SET-listed UAC Global says it is confident it can start producing crude oil and natural gas from two oil fields in Sukhothai province this month.
UAC Global CEO Chatchaphol Prasopchoke said the company had received concessions for the L10/43 and L11/43 blocks of the Arunothai and Burapha oil fields. The concessions run until 2033.
Chatchaphol said work to install machines and equipment on the oil fields is over 60 per cent completed and production could start within this month.
UAC Global expects to produce about 300 barrels of crude oil a day from the concessions. The oil would be sold to domestic refineries, Chatchaphol said.
Meanwhile, the natural gas from the fields will be distributed to the UAC’s gas separation facility and two power plants – Saothin and Pradu Thao.
The company expects to start realising revenue from the two fields in the third quarter of this year. It forecasts earnings of about 250 million baht per year from the two concessions based on current crude oil prices and the dollar exchange rate.
On September 4, 2022, Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s committees, and executives from Phayathai, Phatumwan and Nong Khaem district offices have mutually launched the project called “Mai Te Ruam” or “Do not randomly mix food wastes” in order to raise Bangkok citizen’s awareness toward the proper food waste separation and to promote the consistent collaboration among the government, private, and civil sectors.
On this occasion, brand-new waste sorting trucks specifically designed for food waste storage were also officially launched in 3 initiative areas of Phayathai, Pathumwan and Nong Khaem districts. Anna Sueangam-iam, Miss Universe Thailand 2022, was appointed to be the ambassador of this project.
Event attendees included several honored guests from various sectors, such as Piyaporn Sankosik, Managing Director of TPN Global Co., Ltd, and a license holder of Miss Universe Thailand, management team of Miss Universe Thailand, and Supaluck Umpujh, Chairwoman of The Mall Group Co., Ltd.
Mr Jirayut Srupsrisopa, Founder & Group CEO Bitkub Capital Group Holdings Co., Ltd. also attended the “Mai Te Ruam” project opening event as one of the important policy-driven parties.
Mr Jirayut said “Bitkub Capital Group Holdings Co., Ltd. and subsidiary are delightfully appreciated to be one of the initiative partners of this project. Bitkub is ready to advocate this policy so as to sustainably solve the waste management issue and to help raise the appropriate waste management consciousness for a better and livable society. Concerning the aforementioned statement, we would like to internally respond to the policy by helping strengthen everyone’s awareness toward the appropriate means of food waste and recyclable waste management including the proper practice on waste sorting process, not only in our organizations but also spreading awareness to our partners. Most importantly, we also use innovations like NFTs to persuade people to join our project in order to create sustainable and efficient outcomes.”
The Cabinet on Tuesday gave the green light to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) to boost its liquidity by borrowing 85 billion baht, as Egat has had to shoulder the burden of power tariff subsidies for maintaining the current power rates.
Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow said the Cabinet meeting, chaired by acting Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, agreed to let Egat take the loan with the Finance Ministry being its guarantor.
Supattanapong said Egat needed the loan to boost its liquidity after the Cabinet asked it to repeatedly postpone hiking its FT or float time rate. The FT covers floating costs beyond the control of Egat, including rising oil prices, rising inflation and exchange rates. It is used to calculate monthly power bills.
He added that the Cabinet would next week consider measures proposed by Energy Policy Administration Committee for providing subsidies to low-income people.
Next week, the Cabinet would also be asked to consider a proposal of the committee to continue to subsidise the cost of rising FT rates for two vulnerable groups. If approved, the subsidy would be enforced in time for the September power bill, the minister added.
He said the ministry would also promote installation of solar rooftops for households and industries, which would allow people and businesses to save on power bills.
Supattanapong said his ministry, Egat, the Provincial Electricity Authority, and the Metropolitan Electricity Authority would cooperate to speed up approval of licences for solar rooftops.
Thailand’s total rice exports in 2022 should meet the target of 7.5 million tonnes after successful negotiations with Singapore to increase its imports from Thailand in the rest of the year, the Department of Foreign Trade said on Tuesday.
Department director-general Pitak Udomwichaiwat said recent negotiations between the department, the Singapore General Rice Importers Association, and the Rice Exporters Association of Thailand held in Singapore had been successful and Singapore had agreed to import more rice from Thailand in the rest of the year.
Pitak said Singapore’s demand for rice is starting to climb up after the country’s reopening due to the improving Covid-19 situation, as can be seen from a 2 per cent bump in July’s rice imports compared to the same period last year.
