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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40023309

PTT, Bangchak ‘will not raise’ petrol prices during New Year holidays

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2022

The PTT Oil and Retail Business and Bangchak Corporation Plc have announced that they will not raise prices at their petrol stations during the New Year holidays.

PTT stations will maintain the current petrol and diesel prices from December 24 to January 3.

But if the global oil prices climb down, the company will reduce its oil retail prices accordingly, it said.

Bangchak, meanwhile, announced that its service stations will maintain prices from December 24 to January 2 but would reduce the retail prices proportionately if the global prices fall.

The current prices at PTT and Bangchak stations in Bangkok are:

▪︎ Petrol 95 octane: 41.86 baht per litre

▪︎ Gasohol 95: 34.45 baht per litre

▪︎ Gasohol 91: 34.18 baht per litre

▪︎ E20: 32.54 baht per litre

▪︎ E85: 32.69 baht per litre

▪︎ High premium diesel B7: 43.66 baht per litre

▪︎ B7 diesel: 34.94 baht per litre

▪︎ B10 diesel: 34.94 baht per litre

▪︎ B20 diesel: 34.94 baht per litre.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40023308

Lanna-style hotel is on the auction block again in Chiang Mai

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2022

The five-star Dhara Dhevi Hotel Chiang Mai will be auctioned again in January, with the starting price dropped to 2.01 billion baht from the 2.11 billion baht initial price in its 2021 auction, the Legal Execution Department announced.

The department will hold the auction for the property from January to May.

The first session of the auction will take place at the Chiang Mai Legal Execution Office on January 27, the department said.

If no interest is expressed during the first session, subsequent sessions will be held on February 17, March 10, March 31, April 21, and May 12, the department said. The price will be lowered by 10% at each subsequent session, it said, adding that the price cannot fall lower than 30% of the initial auction price.

Inter Far East Energy Corp (IFEC) bought the hotel in December 2015 for 4.3 billion baht. The price included stocks and debt.

When the 123-room hotel opened in 2002, its unique ancient Lanna-style architecture caught Thai and foreign tourists’ attention.

It was, however, severely impacted by the Covid-19 crisis and closed temporarily in early 2020. It filed for business rehabilitation in June 2020, but the filing was rejected by the Court of Appeal in November of that year, forcing the hotel to enter bankruptcy.

During the previous auction, IFEC subsidiary Inter Far East Thermal Power (I Thermal) won with a bid of 2.012 billion baht. It paid a deposit of 110 million baht but failed to pay the rest before it was due. The department confiscated the deposit and decided to auction the hotel again.

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Dhara Dhevi Hotel Chiang Mai goes under the hammer with THB2.1 bn starting price

Shareholder sues operator of bankrupt Chiang Mai luxury resort

Bankruptcy auction of Chiang Mai resort hits snag over reserve price

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40023304

Baht gains against dollar, but experts see limited potential for further appreciation

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2022

The baht opened at 34.65 to the US dollar on Wednesday, strengthening from Tuesday’s close of 34.78.

The currency will likely move between 34.50 and 34.70 against the greenback during the day, Krungthai market strategist Poon Panichpibool said.

Poon said that the baht might strengthen due to the weakening dollar and gold sales, but it would not strengthen past its support level of 34.5 to the dollar because the currency market is fluctuating and foreign investors could sell more Thai stocks after net sales of 1.7 billion baht on Tuesday.

Moreover, foreign investors could also sell Thai long-term bonds as the global bond yield is increasing.

He believes that some of them might wait for the baht to reach close to its support level to short for profit following net sales of 8 billion baht of short-term bonds this week.

Poon also advised investors to use hedging tools, such as options, to manage risks in a highly volatile currency market.

Related stories

• Baht hits 6-month high against dollar after US Fed meeting
• Baht opens 34.58/dollar on Wed but all eyes on Fed meeting
• World Bank urges government to increase tax revenue and reduce inequality

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40023303

Bangkok residents urged to check air safety levels as PM2.5 rises

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2022

Four Bangkok districts had air pollution levels above the safety level on Wednesday morning, according to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.

