Japan enters market for first time in 24 years to rein in rising dollar
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2022
In a rare move last seen in 1998, Japan on Thursday intervened in the foreign exchange market by buying yen in a bid to shore up the depreciating currency.
The intervention came shortly after the Bank of Japan hinted that it would leave the country’s ultra-low interest rates at near zero for the next couple of years.
Japan, the world’s third-largest economy, is affected by the strong US dollar, which has appreciated against most major currencies following the US Federal Reserve’s repeated interest-rate hikes in recent months.
The runaway appreciation of the American greenback is making Japan pay more for essential imports, such as oil, natural gas and food, which have seen far higher costs in yen terms.
“We have taken decisive action [in the exchange market],” Japan’s vice finance minister for international affairs Masato Kanda told reporters on Thursday.
The intervention pushed the US dollar down by over 2 per cent, to trade at around 141 yen from 146 yen following the Japanese central bank’s decision to stick to its super-loose policy stance.
Japan’s last previous intervention to support its currency was in 1998, when the Asian financial crisis triggered a yen sell-off and rapid capital outflow from the region.
As of Thursday evening Tokyo time, the yen was trading at around 142.65 to the dollar.
The Japanese currency has depreciated nearly 20 per cent this year, sinking to 24-year lows. Earlier this year, the yen traded at around 115 against the dollar.
On Wednesday, the US Federal Reserve raised its policy interest rate by 75 basis points — its third straight hike this year. It also signalled more increases in the near future. The US move was viewed as its resolve not to let up in its battle against inflation while giving a further boost to the dollar.
‘Let’s see if I go back’, Russians disembark in Serbia, fearing conscription
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2022
Passengers disembarked early on Thursday in Belgrade from a fight from Moscow, a day after Russia’s President Vladimir Putin declared partial mobilization of 300,000 reservists for war in Ukraine. Many said they purchased tickets well beforehand, but not all were sure they would go back.
One passenger, Misha, who didn’t want to give his surname said his flight was a business trip planned earlier, but that it was maybe fortunate timing.
Asked if he would go back he said, “let’s see, let’s see. I can’t say ‘no’, I can’t say ‘yes’. Let’s see.” Another passenger said simply: “That’s a good question”.
Pavel who said he was in Belgrade on a business trip, said he would be returning to Russia as hoped he would be able to avoid any conscription.
“As our defence minister said, one per cent of the population would be sufficient to fulfil the goal of the mobilization,” Pavel told Reuters.
Moscow plans to conscript some 300,000 troops in an apparent escalation of its Ukraine invasion that began in February and has left thousands dead, displaced millions and reduced towns to rubble.
Another Russian who identified himself only as Sergey said he was concerned about mobilization.
“Every normal person (is concerned) I think. War is horrible so, it’s okay to be afraid of war and of death and of such things,” he said.
Sergey also said his friends and colleagues were anxious about the possibility of being sent to battlefields in Ukraine.
“They’re afraid also and it’s anxiety and uncertainty, maybe. So, it’s hard for everyone. It’s a difficult situation.”
Concern over being conscripted saw flights out of Russia quickly sell out, and jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny called for mass demonstrations against the mobilization. Independent protest monitoring group OVD-Info said nearly 1,400 people in 38 Russian cities had been detained in protests by Wednesday evening.
Nepal Airlines to sell Chinese planes if nobody wants to lease them
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2022
Eight years after acquiring a batch of Chinese planes it had hoped to fly on underserved mountain routes, Nepal Airlines finally decided that it didn’t want the albatross around its neck anymore.
Except for operating services to a few airports in the Tarai plains, these aircraft spent more time on the ground than in the air, and they were becoming financial stress to the debt-ridden national flag carrier.
The Chinese planes have been grounded for more than two years. On September 14, Nepal Airlines issued a notice to lease them out.
The five condemned planes—three 17-seater Y12e aircraft and two 56-seater MA60 aircraft—are parked at the remote parking bay on the eastern side of Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. Another one crashed in Nepalgunj and is unflyable.
“It’s a dry lease notice,” said Archana Khadka, spokesperson for Nepal Airlines.
Under a dry lease, the owner will provide the aircraft only, without crew or ground staff.
“We followed the Finance Ministry’s instructions,” said Khadka. Out of the two options recommended by the Finance Ministry—dry lease or outright sale—Nepal Airlines will try the first one,” she said.