“Singapore also imports rice from other countries, and they tend to use price as a factor in choosing the exporter,” he said. “Fortunately, this year Thailand has seen increased rice output due to abundant rainfall, which has resulted in a lower price, making our product more competitive than some rice producers. Furthermore, Singaporean consumers already have a long-established confidence in the quality of Thai rice.”
The department reported that from January 1 to August 31 this year, Thailand exported 4.92 million tonnes of rice, valued at US$2.53 billion (86.06 billion baht), up 51.37 and 30.47 per cent year on year, respectively. The department estimated that total rice exports this year would reach 7.5 million tonnes.
The department also said that currently the price of Thai rice has a tendency to drop following the weakening of baht, although it is still more expensive than rice from other countries. As of August 31, the price of Thai white rice with 5 per cent humidity was $428 per tonne, while the same rice from Vietnam cost $397, $382 from Pakistan and $342 from India.
Thailand’s steamed rice is sold at $442 per tonne, while Pakistan and India are selling theirs at $402 and $382 US dollar per tonne, respectively.
Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin on Monday met Thailand’s ambassador to Finland and sought his help in finding job opportunities for Thai workers in the northern European nation.
Suchart and his delegation met ambassador Chavanart Thangsumphant at the Thai embassy in Helsinki to discuss job opportunities for Thai workers in Finland.
Suchart’s delegation included Surachai Trakulthong, assistant to the labour minister, Labour Ministry spokeswoman Thianrat Nawamawat, Wannarat Srisuksai, deputy permanent secretary at the Labour Ministry, Pairoj Chotikasathien, director-general of the Department of Employment.
Among other things, Suchart said he discussed with the ambassador opportunities for unskilled workers from Thailand as berry-pickers with proper contracts and with all rights, perks and protection under Finnish law.
Suchart said he and his delegation also discussed with the ambassador about coordination between the Labour Ministry and the Thai embassy in Helsinki through a working group.
Suchart said the ministry hoped that the coordination would help Thai skilled and unskilled workers in Finland receive protection and welfare in accordance with the law.
He added that the ministry also aimed to have the working group find more labour markets for Thai workers in Finland.
During the meeting, Suchart thanked the ambassador for taking good care of Thai workers in Finland.
Suchart also had a chance to meet and discuss with executives of Helsinki Partners, which is a city marketing, investment and talent attraction company owned by the City of Helsinki.
Suchart said he discussed with the executives about exporting Thai workers to work in fields where Finland has a shortage of workforce.
The minister added that the embassy would lead representatives of private firms in Finland to visit Thailand in October to explore opportunities to hire workers.
The labour minister said Thailand has the potential to export workers to Finland. In 2021 and 2022, the Labour Ministry sent 7,902 workers to the country. Most of the labourers worked in the agricultural sector, while the second largest group worked as Thai cuisine chefs, Suchart said. Thai workers sent back about 700 million baht a year in remittances, he added.
Helsinki Partners CEO Clarisse Berggårdh told Suchart that Finland is facing a severe shortage of labour force, because the country is becoming an ageing society.
He said Finland needed a lot of employees in the fields of IT, computer programming and smart technologies, as well as staff to take care of the elderly.
Cooperation with stakeholders and the application of technology to business operations are key to survival in the digital era, logistics and e-commerce experts said at the “Trade Logistics Symposium 2022”.
The event, organised by the Department of International Trade Promotion, was held on September 2 and 3 at Lido Connect in downtown Bangkok and online via the Zoom application.
The event’s aim was to help personnel in logistics and related sectors exchange knowledge on the trends and directions of the industry so they can enhance their operations to meet international standards.
The event also aimed to boost the regional and international competitiveness of Thai logistics providers and international tour operators.
Up to 330 logistics providers, importers, exporters, students and other interested persons joined the event both online and in person.
The event comprised five discussions and one seminar, namely:
Cross border trade: Challenges of multi-transportation logistics
Kevin Zhang, founder and CEO of Philippines logistics provider Interluck, said Thailand plays a key role in cross-border trade in Southeast Asia as it is close to Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia and China.
However, he said, there are four challenges, namely change in customers’ expectations, customs delays, accurate and transparent landing cost calculation and global supply chain shortage.
He advised businesses to be transparent and use technology in business operations to boost efficiency and gain customer confidence.
“The key is to connect all segments in logistics in response to challenges and difficulties in cross-border trade,” he said.
Fulfilment and warehousing in 21st century
Nattapume Pavaratn, executive committee member and senior vice president at JWD InfoLogistics, said there were many pain points in doing business, including finding the right sales channel and managing operational costs.