Thawi Watthana, Nong Khaem, Nong Chok, and Pathum Wan districts had hazardous levels of PM2.5, the administration’s Environment Department reported.

Measurements at air quality stations in the four districts found PM2.5 ranging from 30 to 53 micrograms (mcg) per cubic metre. PM2.5 refers to “particulate matter” (fine particles or droplets) in the air. The safety level is 50mcg. A number above this amount is considered hazardous.

The Environment Department warned Bangkok residents to monitor air quality from Friday evening and provided the following PM2.5 levels for Greater Bangkok:

• North Bangkok – 36 to 49mcg per cubic metre
• East Bangkok – 33 to 51mcg per cubic metre
• Central Bangkok – 35 to 48mcg per cubic metre
• South Bangkok – 34 to 51mcg per cubic metre
• North Thonburi – 39 to 53mcg per cubic metre
• South Thonburi – 36 to 53mcg per cubic metre

Related stories

• PM2.5 pollution crosses safe levels in 19 Bangkok districts today
• Bangkok pollution: BMA to survey factories, building sites on Tuesday
• Factories, farms, forests: Targets for Thai agency in PM2.5 battle

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40023299

Tomorrow brings shortest day of year with barely 11hrs daylight

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2022

The shortest day of the year, known as winter solstice, will fall on Thursday (December 22), the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (Narit) said on Wednesday.

The winter solstice occurs when either of the Earth’s poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the sun. This happens twice a year, once in the northern and once in the southern hemisphere.

Winter solstice sees the sun reach its lowest annual elevation in the sky.

On Thursday, the sun will rise at 6.36am and set at 5.55pm, adding up to just 11 hours and 19 minutes of daylight.

“Winter solstice is regarded as the first day of winter in the northern hemisphere, but for those in the southern hemisphere it will be the first day of summer,” Narit pointed out.

After tomorrow, the days will gradually get longer leading to the spring equinox on March 20, when the period of day and night will be the same. The summer solstice will bring the longest day for Thailand and the rest of the northern hemisphere on June 21.

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Astronomical institute seeks Thai names for planet, star confirmed this year

NARIT keeps close watch for impact of Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai eruption

Total lunar eclipse to grace Loy Krathong festival in Thailand

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40023296

Search for 23 HTMS Sukhothai sailors resumes after 6 bodies found

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2022

The search for 23 missing sailors continued on Wednesday after six bodies and one survivor were plucked from the Gulf of Thailand on Tuesday after the HTMS Sukhothai sank in a storm.

The Royal Thai Navy named the survivor as Seaman Chananyu Kaensriya.

“The Navy is searching for the other 23 missing crewmembers,” Admiral Choengchai Chomchoengpaet said during a press conference on Tuesday.

Navy personnel and volunteers launched the search mission after the Sukhothai, a Rattanakosin-class corvette, capsized during stormy weather with 106 crew onboard on Sunday night.

The ship sank some 20 nautical miles (32 kilometres) off the coast of Prachuap Khiri Khan’s Bang Saphan district.

The first of the 31 missing crew members was rescued on Monday night. Chief Petty Officer Natee Timdee was spotted floating unconscious and plucked from the sea before being taken to Bang Saphan Hospital.

Choengchai said the warship was on patrol when it began listing in strong winds and waves, causing seawater to flow through the ship and damage its electrical system.

“The crew were unable to drain seawater from the warship, causing the engine to stop and the ship to lose control,” he said.

He said the Navy had launched a search and rescue mission with three ships – HTMS Angthong, Bhumibol Adulyadej and Kraburi – as well as helicopters and reconnaissance aircraft.

“The Navy also contacted cargo ships for help to tow HTMS Sukhothai back to shore.” 

Choengchai added that the Navy had plenty of life rafts to rescue the crew, contradicting reports that no or few life rafts were launched from the stricken warship.

He vowed the Navy would not conceal information in its investigation and report on the sinking. Meanwhile the search would continue until all missing sailors are found.

