu group and the Tri Petch Group, including celebrating the 60th golden jubilee year of the Isuzu business in Thailand and Japan, with the launch of all models of Isuzu vehicles. They included:
— New! Isuzu D-Max 1.9 and 3.0 Ddi Blue Power
— New Isuzu MU-X, the luxurious multi-purpose vehicle
— Isuzu King of Trucks
The launch of the all-new Isuzu D-Max…Infinite Potential pickup managed to generate an overwhelming response from customers, at a time when the Thai automotive market was on a downturn due to the economic slowdown. This has firmly entrenched Isuzu’s position at No. 1 in the pickup segment.
Mr. Toshiaki Maekawa
Landmark sales of 4 million units of all Isuzu models in Thailand were also announced at the same event.
The Tri Petch Group is pursuing its key goals of:
Enhancing the potential of Tri Petch Group to be among the best global companies, has been a driver of world-class automotive businesses in Thailand for over 65 years as well as other countries in Asia. The group’s goal is to deliver the best products and services to our customers by continuously expanding new businesses, such as “Omakase Car” and “Truck2Hand, online used-car platforms in Thailand, to meet the needs of entrepreneurs and individual customers in this “new normal” era.
Focusing on information management and digital marketing to create the most efficiency for customers, dealers and Tri Petch Group, demonstrating evidence of visionary management, especially in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Isuzu launched online marketing long before the pandemic crisis struck, which allowed it to remain engaged when offline marketing activities were restricted. As a result, Isuzu has continuously grown against the shrinking trend of the automotive market.
Mr. Toshiaki Maekawa completed his term in Thailand and has returned to Japan to take his new post at Mitsubishi Corporation.
Mr. Takashi Hata started working at Mitsubishi Corporation, the parent company of Tri Petch Isuzu Sales Co Ltd, in April 1991 after graduating from the Faculty of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering Major, Waseda University, Tokyo. He performed a range of duties in his professional career as follows:
April 1991: Joined Mitsubishi Corporation (Motor Vehicle Dept. 4 — Isuzu Team)
March 1997: Corporate Planning Group, Tri Petch Isuzu Sales Co Ltd (Bangkok, Thailand)
March 2004: Mitsubishi Corporation (Isuzu Business Division)
February 2009: Managing Director and CEO, Isuzu Malaysia Sdn Bhd (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
May 2012: Vice President, Tri Petch Isuzu Sales Co Ltd (Bangkok, Thailand)
February 2015: Unit Manager, Strategic Planning Unit, Machinery CEO Office, Mitsubishi Corporation
April 2017: Group Corporate Strategy & Planning Officer, Machinery Group CEO Office, Mitsubishi Corporation
April 2019: General Manager, Mobility Service Business Development Office, Isuzu Division, Mitsubishi Corporation
August 2020: President, Tri Petch Isuzu Leasing Co Ltd (Bangkok, Thailand)
December 2021: Executive Vice President, Tri Petch Isuzu Sales Co Ltd (Bangkok, Thailand)
January 2022: President, Tri Petch Isuzu Sales Co Ltd (Bangkok, Thailand)
His work in Thailand, with three assignments, combined with the wealth of his experiences in Japan and at the international level have been enormously beneficial to Mr. Takashi Hata.
Bitkub Blockchain Technology, the developer of Bitkub Chain network and Bitkub Non-Fungible Token (NFT) platform, has joined hands with Samui Vipat to organise an art exhibition by Viktoria Vorotina, a world-class artist, at Hyatt Regency Koh Samui Resort.
Bitkub Blockchain Technology, the developer of Bitkub Chain network and Bitkub Non-Fungible Token (NFT) platform, has joined hands with Samui Vipat to organise an art exhibition by Viktoria Vorotina, a world-class artist, at Hyatt Regency Koh Samui Resort.
In addition, Bitkub has also applied NFT technology to allow interested people to purchase valuable artworks via the Bitkub NFT platform.
NFT is one of the digital assets in blockchain similar to Bitcoin, but it has an irreplaceable uniqueness. Hence, NFTs can be used in various ways, such as substitution for artworks in the NFT market to allow interested people to buy its ownership. This method is one of the channels to generate revenue in the digital world, which is popular among artists worldwide.