Nattapume, who is also president of Warehouse Silo and Cold Storage Business Association, said consumers’ feeling toward brands poses a challenge to businesses.
To tackle these challenges, he advised entrepreneurs to improve warehouse management and be flexible so they can fulfil consumers’ demands effectively. He also advised small business owners to adopt technology as it can solve their pain points effectively.
“Even though technology can help entrepreneurs with warehouse management, they should pay attention to many factors, such as business size and investments,” he said.
He also asked entrepreneurs to pay attention to the environment as green economy is part of the 21st century’s megatrends, along with robotic automation, fintech, data-driven business and e-commerce.
Tips to start door-to-door services
Jamie Ko, director of regional public affairs and policy at Grab, said the digital economy has brought benefits and opportunities to entrepreneurs, especially when it comes to seeking customers.
Since Southeast Asia’s digital economy has grown significantly during the Covid-19 crisis, she said, entrepreneurs should collaborate with partners to gain maximum benefits from the digital economy.
“The question is how do we work together across all stakeholder groups to gain benefits from the digital economy,” she said.
E-commerce, cross-border impact on Asean logistics industry
Cecile Barayre-El Shami, chief of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)’s Digital Economy Capacity-Building Section, said many e-commerce platforms had benefited during the pandemic.
She explained that e-commerce sales have increased exponentially from US$2.5 trillion in 2019 to $3.9 trillion in 2021, with the top three platforms being Alibaba, Amazon and jd.com.
She went on to say that Asean countries are working on e-commerce development, focusing on cross-border trade, business facilitation and consumer satisfaction by 2025.
However, she added, many countries in the region are less ready to engage in and benefit from e-commerce, such as internet access, logistics, skills availability and government strategies.
To make digital trade more sustainable and inclusive, she said, Asean countries should develop affordable and reliable ICT connectivity, build digital skills to ensure everybody can access digital trade, and improve regulatory framework and measurement.
“E-commerce ecosystem needs cooperation from every sector, such as government, digital commission and non-governmental organisations,” she said.
Collaboration at the heart of e-commerce logistics
Behzad Goudarzian, logistics manager of the United Arab Emirates supply chain solutions provider ISS Global Forwarding, said collaboration is the heart of e-commerce logistics.
He said all sectors, including consumer, marketplace, vendor, international freight, customs clearance, fulfilment and delivery, should work together, otherwise the operation would face difficulties.
“All gears should relatively move on the same page. If one gear stops, all gears will stop,” he said.
He also advised related agencies in e-commerce and logistics industries to focus more on data integration, ease customs procedures, streamline processes and use trusted digital payments.
Meanwhile, Pravin Shetty, ISS Global Forwarding’s regional IT manager, said technology also plays an important role in the e-commerce and logistics industries as they can facilitate many issues, such as system integration, secure transactions and risk mitigation.
He advised related agencies to apply four technologies to e-commerce and logistics operations, namely application programming interface, blockchain, internet of things and big data.
“Related agencies should optimise rules, improve delivery, ensure that the country’s infrastructure is in place and make use of equipment and resources,” he said.
Time for logistics marketplace platform in Mekong region
Piyanoot Sumrith, president of the Thai Transportation & Logistics Association, said the Mekong region is well prepared for adopting the logistics marketplace platform.
She added that people were now familiar with online shopping, thanks to the Covid-19 crisis over the past two years, as well as the government’s incentives, such as the Khon La Khrueng (Let’s Go Halves) co-paying scheme.
Piyanoot, who is also managing director of the delivery service WeMove Platform, expects the logistics marketplace platform to meet customers’ demand once factors like logistics and customs procedures are made smoother.
“It’s a good time to build the logistics marketplace platform as everything is ready, especially technology,” she said.
James Marchant, chief logistics officer for Lazada Express (Thailand), said even though the Covid-19 crisis changed customers’ behaviour, their expectation of the best service never changes.
He said it is only a matter of time before technology will play an important role in providing a different experience to customers, such as drones and robots.
“There are many trends that continue accelerating, such as how fast and how cheaply you can deliver and how strong is your return process,” he said.
Rachelle Alexis Lim, executive director of strategy and business development of payments platform 2C2P, said people preferred online shopping not just because of convenience but also because their demands have changed.
Echoing Marchant, she said online adoption will help boost the marketplace’s efficiency to provide experiences to customers, adding that many people preferred online payment instead of cash on delivery.
