Anything & Everything About Thailand

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The Nation dated Thursday 12 January 2006 :-

Give tourists discounts in low season: Thai travel agents

The Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA) has suggested that airlines and hotels offer greater discounts during the low season to attract more travellers.

“Airlines should provide special packages and discounts on air tickets to attract travellers to the Andaman Coast for the 2006 summer season,” said Apichart Sankary, president of ATTA.

He said discounts for tourists should be offered during the low season between May to October. Most tourists coming to Thailand are still not travelling to some parts of the Andaman Coast including Krabi and Koh Phi Phi as much as to other destinations such as Hua Hin, Rayong and Koh Samui.

However, Apichart said tourism from Scandinavia to Phuket had rebounded strongly.

“Tourist numbers from Western countries have recovered nearly 100 per cent when compared to last year. Right now, room occupancy in Phuket’s three-star hotels is 90 per cent, while the four- and five-star hotels have reached 50 to 60 per cent,” said Apichart.

The government together with the tourism industry organised the “One Year in Memory of Tsunami” event from December 25-27, 2005, in remembrance of the tsunami victims. ATTA handled about 1,000 participants during the event, mostly from Sweden, Norway and Germany and some Asian countries.

Apichart added that the government must continue to concentrate on improving the Andaman coast’s image, focusing on the safety measures implemented to encourage tourists to return to the region.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) yesterday said its 2006 “Thailand Grand Invitation” campaign would cover five themes: destinations, events, festivals, grand openings, and services.

“Not only the sites but also festivals will make tourists return, ” TAT’s governor Juthamas Siriwan said.

The travel industry has always been critical of the short lead-time TAT uses when attempting to promote festivals. Tour operators claim late notification of events means it is almost impossible to advertise festivals in catalogues and other sales material.

This year, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will send invitations to national leaders to participate in an event on June 29 to fete His Majesty the King as the longest reigning monarch in the world.

Governors throughout the country have also been told to highlight attractions in their provinces to drum up more tourism.

Suchat Sritama
The Nation

[taurus75]

Riding Thailand's political bandwagon
By Daniel Ten Kate

BANGKOK - Pesky protesters are again waving the constitution in Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's face; their latest gripe is the pending free-trade agreement (FTA) with the United States.

Hundreds of protesters briefly disrupted talks between US and Thai officials in the northern city of Chiang Mai on Tuesday before police restored order. The five-day talks, the fifth round in the FTA negotiations, end on Friday.

Two months ago, the partial privatization of state-owned electricity firm EGAT Plc was the issue du jour, and a group of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) succeeded in getting the



then-obscure Administrative Court to halt the initial public offering (IPO) dramatically a day before the company was to start selling shares.

Though it remains to be seen whether a Thai court will demand a similarly unexpected suspension to the FTA talks with the US, the issue appears to be headed down the same path. Like the failed IPO of EGAT (Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand), analysts said the Thaksin administration would only have itself to blame if the dissidents managed to stymie the trade talks.

"In the second year of his second term, Thaksin is finding that all of his major policy planks are facing opposition," said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University. "The lack of public participation in decision-making has been pent up for five years now. Thaksin deserves this because he's dismissed the consultation process from the beginning, and now it's coming back to haunt him."

EGAT's privatization and the US trade talks represent the most ambitious efforts of two of Thaksin's core economic platforms: the privatization of state-owned enterprises and the proliferation of bilateral FTAs. So it is no surprise that both issues crystallize the wider debate on the state of democracy and the country's development path.

In EGAT's case, the pros and cons of privatizing state enterprises became moot after the government offered to sell EGAT employees discounted shares if they dropped their opposition to the listing. Though observers ticked off some long-standing complaints against the sale - particularly that an independent energy regulator was not in place and that the privatization would not result in increased competition - the IPO seemed inevitable in early November.

Then suddenly, a group of NGOs launched a constitutional challenge against the privatization, arguing that parliament had passed no law authorizing the executive branch to privatize state enterprises.