NFT is currently accepted by people worldwide, especially amid Metaverse trends, which can be seen from projects related to NFTs and Metaverse. For instance, the market value of Decentraland, Axie Infinity, The Sandbox projects has increased exponentially by over 400 billion baht.
Metaverse is not only improving social networks with virtual reality technology, but it also enables users to apply blockchain, cryptocurrencies and NFT to create new works and sell them to interested people without middlemen. Therefore, the owner of artworks can reduce costs and cut unnecessary processes and they would create new jobs and businesses beyond our imagination on the Metaverse.
Confident of blockchain, NFT and Metaverse playing an important role in the global economy soon, Bitkub has accelerated setting up the necessary infrastructure to enable Thais to compete in the international market effectively, as well as create awareness on technologies.
Samui Vipat’s Chief Business Officer, Ithichai Poolvaraluck, who is also the owner of Hyatt Regency Koh Samui Resort, said he was very glad that Bitkub, a leading digital asset business operator, had joined hands with his company in organising the exhibition.
He said the resort has a unique design, which represents island residents’ way of life under the concept “Vacation Gallery”.
“To emphasize the resort’s vision of “Discover Timeless Connections at Hyatt Regency Samui”, this resort will not only offer accommodation but also provide new experiences to visitors.
“As the world is changing rapidly, the company intends to connect the real world and digital world via artworks suitable for people of every generation,” Ithichai said.
Ithichai added that the company will provide new experiences to visitors every three months, involving foods, beverages, activities and Metaverse in the future.
Meanwhile Bitkub’s Chief Executive Officer, Passakorn Pannok, said the company was pleased that Samui Vipat has become the company’s partner to apply NFT as part of the world-class exhibition in a bid to enable interested people to buy valuable artworks via the Bitkub NFT platform.
He said the company has witnessed a change in trading as more and more business operators are accepting digital assets for trading.
“The cooperation with Samui Vipat is an important step to encourage consumers to have more opportunities in product and service exchange and boost their confidence in digital assets,” he said.
Passakorn said Bitkub is a digital currency exchange operator which has the potential to access overall consumers with reliability and steady growth.
“In the previous year, the digital assets business was one of the businesses of the future that grew rapidly and would be an important resource for businesses in the long term,” he said.
We will continue developing our system to be more effective to facilitate users,” he added.
Those interested can visit and purchase ownership of Viktoria’s artworks in the form of NFT via the Bitkub Chain platform.
The Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) has identified cybersecurity services as one of the mega trends that will create huge social and digital disruption across industries. According to the TDRI, such mega trend will gain traction post-pandemic and affect businesses and investments in many industries with Thailand expected to be a major consumer of cybersecurity services.
Thoresen Thai Agencies Public Company Limited (TTA), a leading strategic investment company, has expanded its investment portfolio into the cybersecurity technology business. V Ventures Technologies Company Limited (VVT), a majority owned subsidiary of TTA, has recently entered into an agreement to acquire a 10% stake in Cloudsec Asia Company Limited (Cloudsec Asia), a provider of cybersecurity services.
The Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) has identified cybersecurity services as one of the mega trends that will create huge social and digital disruption across industries. According to the TDRI, such mega trend will gain traction post-pandemic and affect businesses and investments in many industries with Thailand expected to be a major consumer of cybersecurity services.
According to Stastica, the global cybersecurity market size is forecasted to be US$239 billion in 2022 and expected to continually grow to US$345 billion over the next few years. Thai domestic investment will be a driving force for development of infrastructure for cyber security in Thailand which will support the growth of the country’s digital assets and block chain technology.
Cloudsec Asia is a leading comprehensive cybersecurity service provider determined to make cybersecurity become a fundamental utility for organizations and people. Cloudsec Asia provides comprehensive cybersecurity services, including Public Cloud or Private Cloud, and offers a one-stop-shop solution through delivery of three core areas of service offerings: Cloud Security Solutions, Manage Detection and Response and Cyber Security Services.
Mr. Chalermchai Mahagitsiri, Chief Executive Officer of V Ventures Technologies Company Limited said, “We are confident that cybersecurity must be the top priority for new spending for organizations in order to have adequate data breach insurance, particularly cloud security data breaches, due to an increasing use of non-PC devices connected to the internal business system and saving all of work and documents to the cloud. Therefore, information rights management (IRM) which is a technology for protecting sensitive or critical information will be in the strong demand. Factors driving this demand include the emergence of new digital products and services, related health and safety applications and risks from third parties data breaches such as customer data breaches or supply chain attacks, etc.