“If there are no takers, we will go for the second option.”
The deadline for the bids set by Nepal Airlines is October 31. Some top Nepal Airlines officials say they do not expect to see potential lessees.
Besides maintenance issues and lack of spare parts, Nepal Airlines couldn’t find pilots to fly the aircraft, and there was no sense in keeping them anymore.
In November 2012, Nepal Airlines signed a commercial agreement with the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), a Chinese government undertaking, to procure six aircraft—two 56-seater MA60s and four 17-seater Y12es.
As part of the deal, China provided grant and concessional loan assistance worth 408 million Chinese yuan (Rs6.67 billion) to purchase the six aircraft.
Out of the total aid money, a grant worth 180 million yuan (Rs2.94 billion) went to pay for one MA60 and one Y12e aircraft; and a loan worth 228 million yuan (Rs3.72 billion) was used to purchase one MA60 and three Y12e aircraft.
The delivery of the rest of the Chinese aircraft was stalled for years after issues appeared in the first batch of planes that arrived in 2014.
These issues included lack of pilots, lack of instructor pilots, lack of spare parts and lack of engineers trained to maintain them.
The second batch of MA60 and Y12e aircraft, as part of the six-aircraft deal between Nepal and China, arrived in January 2017.
The corporation received the final two Y12e aircraft in February 2018.
Nepal Airlines has repeatedly said that the Chinese-made planes were causing heavy losses ever since they were acquired and that it wants to get rid of them to stop further losses.
The Finance Ministry is the owner of the planes and Nepal Airlines is the operator. The ministry gave the green signal to Nepal Airlines to lease out or sell the planes in March 2021.
In July 2020, the board of directors of Nepal Airlines unanimously decided to stop flying Chinese planes.
Five months after the decision, in December 2020, the national flag carrier submitted four options to its line ministry—Civil Aviation Ministry—to get rid of the six inefficient Chinese aircraft in its fleet.
The Finance Ministry had offered several options: Ask the aircraft manufacturers to buy back the planes by evaluating their existing worthiness; lease out the planes either on a long- or short-term basis; auction off the planes through a global competitive bidding process, or look for Chinese or international companies or banks interested in buying or leasing them.
“No doubt, the planes can fly. It was a management problem that the shiny new planes never flew for the purpose they were brought,” said Ashok Pokhrel, former board member of Nepal Airlines.
“Now, years after they were acquired, it is wise to sell them rather than keep them in storage,” he said. “If the planes begin to rust, they will become scrap.”
Photos of the aircraft obtained by the Post show that the tail section of the Y12e is covered in moss. There is corrosion appearing on the metal surfaces and components of the aircraft.
“These planes are susceptible to corrosion,” an unnamed senior Nepal Airlines captain told the Post recently.
As corrosion weakens the structural integrity of metal aircraft and its parts, it could lead to expensive repairs and significant safety hazards.
But according to Pokhrel, it will be difficult to find potential lessees. “I doubt companies are interested in flying them.”
As per the notice, the minimum monthly fixed lease rate for the MA60 with registration number 9N-AKQ is $78,097.
In a power-by-the-hour lease rate, the cost to lease the plane is fixed at $700 per flight cycle or $563 per flight hour, whichever is higher.
The fixed cost is typically driven per flight hour, or a calendar period such as monthly, while under the power-by-the-hour lease rate, the maintenance, storage and insurance are all paid by the lessee, saving the lessor’s expense if it were to repossess the asset. The lessee now only pays the rent when the aircraft is operated.
Similarly, for the MA60 with registration number 9N-AKR the minimum monthly fixed lease rate is $69,980 and a power-by-the-hour lease rate of either $704 per flight cycle or $564 per flight hour.
According to the notice, the Y12e with call sign 9N-AKS has a minimum monthly fixed lease rate of $29,416, and a power-by-the-hour lease rate of either $80 per flight cycle or $112 per flight hour.
The Y12e with call sign 9N-AKT has a minimum monthly fixed lease rate of $32,886, and a power-by-the-hour lease rate of either $95 per flight cycle or $141 per flight hour.
The Y12e with call sign 9N-AKV has a minimum monthly fixed lease rate of $33,785, and a power-by-the-hour lease rate of either $101 per flight cycle or $151 per flight hour.