Egged on by the colorful opinions of Manager Media Group founder Sondhi Limthongkul, whose weekly political talk show turned into a must-see anti-Thaksin rally at Lumpini Park in central Bangkok two months ago, thousands of people, right or wrong, began to see the privatization as a vehicle to line the pockets of government officials and allow foreigners to take over Thai national assets.

It did not seem to matter that EGAT's partial privatization was not setting any precedents and constituted a sale of only a quarter of the company. In happier times, the Thaksin administration managed to get state-owned energy giant PTT listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand without any major hang-ups.

Similarly, the Thai-US FTA is by no means the first trade pact the country has negotiated. The Thaksin administration faced only limited opposition to its watered-down trade deals with India, China and Peru, and more complete agreements with Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

Subsequently, though, the Thai Senate Foreign Affairs Committee has argued that the Thai-Australia pact was never debated in parliament as required under Article 224 of the constitution. It plans to launch a legal challenge before the Constitutional Court.

It's the politics ...
Just as the debate surrounding EGAT had more to do with due process than the benefits of privatization, so the current kerfuffle over FTAs is not a deep-seated intellectual debate about free trade.

The main opposition group, FTA Watch, for example, often jumbles together legitimate concerns over intellectual property rights and drug prices with non-FTA related issues, such as EGAT's privatization and Thaksin's invitation to foreign firms to bid on the government's multi-billion dollar megaprojects.

Now the same group of people that threw a wrench in EGAT's plans intend to file lawsuits with several courts, alleging that the government is violating the constitution by entering into an agreement with a country that will require substantial changes to domestic law without first getting approval from the National Assembly.

Though any such lawsuits would tread uncharted waters, any delay in the talks could be significant, given that the leaders of both countries have said they want to wrap things up this year.

US President George W Bush's authority to negotiate bilateral trade pacts that can receive an up-or-down vote in the US Congress expires in 2007, and given that 2008 is an election year in the US and Bush will be fighting off lame-duck status, it is uncertain that US lawmakers will renew that privilege.

Ironically, Thai government officials seemed just as negative about a trade deal with the US six months ago as their current critics do now. Back then, senior officials privately questioned whether the country would benefit from a deal, and a senior trade negotiator, Winichai Chaemchaeng, said negotiations with the US could drag on "for two to three more years".

In September, chief Thai negotiator Nitya Pibulsonggram told reporters that he was not operating under a time frame, but Thaksin changed all that a few weeks later when he met with Bush and agreed to make "vigorous efforts" to conclude the deal some time this year.

Thai trade negotiators have been relatively quiet since then, allowing groups such as FTA Watch to steal headlines with fear-mongering catch phrases such as "FTA kills farmers" and "Life is not for sale".

Since the acronym "FTA" easily fits onto bumper-sticker slogans that take highly complex issues and grossly misrepresent them in five words or less, it becomes all the more important for the government to lucidly explain the merits of signing a trade deal with the US. But similar to the explanations given for EGAT's privatization, government officials have not clearly told the public how the country will benefit from the FTA.

Most of the public statements by ministers are general assertions that they will not sign a deal that is not in the country's best interests.

But while that approach may have worked when the government's popularity was soaring, the erosion of public support due to corruption scandals and conflicts of interest has made it essential for government officials to toss aside their vague reassurances and state unequivocally why Thailand needs a trade deal with the United States.

Barring a coherent and transparent explanation of government strategy, the opposition is only likely to get louder. "The government has used a very narrow group of people to handle the deal and kept information from the public, which is why the protests are still considerable after nearly two years of negotiations," said Sompob Manarangsun, a political economist at Chulalongkorn University.

[taurus75]

'One-day trial' for murder accused
Press Association
Thursday January 12, 2006 5:24 PM


The full court hearing of the two men accused of raping and murdering British backpacker Katherine Horton in Thailand could be over in one day, the Foreign Office has said.

Bualoi Posit and Wichai Somkhaoyai could appear in court as early as next Monday after Thai police said the legal process would be accelerated to restore the country's tarnished reputation.

The Foreign Office said it had been told the two fishermen would plead guilty to premeditated murder and gang rape.