“Many businesses have shifted from traditional commerce to e-commerce even after the pandemic,” she said.
The panellists also urged the government to collaborate with related agencies to develop a logistics marketplace platform in the Mekong region and address it from various aspects, such as easing customs procedures and promoting technology adoption for sustainable growth.
Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin said on Tuesday that he will ask the Cabinet to approve the new daily minimum wage rates next week so they can go into effect on October 1.
He said if approved, unskilled labourers should get an average daily wage hike of 5.02 per cent instead of the 8 per cent labour unions had demanded to keep up with inflation.
This is the first time that daily wages are being increased since January 2020.
The Labour Ministry is pushing for the new rates to go into effect from October, even though employers’ representatives on the tripartite national wage committee want it to be implemented in January and be no more than 3 per cent.
Employers have expressed concern that hikes from October would place too much of a financial burden on companies still reeling from the Covid-19 crisis.
The wage panel last week approved nine rates for nine zones in the country.
The zone covering Chonburi, Rayong and Phuket will enjoy the highest rate of 354 baht per day, while the lowest rate, 328 baht, will apply to Yala, Narathiwat, Nan and Udon Thani. Workers in Bangkok and adjacent provinces will get 353 baht daily.
The nine daily wage rates for the next fiscal year approved by the panel are:
• 335 baht: Phetchabun, Kanchanaburi, Bueng Kan, Chai Nat, Nakhon Phanom, Phayao, Surin, Yasothon, Roi Et, Loei, Phatthalung, Uttaradit, Nakhon Sawan, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Phitsanulok, Ang Thong, Sa Kaew, Buri Ram and Phetchaburi
• 332 baht: Amnat Charoen, Mae Hong Son, Chiang Rai, Trang, Si Sa Ket, Nong Bua Lamphu, Uthai Thani, Lampang, Lamphun, Chumphon, Maha Sarakham, Singburi, Satun, Phrae, Sukhothai, Kamphaeng Phet, Ratchaburi, Tak, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Chaiyaphum, Ranong and Phichit
• 328: Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat, Nan and Udon Thani
Suchart said the Cabinet will also consider other measures to minimise the economic impact of the daily wage rate hike, which will be handed down to other relevant agencies to enforce.
The baht opened at 36.51 to the US dollar on Tuesday, strengthening from Monday’s close of 36.56.
The currency is expected to move between 36.40 and 36.60 during the day, Krungthai Bank market strategist Poon Panichpibool predicted.
He said the baht is highly volatile amid concerns over Europe’s energy crisis, which is pressuring the euro and supporting the dollar.
Moreover, he does not expect investors to adjust their possession of assets until the European Central Bank’s meeting on Thursday, so the baht will swing sideways until there is a new factor.
Poon said the baht may possibly weaken during the day if the market is still in a risk-off state and investors sell off more Thai stocks.
However, he expects the stock sales to slow down as some investors are waiting for the stock index to drop and the baht to weaken before they buy more stocks.
However, the baht may strengthen from a bearish divergence technical sign, especially since it strengthened more than expected on Monday.
The strategist advises investors to use hedging tools such as options to manage risks in a highly volatile currency market.
19,000 farmers see incomes increase by over 20% through successful public-private partnerships between Olam Agri, and German and Thai government bodies. GHG emissions were reduced by 21% through the project
The Market Oriented Smallholder Value Chain (MSVC) programme, one of the largest sustainable rice projects in Thailand, is close to completion and has successfully helped 19,000 Thai smallholder farmers increase their net income by more than 20% and reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions from farming by 21%.
It received the highest sustainability recognition, the Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA) Gold Level, by the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) Platform earlier this year.
The programme, which started in 2016 with 77 farmers, aimed primarily at improving the lives of resource-poor rice farmers in the Northeastern provinces of Ubon Ratchathani and Surin in Thailand and increasing the production of sustainable and high-quality rice from these regions.
The programme exceeded expectations by enrolling 20% (3,000 farmers) more farmers than originally planned and had the additional benefit of improving the inclusion of women farmers who make up 60% of participating farmers.
In addition to a 21% reduction in GHG emissions, the programme has also improved water quality by 14%.
“Smallholder farmers are an important pillar of Thailand’s national economic development and integral to food security in the country, but many occupy a weak position in the supply chain. In line with our purpose to transform agriculture for a more sustainable future, we are actively working with GIZ and the Thai Rice Department on the ground to help improve the lives of these smallholder rice farmers and make the rice supply chain more resilient and environmentally sustainable,” said Paul Nicholson, Vice President for Rice Research and Sustainability, Olam Agri.
