To contain the spread of Covid-19, Krungthai Bank has adjusted the closing time of its branches nationwide to 6pm from Monday until further notice.
The bank said the move had been approved by the Thai Bankers’ Association, the Association of International Banks, and the Government Financial Institutions Association.
Customers can search for nearby branches via the website.
Nearly 300 migrant workers in Samut Sakhon province were free from Covid-19 after 14 days in quarantine, testing and are ready to return to work in the Central Prawn Market.
Samut Sakhon deputy governor Theerapat Katchamat revealed on Sunday that 292 migrant labourers who had been staying at the field hospital located at Samut Sakhon Provincial Central Stadium for Covid-19 treatment and quarantine would be allowed to go back to the Central Prawn Market in Mahachai subdistrict where they had been working earlier.
The market is one of the locations in Samut Sakhon which is believed to be a source of the new wave of Covid-19 outbreak in Thailand since December.
“All workers have completed their mandatory 14-day quarantine and received final testing to confirm that they are clear of the virus,” he said. “Furthermore, the province had received survival kits from the Thai Red Cross Society and has given them to every migrant to boost their morale.”
Theerapat added that migrant workers who wished to continue working at the market would need to fill a registration form and provide a valid passport as well as a certificate from the Ministry of Public Health stating that they were free of Covid-19 to authorities.
Meanwhile, Mana Paotui, Samut Sakhon public health officer, has said that officials have screened nearly 2,000 migrant workers who workex and resided near the Central Prawn Market since the first Covid-19 case had been confirmed in the area on December 17.
“So far around 700 migrants had tested positive for Covid-19 and had been sent to various hospitals in the province for treatment, while around 1,000 persons who tested negative were placed in quarantine as they had close contact with infected persons,” he said.
“On Monday around 300 more migrants will be discharged from the field hospital at the central stadium, which will free up over 600 beds for a new batch of patients.”
As of Sunday, Samut Sakhon reported 3,261 accumulated cases, 720 are Thais and 2,541 are migrants. Another 188 Thais and 175 migrants are under hospitalisation and one Thai person has died.
A mixed narcotic called “K Nompong” is suspected of causing six deaths in Bangkok, and also severely affecting four others.
On Sunday, several cases of use of the narcotics were reported in Bangkok. In addition to these cases, seven other people were found unconscious after taking the same mixed narcotic.
According to a report, one of the victims was a nightclub dancer aged 22, who died in her residence located in the Bang Kho Laem area. Her boyfriend was found near her in a severe condition.
Police suspected that these people were suffering the fallout of consuming “K Nompong”, which is popular among teenagers. A pack of narcotics was reportedly found at the scene.
“K Nompong” is a mixture of ketamine, methamphetamine, heroin and a sleeping pill called “Rose”. It has been nicknamed “K Nompong” because it is made from ketamine and looks like milk powder (nompong in Thai).
On Sunday, there was a report that some teenagers in Sai Mai district of Bangkok had tried to kill others due to the hallucination effect of “K Nompong”.
Bangchak plans to take its Inthanin coffee shops to foreign countries, aiming to expand in Laos and targeting 1,200 shops in five years.
Somchai Techavanich, chief marketing officer and vice president of marketing at Bangchak Corporation Plc, recently revealed that Bangchak plans more Inthanin coffee shops overseas, especially in Laos, where there is currently only one branch operating as Master Franchise. He said there is an opportunity to expand to 3-5 branches but the market and consumer behaviour needed to be assessed, including the pandemic situation.
In Cambodia, there are currently seven Inthanin coffee shops, which have also been affected by the Covid-19 outbreak, especially those located in department stores, which have been temporarily closed. Additional marketing activities would have to wait for the Covid-19 situation to ease first, he said.
In early 2018, the Master Franchise Inthanin Coffee Shop agreement in Cambodia and Laos was signed by Bangchak Retail Co Ltd and RCG Retail (Cambodia) Co Ltd. Previously, Bangchak had set a goal to open more than 100 Inthanin coffee shops in both countries.