All these five turboprops are in storage at Kathmandu airport and are available for inspection on an “as is, where is” basis, according to the notice published by Nepal Airlines on its website.
Only airlines with a valid air operator’s certificate and at least one aircraft in their in-house fleet are eligible to bid.
Nepal Airlines, which is known for its atrocious service, planes being grounded most of the time and management changes making news headlines thrice a year, has been ruined by politicking.
Every time a new management team comes, it begins the process to replace the Chinese planes with new Western-made regional turboprops.
“But Nepal Airlines management changes faster than its decisions,” said a top Nepal Airlines official. “There is no stability in the office, and the decisions are unstable as well.”
Dirty water prompts Cebu government to ban swimming off Cordova town
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2022
Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia has banned swimming and other water activities off Cordova town after a test done by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) confirmed the presence of fecal coliform in the waters.
Although the test was confined only to Catarman, Garcia said her swimming ban would cover all areas on Cordova’s coastline.
“There is an urgent need to immediately prohibit public swimming and similar activities found within the coastal waters of Cordova … delineated by the technical descriptions,” she said in an executive order.
A high level of fecal coliform was found in the area where fixed and floating cottages for visitors were built.
Garcia asked owners of these cottages to remove their structures until Oct. 4. Those still standing after the deadline would be demolished by the local government.
The governor said the Philippine National Police Maritime Group, Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine Navy and the Cordova municipal government would help enforce the provincial government’s demolition order.
Garcia earlier ordered owners of floating and fixed cottages in Cordova to stop their operations after high levels of coliform were detected in municipal waters.
Illegal operation “When I saw these illegal cottages, I told myself they should not be allowed to operate again,” she said during a meeting with local officials and cottage owners at Cordova Sports Complex on Tuesday.
Garcia said the cottages had been operating without restrooms and proper waste management systems. Owners, she said, also failed to secure the necessary permits or clearances from the local government.
If floating cottages continue their operations, Garcia said this would practically “kill the goose that lays the golden egg,” referring to the income brought by local tourism. She described the situation in Cordova as a “marine disaster waiting to happen.”
On Aug. 15, Cordova Mayor Cesar Suan announced that the level of coliform in the town’s waters had increased, making it unsafe for swimming, citing a report from the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) of the DENR.
Water quality tests conducted by the EMB in the past two months showed that the coliform level in the seas of Cordova reached 1,300 most probable number per 100 millilitres. For bodies of water to be safe for swimming, the coliform levels should only be at 100 MPN per ml.
The Department of Health earlier warned that swimming in waters with high fecal coliform bacteria levels can lead to various diseases, such as typhoid fever, hepatitis, gastroenteritis, and dysentery.
“You should know that the cottages in Cordova are illegal, and you cannot just do what you want,” Garcia said.
The provincial government would give each of the 73 owners of floating cottages and 54 operators of fixed structures P10,000 financial assistance.
Suan said the municipal government would set aside a separate P5,000 aid and a sack of rice for those whose cottages would be demolished.
House ex-speaker and veteran Democrat Marut Bunnag dies at 98
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2022
Former House speaker and veteran politician Marut Bunnag died on Friday, the Democrat Party announced on its Facebook account. He was 98.
“The Democrat Party regrets the passing of Professor Marut Bunnag, former secretary-general and deputy leader of the party,” its post read.
Marut, a legal expert, continued to serve as an adviser to the country’s oldest political party after he left politics for good in 2006, at the age of 82.
His Democrat colleagues, including deputy leaders Ongart Klampaiboon and Nipon Boonyamanee, wrote condolence messages in their Facebook posts on Friday.
According to a source, Marut was rushed to hospital on Friday morning after he fell seriously ill.
During his long years in politics, Marut had served as justice minister between 1981 and 1983, public health minister from 1983 to 1986 and again from 1989 and 1990, and also education minister between 1986 and 1988.
He served as the speaker of the House of Representatives from 1992 to 1995.
Marut Bunnag International Law Office that he founded in 1950 is now run by his son Rujira.
Preparations being finalised for Saudi crown prince’s visit to Thailand
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2022
Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai has met his Saudi Arabian counterpart in New York about an official visit of the Middle East kingdom’s crown prince to Thailand later this year.
Don had a bilateral meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud on the sidelines of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Tanee Sangrat said on Friday.
Tanee said final preparations are being made for the upcoming visit to Thailand of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman al-Saud, during which the two countries will sign agreements on bilateral cooperation.