Previously, Somkhaoyai had admitted being an accomplice to murder but denied raping the 21-year-old from Thornhill, Cardiff, despite his DNA being retrieved from her body.

The spokesman for the Foreign Office said: "The accused have had their first remand hearing.

"The police will submit their papers to the public prosecutor by the end of the week.

"As both men are to plead guilty to premeditated murder and gang rape, it is likely their case could last as little as one day."

Major General Asawin Khawanmuang, deputy chief of the Royal Thai Police's investigation department, said today: "In this case we appeal (to the court) to expedite the trial because it involves the country's reputation."

Detectives working on the case came under intense pressure from Thailand's Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, to catch the killers.
Yesterday, he called for 23-year-old Posit and Somkhaoyai, 24, to be executed if found guilty. Miss Horton's inquest is due to be opened and adjourned by Cardiff coroner Mary Hassell.

[KatoeyLover69]

Thailand Public Holidays for 2006

January 2 (Monday) In Lieu of New Year's Day

January 30 (Monday) Chinese New Year

February 13 (Monday) In Lieu of Makha Bucha Day (Feb 12) (*)

April 6 (Thursday) Chakri Day

April 13 - 15 (Thursday, Friday & Saturday) (17 substituition) Songkran

May 1 ((Monday) National Labour Day

May 5 (Friday) Coronation Day

May 12 (Friday) In Visakha Bucha Day (*)

July 12 (Wednesday) Buddhist Lent Day (*)

August 12 (Saturday) H.M. The Queen's Birthday (*)

October 23 (Monday) Chulalongkorn Memorial Day

November 6 (Monday) Loy Kratong Day

December 5 (Tuesday) H.M. The King's Birthday (*)

December 11 (Monday) In Lieu of Constitution Day (Dec 10)

December 31 (Sunday) New Year's Eve

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The Nation dated Friday 13 January 2006 :-

$2-BN TAKEOVER: PM’s clan agrees to sell Shin to S’pore

Thaksin sealed deal with Temasek on New Year trip to city-state: source. Singapore’s state-run investment agency Temasek is set to take over Shin Corp by buying out the Shinawatra family’s 40-per-cent stake worth Bt80 billion, a Shin source said yesterday.

The deal was cemented on the holiday visit made by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his family to the city-state from New Year’s Day to January 4.

Two days later, on January 6, the two sides signed a letter of intent which would see the Shinawatra and Damaphong families give up their combined 40-per-cent holding. Payment for the shares would be made in two transactions next week, the source said.

There has been intense speculation over the past two weeks about the Shinawatra family’s alleged plan to get out of Shin in order to reduce political pressure from charges of conflict of interest.

The PM’s family stands to pocket a handsome premium from selling Shin, which controls Advanced Info Service (AIS), the country’s leading mobile-phone operator, as well as Thai AirAsia, Capital OK and iTV.

The takeover price of US$2 billion means that Temasek will be paying Bt69 for Shin shares, which closed at Bt44.50, down Bt0.25 yesterday. AIS lost Bt3 to Bt109. The local market underwent a technical correction after rallying strongly since the beginning of the year, buoyed by foreign buying.

Temasek is likely to allow the current management at Shin to remain in control.

“Khun Thaksin has been negotiating with the investors from Singapore since the beginning of last year. The sell-off of Shin will help ease political pressure. Besides, the telecom market has reached saturation level. It is better to bail out of the business at its peak rather than wait for the price to fall further,” the source said.

“The 3G [third-generation cellular service] is only a new technology. Investing in 3G would not help improve the margins of the company in any significant way, but it would further complicate the political problems.”

Temasek controls Singapore Telecom, a 21.4-per-cent strategic partner of AIS, the flagship of the Shin conglomerate. Earlier, reports suggested that SingTel would be the buyer.

The acquisition would boost Temasek and SingTel’s control of Shin to more than 60 per cent, but they are only interested in AIS’ mobile phone business, the source said. So the Shinawatra family would be given a buyback option for the TV station, consumer-finance company and budget airline.