The Navy has set up a disaster relief centre to take care of relatives of HTMS Sukhothai personnel, he added.

Related stories:

• Bodies of 4 HTMS Sukhothai crew found, hunt on for remaining 25
• Navy ship sinks, rescue mission underway
• Thailand’s troubled China sub deal delayed until June next year

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40023295

Police raid Mae Sot factory after Tesco labour abuse allegations

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2022

Immigration police and labour officials investigated a clothing factory in Tak’s Mae Sot district on Tuesday following reports of slavery-like working conditions.

Reuters on Monday reported that Tesco, Britain’s biggest retailer, is facing legal action from a group of Myanmar migrant workers, alleging dire working conditions at a Mae Sot factory that made clothes for the retailer’s F&F range.

A total of 146 workers, 140 Burmese and six Thai, allege they were made to work up to 99 hours per week on unlawful wages with forced labour conditions at the VK Garments (VKG) factory in Mae Sot between 2017 and 2020.

Deputy national police chief General Surachet Hakparn said on Tuesday that he checked the VKG factory’s working conditions and talked with some of the workers. He was told that the workers’ claim for unpaid wages was also at the appeal stage in the Thai labour court.

Surachet said police and Department of Labour Protection and Welfare (DLPW) officials also collected evidence and interviewed workers who said they were forced to work longer than legal hours. He threatened legal action if the employer is found to have broken the law.

DLPW officials also contacted the Provincial Industry Office to find temporary jobs for workers who want to stay in Thailand while they wait for the court verdict.

Britain’s Guardian newspaper has exposed abusive working conditions in Mae Sot in a series of reports over the past few days.

Charit Meesit, a lawyer representing former VKG workers in the Thai court, told the Guardian that authorities “know what’s going on but they turn a blind eye” and that the country lacks “proper enforcement” of its labour laws.

“It’s an open secret that Mae Sot is notorious for abusing workers,” he told the newspaper. “Even Burmese workers know Mae Sot is notorious but they are willing to go because they know that relatively the pay they can get is still better than they can get in Myanmar. They don’t care about the minimum wage in Thailand, they just know that working in Thailand is better paid than in Myanmar. That’s why they keep their mouths shut.”

VKG called the allegations “hearsay”, refusing to comment further amid the ongoing court case.

Related Stories

Brave teacher in Tak battles ‘claypocalypse’ to keep school open

Tak’s Thai-Myanmar border checkpoint ready for reopening

Myanmar border-village strike kills 3 Thai document holders

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40023293

Bangkok motorways toll-free over New Year holiday

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2022

Toll fees on two motorways – No 7 (Bangkok-Chonburi-Pattaya) and No 9 (Bang Pa In-Bang Phli-Bang Khun Tian) – will be waived for seven days of the New Year holidays from December 29 to January 4, the Department of Highways said on Tuesday.

The move aims to minimise queues at toll booths and reduce costs for people visiting their relatives over New Year, said director-general Sarawut Songwilai.

The department will also waive toll fees on Motorway No 6 (Bang Pa-in-Nakhon Ratchasima) between the Pak Chong and Kham Thalay Sor checkpoints, which are a gateway to Northeast provinces.

The 64-kilometre section of motorway No 6 will be open only for one-way outbound traffic from December 29 to 31, before switching to one-way inbound traffic from January 1-4 to facilitate motorists leaving and returning to the capital, respectively.

Over 7.32 million vehicles will use the motorway system during the New Year holidays, the department estimates. It has set up roadside assistance units at 393 locations nationwide to provide route information, drinking water, restrooms and resting zones for those who need it.

Sarawut advised motorists to download the M-Traffic mobile app or visit the Facebook page of Highway Traffic Operation Centre to check traffic conditions in real time.

The New Year holiday also brings the so-called “seven dangerous days” on roads, when the rising number of accidents leads to a spike in traffic deaths and injuries.

Related Stories

New auto toll system kicks in today on Motorway No 9

Bang Pa-in–Nakhon Ratchasima motorway to be ready for Songkran exodus

No casualties as roof of entrance to motorway collapses