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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/economy/40021270

Freebies not the solution to challenges faced by Thai farmers, says World Bank

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2022

Nongluck Ajanapanya

World Bank experts are urging the Thai government to stop free subsidies to help farmers and instead implement more conditional assistance measures that would directly improve production efficiency.

The statement was made at a seminar co-hosted by the World Bank and Kasetsart University on Friday to launch their joint study, “Ending Poverty in Thailand: Rural Income Diagnostic – Challenges and Opportunities for Rural Farmers”.

Nadia Belhaj Hassine Belghith, poverty economist at the World Bank, noted that rural Thailand continues to face the most severe poverty challenges, with high-income inequality.

Though it is commendable that the Thai government provides many freebies, this type of assistance will have a negative impact in the long run.

Witsanu Attavanich, a professor at Kasetsart University’s Faculty of Economics who participated in this study, elaborated that gratuitous measures only help Thai farmers in the short term, while what they really need is to learn how to increase their productivity in order to sustain their income.

Wisanu called it a “waste of time and money”. He said that the government should use the budget to improve irrigation systems and agricultural technology, as well as to educate more farmers on current farming practices instead.

Belghith added that the right assistance would help Thailand overcome its persistent poverty.

“Cross-cutting policy measures related to skill development will also be important in order to support rural households,” Belghith said. “With low levels of education and digital literacy, combined with an ageing farmer population, it is critical to develop the skills of farmers, young and old, to enable them to adapt to the changing context of climate change and benefit from new technologies.”

The World Bank Rural Income Diagnostic for Thailand aims to examine the challenges and opportunities to improve income and productivity in the rural sector.

The diagnostic also examines how to facilitate income growth in the short to medium term and places particular focus on farming households given their higher poverty and vulnerability.

The report found that Thailand’s poverty rate in rural areas was more than three percentage points higher than in urban areas in 2020. Furthermore, the rural poor outnumbered the urban poor by nearly 2.3 million. The majority of them make a living by farming.

Fabrizio Zarcone, World Bank country manager for Thailand, pointed out that Thailand has the potential to support faster and more sustained rural household income growth.

“As Thailand’s economy adjusts to a new normal post-Covid, policy measures that boost agricultural productivity, encourage crop diversification to higher-value crops, and improve access to markets through improved rural connectivity and digital technology adoption can help overcome the constraints faced by the rural poor,” Zarcone suggested.
 

According to the study, the Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the urban sector, resulting in strict mobility measures, business closures, and job layoffs.

However, the urban sector is expected to recover faster, while the rural economy will be hit harder by the crisis. The World Bank Thailand Covid-19 monitoring phone survey results also found that 70 per cent of rural households reported a decrease in income since March 2020.

The analysis also shows that Thailand has the highest income inequality rate in East Asia and the Pacific region, with a Gini coefficient of 43.3 per cent in 2019.

The average monthly income for rural households was only about 68 per cent of that of urban households. Rural households continue to face challenges, such as low education, a high number of dependents, and difficult living conditions.

In her closing remarks, Dina Umali-Deininger, regional manager of Agriculture and Food Global Practice at World Bank, urged the Thai government to reduce the disparity between urban and rural households.

She advocated increased agricultural productivity, added value in agricultural products, and more investments to improve the agricultural sector and prepare for the effects of climate change.
 

Nongluck Ajanapanya

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/economy/40021269

NBTC finally gives True-Dtac merger ‘conditional’ approval after 9 months

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2022

At a meeting that lasted for more than 11 hours, the Thai telecoms watchdog voted 3:2 to “conditionally acknowledge” a proposed merger between True Corporation and Total Access Communications (Dtac).

The decision was made on Thursday night, many months after True and Dtac – the country’s second and third-largest mobile network operators, respectively – filed their business merger report with the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) in January.

However, this decision was a huge disappointment for consumer protection and civic society groups that have been against the merger, saying it would lead to market control and unfair competition.

Meanwhile, the opposition Move Forward Party has threatened to take legal action against NBTC for alleged dereliction of duty.

Deputy party leader Sirikanya Tansakul said on Friday that the agency failed to perform its constitutional duty to protect the interest of consumers.

In its resolution, the NBTC appeared to avoid using the term “approve”, though the minority commissioners maintained the regulator is empowered to decide whether to give the green light to such a business merger.

In a statement released on Thursday night, the NBTC admitted that the True-Dtac merger “is a sensitive matter that has impacts on the public”.

Prof Pirongrong Ramasoota, one of the two commissioners who voted against, dubbed the lengthy discussion between the five NBTC members as “the longest meeting in my life”.

In her Facebook post, Pirongrong apologised to reporters waiting outside the meeting room for declining an interview. “I was totally exhausted. My battery was depleted,” she wrote.

Pirongrong and her fellow minority commissioner, Assoc Prof Suphat Suphachalasai, reserved their rights not to permit a business merger between True and Dtac.

In her written statement, Pirongrong said she viewed such a merger as ownership of the same business type, which could severely affect the mobile network market and the national economic development.

She said the telecoms law and NBTC rules empower the regulator to prevent monopoly or unfair competition.

In her seven-point arguments, Pirongrong cited constitutional clauses that prohibit business domination and competition restriction. She also mentioned the findings of a study by the NBTC’s independent foreign advisers SCF Associates Ltd that pointed to the negative impacts of the merger on consumers.