The Inthanin Coffee business in Thailand has adapted well to market conditions, especially during the Covid-19 epidemic in March-April 2020 when it turned to selling more through online channel, making it possible to maintain sales, said Somchai.
Bangchak aims to expand Inthanin coffee to 1,200 branches within five years (2021-25). At the end of 2020, there were 690 branches. In the future, Somchai also intended to study opportunities to enter the upstream coffee business when it can expand to 1,000 Inthanin coffee shops.
The baht opened at 30.12 to the US dollar on Monday, weakening from 30.07 at close on Friday.
The Thai currency is likely to move between 30 and 30.20 on Monday and 29.90 and 30.30 this week, said Jitipol Puksamatanan, the head of the “Easy Invest” team at SCB Securities.
He explained that the baht last week had been weaker than other Asian currencies, due to investors’ concerns about the Thai economy and the Covid-19 situation in the country.
Meanwhile, more bonds were sold, and some foreign investors purchased Thai stocks. However, their purchases would not strengthen the baht, he said, adding that investors now see the US market as more interesting than Asia.
The team leader suggested that investors should mainly monitor the direction of stocks. He said that capital would possibly move to Asian markets again, in case the US market fluctuates or the dollar weakens.
He forecast that this week the market will focus on US political issues, as well as the manufacture and distribution of the Covid-19 vaccines.
Jitipol also predicted that the US government would pump another $750 billion into the market to stimulate its economy in this quarter. Besides, he added that some observers had forecast that the US would increase its key interest rate.
In the financial market, the dollar strengthened by 0.4 per cent, compared to other main currencies, as investors had been more careful after the US political situation became volatile again. At the same time, the US Ten-Year Treasury reached 1.12 per cent.
Twenty-one people have been arrested on charges of gambling following raids on five suspected venues in Bangkok.
“On January 8-9, officials investigated five locations in Bangkok suspected of running gambling operations,” Pol Maj-General Jiraphop Phuridet, deputy chief of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), said on Sunday.
“This operation is a part of the National Police chief’s policy to eliminate gambling dens nationwide to reduce the risk of Covid-19 spreading among the public.”
The five suspected gambling dens that were raided are:
1. An unnamed car care centre in Soi Sirithorn 1 in Bang Plad district. Officials arrested four suspects who were playing a card game and confiscated a deck of cards and some cash.
2. A building on Nakhon Chaisri Road in Dusit district. Officials found several gambling equipment including cards, dice, plastic chips, and cash but no gamblers.
3. A house near Tesco Lotus Rama I in Pathumwan district. Officials arrested four suspects who were allegedly playing high-low bets via mobile application. The mobile telephones and some cash were confiscated.
4. A rental room in Khlong Kwang community in Yannawa district. Officials arrested four suspects for allegedly playing a card game and confiscated a deck of cards and some cash.
5. A house in Soi Rimthangrotfai 3 in Thonburi district. Officials have arrested nine suspects who were playing high-low bets via mobile application and confiscated mobile telephones and some cash.
The Royal Gazette website on Sunday published an announcement from the Ministry of Finance allowing employees and employers to suspend or postpone contributing to the provident fund due to financial crisis, public disasters or events that affect the economic situation.
“The Ministry of Finance had allowed employees and employers to suspend or postpone their provident fund contributions due to the Covid-19 outbreak in Thailand since April 29 until December 31, 2020,” said the announcement. “However, since the outbreak is still affecting the economy, the ministry therefore will allow employees and employers to suspend or postpone their provident fund contribution from January until end of June 2021, without affecting their provident fund status.”
The announcement added that employees can continue contributing to the fund on their part even if their employers have decided to suspend or postpone their provident fund contributions.