“The crown prince’s visit is expected to take place within this year. Final arrangements are being made regarding the exact date. We will make an official announcement when the time is confirmed,” said Tanee, who doubles as director-general of the Information Department.
The crown prince, who is often described by the media as Saudi Arabia’s de-facto ruler, also serves as deputy prime minister and defence minister.
After over three decades of sour ties, Thailand and Saudi Arabia agreed to normalise diplomatic relations early this year. In January, General Prayut Chan-o-cha paid an official visit to Saudi Arabia and met with the crown prince.
Prayut’s visit, which was described by the Thai Foreign Ministry as “historic”, was followed by a series of diplomatic and business contacts between the two kingdoms.
Tanee also said on Friday that leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation have started confirming their participation at the Apec Summit to be held in Bangkok in mid-November. These included the leaders of Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan.
He said that there was a “high likelihood” of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin attending the meeting.
Miss Grand Myanmar, currently detained by Thai immigration authorities
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2022
Reuters
A Myanmar model who took refuge in Thailand after speaking out against a military coup in her homeland has been blocked from returning to Bangkok, Thai authorities said on Thursday (September 22), over what her manager said was an Interpol notice.
Han Lay, who captured international attention last year with a moving beauty pageant speech calling for urgent help for Myanmar’s people during a military crackdown, did not have a valid visa to enter Thailand, the immigration department said.
The 23-year-old was not being detained and arrangements were being made for her to board a flight out of Thailand, the department said in a statement.
Nawit Itsaragrisil, founder of Thailand’s Miss Grand International pageant, who also represents Han Lay, said she had been in the transit area of a Bangkok airport since Wednesday afternoon (September 21).
He said Han Lay was stopped on arrival because she was subject of an Interpol notice.
Myanmar has been in crisis since a coup in February last year triggered protests that the military suppressed with lethal force and thousands of arrests.
The junta’s crackdown had multiple targets, from pro-democracy and youth groups, to activists, politicians and even celebrities and social media influencers.
A spokesperson for Myanmar’s ruling military council could not be reached for comment. Interpol did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Han Lay was the subject of an Interpol notice.
Han Lay was a contestant in the Miss Grand International when videos went viral on social media of her fighting back tears on stage when talking about the bloodshed in Myanmar, on a day when more than 140 demonstrators were killed.
In an interview with Reuters last year, she said her people “will never give up”.
Han Lay’s Instagram postings indicate she has spent most of the past year in Thailand. She was returning to the country on a flight from Vietnam when she was denied entry.
Apparently buoyed by his victory last month in a tax case to do with Shin Corp share sales, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his sister, ex-PM Yingluck Shinawatra, came very close to Thailand – visiting Penang, Malaysia.
Malaysian newspaper The Star, a member of the Asia News Network, reported on Thursday that the two exiled VVIP siblings were spotted at Cecil Street market during the peak lunch hour on Wednesday. The two reportedly ordered popular Malaysian street food – koay teow th’ng and Chinese pasembur – at about 1pm.
The Star said they were earlier spotted at a food court in Weld Quay.
The surprise visit to the Malaysian border town south of Thailand created huge excitement, as many Penang residents instantly recognised them and approached them for selfies, the paper reported.
The two former PMs happily let their admirers take and share their photos in what is seen by Thai political observers as a subtle political message for Thailand, especially for the “3-Ps” generals in the government – suspended prime minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha, acting PM and Deputy Premier General Prawit Wongsuwan and Interior Minister General Anupong “Pok” Paochinda.
The Star said the two Shinawatras were escorted by Malaysian police on motorcycles and by bodyguards during their visit to Penang.
Thaksin, 73, was prime minister twice – from 2001 to 2006 – before he was toppled by a coup on September 19 that year. Yingluck, 55, rode the wave of Thaksin’s unending popularity to become the country’s first female prime minister in 2011, before she too was toppled in a coup by the 3-Ps on May 22, 2014.
On August 8, Thaksin triumphed in his back-tax share case, the third legal case he has won so far stemming from the 2006 coup.
The Central Tax Court ruled in his favour after he filed a case against a Revenue Department order for him to pay back tax of 17 billion baht on the sale of his Shin Corp shares to Singapore’s Temasek Holdings.
