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Baht expected to strengthen, buoyed by stock market

NationalDec 25. 2020

By THE NATION

The baht opened at 30.01 to the US dollar on Friday, unchanged from the closing rate on Thursday.

The Thai currency is likely to move between 29.90 and 30.10, said Jitipol Puksamatanan, senior director of the chief investment office at SCB Securities.

On Thursday night, the financial markets were in a risk-on state, increasing the value of all assets.

The S&P 500 and Stoxx 600 indices rose by 0.4 and 0.1 per cent respectively, while the price of WTI crude oil and gold increased to $48.30 per barrel and $1,883 respectively.

At the same time, the dollar index weakened by 0.1 per cent, while the pound strengthened by 0.3 per cent, after the UK and the EU reached an agreement on Brexit.

The German and UK Ten-Year Treasury yields rose by 3 and 5 basis points respectively. However, the US Treasury yield decreased by 2 basis points.

In Thailand, the baht strengthened back in line with the stock market’s direction, despite no purchasing power from foreign investors.

Jitipol predicted the baht would continue to strengthen on Friday, advising the investors to monitor foreign exchange reserves, after the US placed Thailand on its monitoring list for currency manipulation.

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No Covid-19 patient visited store, The Mall Bang Kae clarifies

NationalDec 25. 2020

By THE NATION

The Mall Group on Thursday updated that no Covid-19 patient had visited the Mall Bang Kae department store recently, clearing the way for DTAC and iCare shops to open as usual on December 24 and 25.

On Wednesday, The Mall Group had announced that three shops in two branches of The Mall – Bang Kae and Bang Kapi – were ordered to close and disinfect, after it was suspected that Covid-19 patients might have visited the outlets recently.

The Mall Bang Khae on Wednesday told the DTAC and iCare shops to suspend their services until Friday. The staff of each shop were told to be quarantined.

A similar case took place at the Yum Saap restaurant at The Mall Bang Kapi. A patient who was confirmed as the first Covid-19 case in Samut Songkhram province had earlier visited the restaurant for a meal.

Late afternoon on Thursday, The Mall Group mentioned on its Facebook page that it was now confirmed no Covid-19 patient had visited the Bang Kapi branch recently. Therefore, the DTAC and iCare shops could open as usual on Thursday and Friday.

The new announcement added that the shops had been disinfected before opening.

The Mall Group did not say when the Covid-19 patient had visited the Bang Kapi branch.

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Six Covid-19 cases in Chai Nat province, including 5-year-old

NationalDec 25. 2020

By THE NATION

A five-year-old is among six new Covid-19 cases in Chai Nat province.

Chai Nat Governor Somboon Sirivej told a press conference on Thursday afternoon that the province now had six confirmed cases of Covid-19 after the first case was reported on December 20.

The source of the infections is suspected to be a 35-year-old seafood vendor who had earlier visited Samut Sakhon province, a hotspot of recent mass infections.

“The second and third patients are a mother and son from Muang district who had visited the same clinic where the first patient had received testing,” he said.

“The 41-year-old mother had reportedly brought her five-year-old for asthma treatment to the clinic.”

The fourth and fifth patients are a married couple aged 34 and 31 from Han Kha district. They had earlier visited Thalay Thai Market in Samut Sakhon and been tested on December 22 at Chai Nat Narenthorn following a Ministry of Public Health recommendation for people who had visited the hotspot.

“The sixth patient is a 47-year-old woman who is a stepmother of the fifth patient. They live in the same house,” said Somboon.

Somboon added that five other persons who had been in close contact with the patients had been tested and placed in isolation while awaiting the results. He also ordered the Huay Ngu subdistrict in Han Khan district, where three of the patients lived, to be a controlled area and public health officers must stay on high alert for possible new cases.

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Principal suspected of jumping to his death from Bangkok school building

NationalDec 25. 2020

By THE NATION

In a suspected case of suicide, the principal of a school in Bangkok’s Laksi district jumped to his death from the school building.

Thungsonghong Police Station were informed about the incident at 15 minutes past midnight on Friday. At the scene they found the body of Yutthanan Srichumphu, the school’s principal, lying on the ground with a wound at his head.

Police said they found a letter on his body addressed to his family and colleagues, saying he was sorry for ending his life as he could no longer fight the depression he was suffering from. In the letter, the deceased also asked that his body be taken to his hometown in Phrae province for the funeral.

Police reportedly also found a doctor’s note on Yutthanan’s body from Srithanya Psychiatric Hospital, stating that the deceased had been suffering from severe depression with high tendency of committing suicide and that he had been receiving continued treatment at the hospital.

Police are interviewing witnesses and reviewing CCTV footage, while the deceased’s body was sent for autopsy to confirm the cause of death.

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Isolated heavy rain forecast for the South, while temperature edges up in upper Thailand

NationalDec 25. 2020

By THE NATION

The Thailand Meteorological Department said on Friday that an active low-pressure cell covers the middle South while the strong northeast monsoon prevails over the Gulf of Thailand and the South. Isolated heavy to very heavy rains are forecast in the areas.

People should beware of the severe conditions that may cause flash floods. Waves in the Gulf are expected to rise 2-3 metres high and above three metres during thundershowers. All ships should proceed with caution and keep off thundershowers, while small boats should keep ashore until December 26, the department said.

Meanwhile, the high-pressure system covering upper Thailand is weakening, increasing temperatures by 1-2 degrees Celsius, with fog in the morning. Mountaintops remain cold to very cold with frost in some areas.