By THE NATIONSiam Commercial Bank Plc (SCB) on Sunday said that it would temporarily close some branches in eight provinces effective immediately to avoid risk from the Covid-19 outbreak.
The branches are located in Bangkok, Samut Sakhon, Rayong, Chonburi, Ayutthaya, Pathum Thani, Samut Prakarn and Chachoengsao
The branches that will be closed are:
Bangkok:
– Tesco Lotus Jaran Sanitwong
– Big C Bang Bon
– N Mark Plaza Bang Kapi
– The Platinum Fashion Mall
Samut Sakhon:
– Central Plaza Mahachai
– Tesco Lotus Krathumbaen
– Tesco Lotus Ban Phaew
– Tesco Lotus Samut Sakhon
– Big C Mahachai
Rayong:
– Passion Rayong
Chonburi:
– Terminal 21 Pattaya
Ayutthaya:
– Ayutthaya Park
Pathum Thani:
– Future Park Rangsit
Samut Prakarn:
– Imperial World Samrong 2
Chachoengsao:
– Robinson Chachoengsao
Customers in affected areas have been advised to use ATM machines or the SCB Easy mobile application for their transactions. For more information, contact call centre on 02-777-7777 or Facebook SCB Thailand.
The Thailand Meteorological Department said on Monday that the high-pressure system from China covers upper Thailand, resulting in cool to cold weather and strong winds.
Temperature is expected to fall by 2-4 degrees Celsius. Mountaintops are cold to very cold with frost in some areas.
Meanwhile, the strong northeast monsoon prevailing over the Gulf and the South triggers strong wind waves in the Gulf up to 2-4 metres high. All ships should proceed with caution and small boats should keep ashore until January 13, the department said.
The weather forecast for the next 24 hours:
North: Cool to cold weather; minimum temperature 14-18 degrees Celsius, maximum 28-31°C; temperature on hilltops is likely to drop to 6-12°C with frost in some areas.
Northeast: Cold weather with strong winds; minimum temperature 8-14°C, maximum 23-28°C; temperature on hilltops is likely to drop to 4-11°C.
Central: Cool weather with strong winds; minimum temperature 15-18°C, maximum 29-30°C.
East: Cool weather with strong winds; minimum temperature 15-20°C, maximum 28-31°C; waves two metres high and over two metres offshore.
South (east coast): Mostly cloudy with thundershowers in 40 per cent of the areas; minimum temperature 20-24°C, maximum 29-30°C; waves 2-4 metres high and over four metres during thundershowers.
South (west coast): Mostly cloudy with thundershowers in 20 per cent of the areas; minimum temperature 22-24°C, maximum 31-34°C; waves 1-2 metres high and two metres offshore.
Bangkok and surrounding areas: Cool weather with strong winds; minimum temperature 18-19°C, maximum 29-30°C.
A Krungthai Bank market analyst says news that US Democrats have taken control of the Senate should be a boon for Thai investors.
Poon Panichpibool noted the Democratic Party now controls both houses for the first time in six years, a development he said should spur a risk-on approach for investors in Thai stocks as the year gets underway.
The market now expected a smoother recovery for the US economy, with Democrat president-elect Joe Biden facing no major obstacles to his stimulus programme.
Poon also noted investor interest in cryptocurrencies that saw Bitcoin smash through the $40,000 barrier on Friday, after rising more than 32 per cent in the first week of 2021. Investors were piling into crypto seeking higher returns amid the low-interest-rate environment, he explained.
The analyst advised investors to buy, despite high stock prices on the Thai exchange. He forecast Thai shares had room to rise at least 10 per cent this year, adding the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) index could reach 1,650 points. Cyclical and tech stocks were particularly good value, said Poon.
However, investors should keep a close eye on economic recovery and the virus crisis across the world, as well as moves by central banks.
He also advised that a “buy and hold” strategy would not be profitable in 2021 due to price volatility. He suggested that investors instead adapt their portfolios according to changing market conditions.