On November 22, 2019, the Supreme Court acquitted him in a case in which he was charged with abusing his authority as the prime minister by ordering the Finance Ministry to restructure TPI Polene’s debt.
And on August 30 that same year, the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Office acquitted him of allegations that he abused his authority by ordering Krung Thai Bank to approve a loan to Krissada Mahanakhon Group.
Thaksin, who has largely kept a low profile in the past, has become more vocal recently against the generals who staged the coups against him and his sister.
On September 19, Thaksin commemorated the coup against him 19 years ago by listing ten pillars of progress Thailand had “lost” because of the 2006 coup.
He also attacked the generals for “stealthily biting him from behind”.
Political observers said Thaksin has become vocal and is once again seeking the political limelight after pushing his youngest daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, to the political stage while Prayut has kept a low profile since the Constitutional Court suspended him from duty as prime minister.
The court suspended Prayut on August 24 after accepting an opposition petition asking it to rule whether he had reached the end of his eight-year limit as premier. The court will announce its verdict at the end of this month.
In the past, Prayut has retaliated against Thaksin, reminding the exiled PM to behave whenever he sent a “political message” to Thailand.
Thaksin has apparently boosted Paetongtarn into the limelight as a possible PM candidate for the general election next year in her capacity as head of the Pheu Thai Family project.
Since then Paetongtarn has not shied away from seeking public support to bring Thaksin back home. She has asked Pheu Thai supporters to elect the party with a landslide victory so that her father could return home.
In an interview with Prachachart newspaper on Wednesday, Paetongtarn said the “unfair” judicial process would have to be “corrected” and political amnesty studied on a case-by-case basis.
‘Madame Dear’ joins Democrat Party, boosting its prospects in Bangkok
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2022
Watanya Bunnag, a former party-list MP and key figure in the ruling Palang Pracharath Party, on Thursday joined the Democrat Party.
She was welcomed by Democrat leader Jurin Laksanawisit and other party executives at its headquarters, amid a large media presence.
Jurin, who serves as deputy premier and commerce minister, said the Democrats “feel honoured” to receive the new-generation politician. He said Watanya could help the party strengthen its Bangkok team, adding that she had requested to contest in the party-list system.
“I believe Khun Watanya will be an important force to boost the party’s popularity in Bangkok. Results of the Bangkok governor election [in May] showed that Bangkokians still support the Democrats. So, we are confident of winning more votes at the next election,” the Democrat leader said.
The party’s candidate, Suchatvee Suwansawat, came second in the gubernatorial election with over 250,000 votes, albeit still more than a million votes behind the winner and current governor, Chadchart Sittipunt.
Watanya, also known as “Madame Dear”, said she admired Jurin and other Democrat executives due to their diligence and determination to work for the public. She told the media she has faith in the party’s strong culture as a political institution that has existed for over 76 years.
“This has been reflected in how the party’s MPs voted in Parliament. All of them have free will, with no one owning the party or having the power to dominate it,” she said.
The 37-year-old politician said that after leaving Palang Pracharath in August, she had met with the executives of many political parties before deciding to join the Democrats.
Watanya, the wife of Nation Group CEO Shine Bunnag, had worked as a government whip while in the ruling party. She was a leader of the Dao Roek (Fixed Stars) group of mostly young female MPs actively working in Bangkok.
Emergency decree scrapped next week as Thailand shifts to endemic Covid
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2022
THE NATION
The Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) on Friday approved scrapping the pandemic emergency decree from October 1 (Saturday).
The CCSA will also cease its role of containing the spread of Covid-19.
The approval came after the National Communicable Disease Committee announced Covid-19 will be downgraded from a dangerous communicable disease to a “communicable disease under surveillance” from October 1.
Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said his ministry has prepared plans to contain the spread of more than 50 communicable diseases under surveillance once the emergency decree is revoked.
However, the law would not reflect the transition from pandemic to endemic Covid-19.
“The phrase ‘endemic disease’ is used by doctors but does not exist in the Communicable Disease Act,” he explained.
Responsibility for implementing new guidelines to control Covid-19 will shift to the National Communicable Diseases Committee and provincial committees.
The Covid-related emergency decree was imposed in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic.
On August 8, Thaksin triumphed in his back-tax share case, the third legal case he has won so far stemming from the 2006 coup.
On September 19, Thaksin commemorated the coup against him 19 years ago by listing ten pillars of progress Thailand had “lost” because of the 2006 coup.