“The main purpose to invest in Cloudsec Asia is to expand the potential for TTA’s business operation in the segment of cybersecurity. We expected that the investment has potential to generate good returns. Moreover, we believe that with high technology capabilities and integrated cybersecurity solutions, Cloudsec Asia can meet requirements of customers in all industries from financial business, banking, insurance business, real estate business to the retail business and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Thailand and ASEAN.”
Mr. Krishnayos Puranasamriddhi, the Chief Executive Officer of Cloudsec Asia, said: “Cloudsec Asia is a company that combines all three aspects of cybersecurity dimensions created as a different service which is more synergistic and inclusive from end-to-end than just one of the functions on a standalone basis. We can adjust our services according to customers’ requirements. Whether it is just detection or protection, it can be made to order with high expertise and technology. We can design a wide range of services to suit public and private sectors of all sizes, from small SMEs to public companies. Cloudsec Asia is also planning to expand its cybersecurity business to CLMV countries as cybersecurity services become increasingly important as the digital world becomes closer and more connected to people than ever before.
“Cloudsec Asia today has achieved a market valuation of close to THB 1 billion and we are in the process of executing additional strategic initiatives expected to grow Cloudsec Asia’s market valuation to become in excess of THB 5 billion by 2023.”
Banphaeo General Hospital, led by managing director Dr. Pornthep Phongtavikorn praised the support received from Supachai-Busadee Chearavanont Foundation led by its vice chairman Mrs. Busadee Chearavanont, in helping build the “Heart, Breast and Vascular Centre” at the hospital.
They also thanked the foundation for its campaign to raise funds from the public. This has helped the medical team and specialists to be fully equipped in order to create new lives for patients waiting for heart treatment, said Pornthep.
Pornthep said that “many patients are waiting for a heart operation, but due to the Covid-19 situation many of them are having to wait for over six months, resulting in higher risk of fatality among heart disease patients”.
Banphaeo General Hospital presents a token of appreciation to Supachai-Busadee Chearavanont Foundation in supporting and donating fund to build “Heart, Breast and Vascular Center” for all hearts to keep beating
The Heart, Breast and Vascular Centre has been initiated at Banphaeo General Hospital to make daily heart operation possible at any time without having to wait for too long.
“We have to thank all of those who support the Supachai-Busadee Chearavanont Foundation through their donations as well as for the campaign to invite the public to donate for the centre at Banphaeo General Hospital,” Pornthep said. “Since the opening of the centre two months ago, we have operated on 57 heart disease patients and expanded the cardiac care unit, increasing the number of beds from 11 to 18.
Also, there are plans to add another operational room for better treatment efficiency.” Busadee praised “the great mission of all members of the medical team to help patients live better lives, particularly heart disease patients which is ranked as one of the top fatality reasons in Thailand among those who wait for heart operations”.
“Supachai-Busadee Chearavanont Foundation is honoured to join the ‘For Continued Heartbeat’ project to create a donation platform and publication via all channels under the Charoen Pokphand group. We have received a strong response from all well-wishers who donated via TrueMoney Wallet and Siam Commercial Bank account, towards building the Heart, Breast and Vascular Centre and purchasing medical equipment.
“I would like to thank the medical team, nurses and all personnel at Banphaeo General Hospital for helping patients have continuous heartbeats and new lives. The foundation strives to continue the mission for the hospital to move forward, which is in line with the resolution to help society achieve a sustainable life quality. I would like to thank all donors who are helping all hearts to continue beating, as we believe everyone is the heart of someone,” Busadee said.
Those who wish to support the “For Continued Heartbeat” project and expand the Heart, Breast and Vascular Centre at Banphaeo General Hospital (Public Organisation) can donate via
Mr. Takashi Hata.President of Tri Petch Isuzu Sales Co Ltd.
Mr. Toshiaki Maekawa
Banphaeo General Hospital presents a token of appreciation to Supachai-Busadee Chearavanont Foundation in supporting and donating fund to build “Heart, Breast and Vascular Center” for all hearts to keep beating
SootinClaimon.Com 