Author: Chatchom Sepsook

Thailand’s industrial output fell for the seventh consecutive month in April due to higher production costs and slowing exports, data showed on Wednesday. The country’s manufacturing production index (MPI) dropped 8.14 percent in April from a year earlier and plunged 20.79 percent month-on-month, according to the Ministry of Industry. For the first four months of the year, the index declined 4.69 percent from a year earlier, the ministry said in a statement. The continued contraction was attributed to sluggish exports and lower competitiveness for Thai industries due to higher electricity prices and interest rates, the industry ministry’s Office of Industrial…

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena held discussions in Bangkok on Wednesday with his Thai counterpart Prayut Chan-o-cha to enhance bilateral relations and strengthen trade, investment and religious ties, said a statement from the office of the Sri Lankan prime minister. Noting that Sri Lanka and Thailand have a strong cultural and religious bond because of their shared Buddhist heritage, the statement said that the Siam Nikaya, which originated in Thailand, is one of the most revered monastic orders in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is Thailand’s fourth-largest trade partner in South Asia, and Sri Lanka’s main exports to Thailand include…

Thailand’s unemployment rate dropped to 1.05 percent in the first quarter of this year from 1.15 percent in the previous quarter, with a strong recovery in its vital tourism industry, official data showed on Monday. This marked the lowest rate in three years as the Southeast Asian country’s travel sector, a key source of employment, continued to pick up pace, according to the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC). The number of people in the labor force amounted to 39.6 million in the first quarter, representing a 2.4 percent year-on-year increase, mainly due to growth in both the agricultural…

Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki is set to visit Singapore and Vietnam to meet with high government officials from Jan. 10 to 13, the Ministry of Finance said on Friday, APA reports citing Reuters. There’s no media opportunities during his trip, but the minister will brief the media on results of this trip at a news conference after he returns, the ministry said. Japan chairs this year’s meetings of ASEAN+3, including China and South Korea, and it also hosts the Group of Seven (G7) leaders’ meeting.

With a large percentage of Thai nationals active on social media, TikTok has emerged as a powerful tool for politicians to sway public opinion and secure votes. BANGKOK – With a large percentage of Thai nationals active on social media, TikTok has emerged as a powerful tool for politicians to sway public opinion and secure votes. The Nation explores the platform’s growing influence in Thai politics, takes a look at Move Forward’s resulting success and sheds light on the broader impact of this social media phenomenon. TikTok’s Rising Popularity in Thailand Recent data from datareportal.com shows that an impressive 85.4%…

More than 30 per cent of the population uses banking apps, second globally only after China (41 per cent), according to former chairman of the National Financial Supervisory Commission Vu Viet Ngoan. HCM CITY — Vietnamese banks are among the earliest in the world to make the digital transformation, experts have said. Speaking at the Financial Services – Retail Banking Forum in HCM City last Friday, Vũ Viết Ngoạn, former chairman of the National Financial Supervisory Commission, said the habit of using digital products had become more prevalent than ever in Việt Nam. More than 30 per cent of the…

Illegal gold mining has increased ten-fold in Myanmar’s Kachin state since the military seized power in a coup more than two years ago, a new report and sources said, amid a decrease in federal oversight in the region. Illegal mining of gold, as well as jade and rare earth minerals, is rampant in Kachin state, where successive governments have failed to regulate the industry for generations. However, the number of unsanctioned operations has ballooned since the military’s Feb. 1, 2021, takeover amid conflict between junta troops and armed resistance forces in the region. The number of gold mining rigs on…

A wave of Russian air strikes on cities across Ukraine, including Kyiv, has left at least 25 people dead. 23 people – including four children – were killed in an attack that hit a block of flats in the central city of Uman, officials said. And a woman and her three-year-old daughter were killed in the city of Dnipro, according to the local mayor. The Russian defence ministry said its military had targeted Ukrainian army reserve units with the strikes. State-owned RIA news agency said Russia was aiming for the reserve units and used high-precision weapons on Friday. In Uman,…

The Royal Thai Navy has taken delivery of a Chinese-built amphib, the first in a series of vessels that it has ordered from China’s busy naval shipyards. The newly-delivered HTMS Chang is a 210-meter amphibious assault ship with a displacement of 25,000 tonnes. It has enough capacity for 600 troops, plus a crew complement of 200. The warship was delivered without weapons systems or radar, which will be purchased and installed separately, according to Thai public broadcaster PBS. In the meantime, HTMS Chang is already well-suited for disaster relief and sealift roles. The Royal Thai Navy ordered HTMS Chang from China State Shipbuilding Corporation’s Hudong Zhonghua…

Thailand’s most popular political party is open to forming a government with like-minded groups if its array of populist proposals, including an immediate handout of about $16bn, fails to secure what it calls a “landslide” win. Pheu Thai, which leads in most pre-poll surveys, will not form an alliance with the military-backed conservative parties headed by former coup-leaders, said Srettha Thavisin, a high-profile former real-estate mogul running as one of the party’s three prime ministerial candidates. The party is backed by ousted leader Thaksin Shinawatra, an enduring yet polarising figure in Thai politics whose term was marked by allegations of…