The weather forecast for the next 24 hours:

North: Cold to cool weather with light fog in the morning; minimum temperature 10-19°C, maximum 27-34°C; temperature on hilltops is likely to drop to 2-10°C with frost in some areas.

Northeast: Cold to cool weather with light fog in the morning and isolated light rain; minimum temperature 15-20°C, maximum 29-33°C; temperature on hilltops is likely to drop to 6-14°C.

Central: Cool weather with light fog in the morning and isolated light rain; minimum temperature 18-23°C, maximum 31-34°C.

East: Cool weather with light fog in the morning and isolated light rain; minimum temperature 20-25°C, maximum 31-34°C; waves 1-2 metres high and two metres off shore.

South (east coast): Mostly cloudy with thundershowers in 60 per cent of the areas and isolated heavy rain; minimum temperature 22-25°C, maximum 27-30°C; waves 2-3 metres high and over three metres during thundershowers.

South (west coast): Mostly cloudy with thundershowers in 40 per cent of the areas and isolated heavy rain; minimum temperature 22-23°C, maximum 29-31°C; waves 1-2 metemres high and two metres during thundershowers.

Bangkok and surrounding areas: Light fog in the morning with isolated light rain; minimum temperature 23-24°C, maximum 32-34°C.

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Senior travellers targeted in Bt18bn stimulus scheme

NationalDec 25. 2020

By THE NATION

The Ministry of Tourism and Sports will next week ask the Cabinet to approve its tourism stimulus scheme for seniors.

“Tiew Thai Wai Kao” (Seniors Travel in Thailand) is designed to boost tourism among retirees during working days, minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn explained on Thursday. The programme will boost the whole tourism sector, adding jobs across the country, he said.

Eligible for the scheme are seniors aged 55 to 75 who arrange trips through registered travel agencies. They will get a government subsidy of up to Bt5,000 per person if their trip is more than three days.

The scheme will generate about one million trips in Thailand, injecting around Bt18.85 billion into the economy, said Phiphat. Up to 100,000 guides will also be hired to facilitate seniors’ travel, he added.

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KBank prepares Bt36.8bn in cash for New Year spending

NationalDec 24. 2020

By The Nation

Kasikornbank plans to allocate cash reserves worth Bt36.8 billion for KBank branches and ATMs during the New Year holiday from December 28 to January 1.

Bt10.5 billion of that total will be distributed among KBank’s 860 branches nationwide, with Bangkok getting Bt4.5 billion, said the bank.

Another Bt26.3 billion will be loaded into 8,200 K-ATMs across the country, with a whopping Bt14 billion to support New Year revels in Bangkok.

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Samut Sakhon locals hinder moves to set up Covid-19 field hospitals

NationalDec 24. 2020

By The Nation

Hundreds of locals showed up at the Thailand National Sports University Samut Sakhon campus at noon on Thursday to block efforts to turn the campus into a field hospital for Covid-19 patients.

Their argument was that some 10,000 people live near the university, and there are many kindergartens and nurseries nearby as well as a child development centre. They said that placing Covid-19 patients in the middle of the community would be unsafe, especially if a patient escapes or enough care is not taken to keep them sequestered. They also pointed out that it would be almost impossible to deal with the situation, especially since there is a shortage of staff.

Instead, the villagers said, the infected people should be placed on fishing boats or near infection hotspots like the Talay Thai market.

“Samut Sakhon authorities should find a better solution than this,” a representative said.

As of Wednesday, 1,202 people had tested positive for novel coronavirus in Samut Sakhon and most of them are migrant workers.

Villagers continued with their stake out even after officials retreated for fear beds and patients may be smuggled in.

Residents also protested against plans to set up a field hospital near Pantai Norasingh Water Park, saying businesses around the area will be badly affected.

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Dozens of Myanmar workers deported in crackdown on undocumented migrants

NationalDec 24. 2020

By THE NATION

Chiang Rai authorities deported 72 Myanmar workers back to their homeland on Thursday. No reason was given for the move. Authorities said the workers had previously entered Thailand legally and none had worked in the Covid-19 hotspot in Samut Sakhon.

The group was screened for Covid-19 before being expelled via the border checkpoint in Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district.

Separately, the Immigration Bureau on Thursday reported results of a roundup of undocumented immigrants in Bangkok and Samut Sakhon province, the epicentre of the latest Covid-19 outbreak.

The bureau said 300 immigration officials working alongside Labour Ministry and Public Health Ministry personnel found 61 unregistered migrant workers in Samut Sakhon province on Tuesday. Fifty-four were from Myanmar, four from Cambodia and the remaining three from Laos. Most of them had crossed the border illegally, said the bureau.

All were tested for Covid-19 but none was found to be infected.

The non-profit Mekong Migration Network has urged Thai authorities not to scapegoat undocumented migrant workers for the latest outbreak of Covid-19 in Thailand. Myanmar migrant workers in Samut Sakhon are thought to be the source of the outbreak. PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered an investigation of human-trafficking gangs who reportedly bribe Thai immigration and border officials to bring migrant workers into the country.

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Bangkok’s Ong Ang Canal closed to kayakers

NationalDec 24. 2020

By The Nation

Kayaking down Bangkok’s Ong Ang Canal will not be allowed from Friday onwards in a bid to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Governor Aswin Kwanmuang said in a Facebook post that the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has suspended the activity to prevent transmission of the virus through shared paddles, kayaks and life jackets.

“The aim is to ensure people’s safety under measures to contain the spread of Covid-19,” he said.

Kayaking down the Ong Ang Canal became popular after the BMA improved the scenery and began blocking the area to traffic from Friday to Sunday every week in a bid to promote tourism.