“We believe in the importance of connecting the market with farmers and fully support market-driven production through capacity building among farmers and systemising sustainable rice cultivation practices. The implementation of MSVC project over the past years enables smallholder farmers in Thailand to enhance market competitiveness and access sustainable market-oriented smallholder value chains,” said Atthawit Watcharapongchai, MSVC Thailand Project Director, GIZ.
Thanks to MSVC, food producers and retailers in Europe, the U.S. and around the world will have access to more than 50,000 metric tonnes (MT) of rice that has been cultivated sustainably, to the highest food international safety standards and that can be traced back to the thriving farmer communities in Thailand.
MSVC is a collaboration between Olam Agri, German development cooperation Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, and Thai government authority Thailand Rice Department.
The partners cooperate within the framework of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (BMZ) programme develoPPP, a funding instrument for sustainable company initiatives.
“The sustainable development and well-being of the Thai farmers are the ultimate goals of the Thai Rice Department. In partnership with GIZ, Olam Agri, and other private sector players, the MSVC project was jointly implemented to introduce the Sustainable Rice Platform’s (SRP) Standards and sustainable practices to rice farmers in Thailand. Through this initiative, the Thai Rice Department hopes to encourage the adoption of sustainable rice farming and improve farmer livelihoods in Thailand. I would like to thank the project players as well as rice farmers for their kind cooperation and contributions to Thai rice farming.” Said Apichart Pongsrihadulchai, the former Director-General of the Rice Department and the advisor to the Director-General of the Rice Department.
With a strong healthcare and wellness infrastructure and a reputation for highly-skilled professionals, Thailand is more than ever ready to realize its goal to become “The World’s Medical and Wellness Hub”.
Living with the Covid-19 pandemic, people start to recognize the equal importance of modern medicine and preventive practices in maintaining their good health and wellbeing.
Thailand has pushed toward providing comprehensive and holistic healthcare services to serve the rising consumer demand for the overall treatment of the body and mind.
In 2021, Thailand has been ranked 5th place in the world, and 1st place in Asia, in the Global Health Security Index by John Hopkins University for its pandemic response capacity.
The Health Care Index 2021 by CEO World magazine has ranked Thailand in 13th place based on overall health factors.
Affordable costs, high-quality medical professionals, world-class healthcare facilities and superb wellness services have propelled the demand for Thailand’s medical and wellness services from abroad.
Before the coronavirus pandemic, the value of medical tourism in Thailand amounted to around nine billion U.S. dollars in 2019 and was forecast to reach approximately 24.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2027, according to Statista. Among the most sought-after medical services are general medical care and surgeries, sophisticated orthopaedics, in vitro fertilization, dental care and physical check-up.
“The growth in strength of the healthcare sector in Thailand has been supported by highly qualified and attentive medical personnel and world-class standard facilities.
Of more than 370 hospitals and medical facilities, 60 of them are accredited by the US-based Joint Commission International (JCI) as of December 2021, making the country top-five in the world in terms of the number of JCI-accredited healthcare facilities,” said Joel A Roos, Vice President of International Accreditation, Quality Improvement and Safety in an interview with the International Travel & Health Insurance Journal.
Building on a strong foundation, the country aims to promote ten areas of medical and wellness services including regenerative and anti-ageing sciences, alternative medicine, cardio science, musculoskeletal, dental clinic, In Vitro fertilization, cancer treatment, surgeries, ophthalmology (cataract) and precision medicine.
Traditional therapeutic treatment such as Thai massage and herbal medicine has increasingly gained worldwide recognition. Many hospitals in Thailand have bridged the gap between medical treatment and preventive care, making healthcare more effective and comprehensive.
The country has also earned itself a reputation as “The Spa Capital of Asia” for its top-rated wellness experience that blends a variety of traditional healing practices with state-of-the-art health and wellness technologies.
Banking on the growing awareness of alternative healthcare’s benefits, especially the preventive and holistic healing effects, the Thai government has initiated Green Medicine to innovate from its rich heritage of traditional medicine. More scientific research is being conducted to validate and develop traditional herbs for recognition and integration into modern healthcare services.
It’s high time to embrace modern and traditional solutions for a healthier and happier life.
Among other things, Suchart said he discussed with the ambassador opportunities for unskilled workers from Thailand as berry-pickers with proper contracts and with all rights, perks and protection under Finnish law.
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