In his written statement, Suphat said the True-Dtac merger would have severe consequences on the country’s economy and society, with reduced service quality and obstruction to new players in the market. There is a high likelihood of market collusion that would discourage new competitors, he said.

Before reaching their final decision, the five NBTC commissioners were evenly split. Suphat and Pirongrong viewed that the NBTC should not allow the merger as it would lead to a duopoly of the telecom business and unfair competition. But NBTC president Dr Sarana Boonbaichaiyapruck and Torpong Selanont disagreed, saying the regulator should acknowledge the merger with conditions.

The fifth commissioner, Air Marshal Thanapant Raicharoen, abstained explaining that there were some legal issues that need to be further considered.

The NBTC president cast the deciding vote, making it 3:2 in favour of the proposed merger, which was in line with the NBTC rules.

The conditions set for the merged entity include service fee controls and ceilings, independent verification of cost structures and service pricing by experts to be hired by the operators at their expense, for at least five years after the merger, space to be provided for the operation of mobile virtual network operators (MVNO) and separate rates to be charged for voice, data and messaging services.

Under the NBTC’s conditions, True and Dtac will use their existing brand names, True Move H Universal Communications (TUC) and Dtac TriNet (DTN), for three years after the merger, before they can adopt a new brand name.

They are also required to install a 5G network to cover 75 per cent of the Thai population within three years of the merger and 90 per cent coverage within five years.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/economy/40021267

Thailand, Cambodia to reach deal on disputed oil field by March: Energy minister

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2022

Thailand’s Foreign and Energy ministries are making progress in talks with Cambodia to relieve the fuel crisis by tapping disputed oil resources in the Gulf of Thailand. The 26,000-square-kilometre overlapping claims area (OCA) in the upper Gulf is estimated to hold up to 500 million barrels of oil, plus gas deposits.

Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai said on Friday that his ministry’s legal team and Energy Ministry representatives are studying details of the disputed areas in the upper Gulf.

“Right now, we cannot tell when the negotiations will conclude. Agencies involved are gathering information to determine what we can do about the OCA,” Don said.

Energy Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow said that a Thai-Cambodian joint technical committee (JTC) will meet again within three months to finalise details of joint development oil project in the OCA.

The JTC met for the first time in October last year. The meeting, led by Deputy Prime Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwan, set a framework for negotiations over the OCA and appointed two special committees, one for maritime zoning and the other for joint oil extraction.

“The ministry will try to conclude issue before the current Parliament’s term ends,” said Supattanapong, who doubles as deputy prime minister.

The House of Representatives’ four-year term will end on March 23, next year.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/economy/40021252

Baht plummets further against dollar on Friday

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2022

The baht opened at 38.23 to the US dollar on Friday, weakening from Thursday’s close of 38.12.

The Thai currency will likely move between 38.15 and 38.45 against the greenback during the day, Krungthai market strategist Poon Panichpibool predicted.

Poon said that the baht may weaken further if the currency market remains risk-off, adding that it could test the resistance level of 38.50 to the dollar.

He said the baht is being pressured by mass selloffs of long-term Thai bonds by foreign investors as yields on the US 10-year bond continue to rise.

Gold purchases as the price drops are adding to downside pressure on the baht. Meanwhile, investors are also purchasing yen after the Japanese currency weakened to 25.28 baht per 100 yen.

However, Poon did not think that the baht would breach its resistance level of 38.50 to the dollar since exporters were waiting to sell the greenback at this level and foreign investors shorting the baht may also sell for profit.

He added that foreign outflows from the Thai stock market were decreasing while signs of net buying from investors abroad would slow any weakening of the baht.

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

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/economy/40021120

BCG and the path to green energy in APEC

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2022

From the theme of “Open. Connect. Balance.” chosen to frame Thailand’s hosting of APEC 2022, the thrust of “Balance in All Aspects” has been given importance as a pathway beyond recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic to long- term and sustainable prosperity.

Pointing out that “sustainability starts with how the region fuels its growth” under the topic of balance, APEC host Thailand indicates that while APEC is on the right track, having set energy intensity reduction and renewable energy- doubling goals, it needs to “accelerate energy transition efforts.”

Stating “APEC should explore how advanced technology can be utilized to produce clean and renewable energy,” Thailand has been emphasizing the application of the circular economy, in which value is created at all levels of production and consumption, throughout the past year.

The emphasis has included Thailand’s proposing the “Bangkok Goals on BCG Economy” as a key deliverable.

First introduced at the Informal Senior Officials’ Meeting (ISOM) in late 2021 and discussed extensively at both the second and third Senior Officials’ Meetings, the document seeks to “advance APEC’s sustainability agenda in a more holistic and integrated manner by emphasizing the whole-of-society and whole-of-APEC-system approach to achieve four goals.”

The four goals are: climate action, including net zero greenhouse gas emissions; sustainable trade and investment; sustainable management of resources and conservation of the environment and biodiversity; and resource efficiency and sustainable waste management.

Energy production and consumption are relevant to three of these goals, with Thailand working to lead APEC towards power that does not generate greenhouse gas emissions, is environmentally sustainable and is produced through the efficient use of resources, resulting in minimal waste.

The BCG Economy concept, placed at the center of the Bangkok Goals, or Bio-Circular-Green Economy Model, complements circular economy concepts with the bio and green approaches to provide a path to transforming current aspects of the economy into sustainable, environmentally-friendly forms.

Through the application of BCG in Thailand and the economies of APEC, the entire region is moving to realize the aspiration of “advance the transition to clean and renewable energy.”