An investment banker in Singapore said SingTel was definitely interested in Shin but would have to weigh political fall-out from the takeover.

He said it was unlikely the Shinawatra family would completely let go of AIS, which has been a big money-spinner.

“If they’re still in politics, they should have a cash-cow company to help raise funds for politics,” he added.

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The Nation dated Friday 13 January 2006 :-

Toyota aims for even bigger share in Thailand

Toyota expects its share of the Thai automobile market to grow further and exceed 40 per cent this year, despite its own forecast that the total market will grow by only 5 per cent. Toyota’s market growth forecast of only 5 per cent would give 2006 the lowest annual growth in the local automobile industry for more than five years.

However, Toyota Motor Thailand president Ryoichi Sasaki said the forecast was a conservative one and it was natural that growth would fall to a reasonable level as the industry completed its recovery from the 1997 economic crisis.

Riding on the recovery of the Thai auto market, Toyota, under Sasaki’s leadership, has increased its market share from between 27 per cent and 28 per cent six years ago to about 35 per cent in 2004, and again to a surprising 39.5 per cent last year.

Speaking to reporters at the opening of Toyota’s Bt200 million “edutainment centre” in Siam Square yesterday, Sasaki said the company aimed to improve its market share to 40 per cent with the launching of more new autos this year.

“My short-term target for market share is 40 per cent, but how much more we can improve it beyond that, I don’t know,” he said. “Forty per cent, by itself, is very high – one of the highest [auto market shares] in the world. In Japan, excluding the mini-car segment, our market share is 30 per cent. If sales of Daihatsu and Hino are included, our market share there might be 40 per cent.

“I’m very proud and happy,” he added.

Sasaki said the Thai automobile market had fully recovered from the financial crisis and, from now on, annual growth would be a steady 5-10 per cent.

Last year was the first in 23 years that Toyota had achieved leadership in both the commercial vehicle and passenger-car segments in Thailand, as well as becoming the country’s biggest automobile exporter – thanks to its IMV (innovative multi-purpose vehicles) project, which commenced last year, spawning the popular Vigo and Fortuner models.

The Kingdom’s biggest auto-maker has predicted that the local market will grow by only 5 per cent this year, reaching 735,000 units.

Because of several new products that car companies plan to launch this year, Toyota projects the passenger-car segment will grow by 13.8 per cent, after suffering a 12.7-per-cent drop last year. On the other hand, it believes the pickup segment, which grew by more than 30 per cent last year, will expand by only 0.2 per cent in 2006.

Toyota expects to sell a total of 295,000 units this year, up 6 per cent from 2005. The company aims to sell 106,000 passenger cars for a market share of 49.5 per cent, and 180,000 pickups for a share of 38.2 per cent. The rest will be non-pickup commercial vehicles.

Sasaki said the pickup truck market had grown much faster than anyone expected last year and its share of the total automobile market now exceeds 60 per cent.

With regard to exports, Toyota expects to sell 230,000 vehicles in overseas markets this year, up by more than 51 per cent over 2005. Their value will be Bt99 billion. The figure excludes the export of original equipment manufacture and service parts, which the company expects will be worth Bt53 billion, up 15 per cent from last year.

This year, the company plans to produce a total of 510,000 vehicles, up 23 per cent over last year, retaining its leadership in both export and domestic sales.

Pichaya Changsorn
The Nation

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from The Nation dated Friday 13 January 2006 :-

Elusive contractor breaks her silence

The elusive woman behind the company that won the lucrative ground-services contract at Suvarnabhumi Airport has broken her silence while allegations of questionable dealings surround her company.

Rawadi Jantawit, who owns 50,000 shares in Singapore-based Frobisher Pte Co Ltd, this week granted Nation Weekender an exclusive interview about her life and business dealings.

The weekly newsmagazine’s January 16 issue hits news-stands today.

Most of the interview involves Rawadi’s other business, Maxima Master Co Ltd, the licensed producer of Maxima in-built furniture, of which she is managing director.

Rawadi flatly refused to discuss Frobisher and granted the interview on the condition the subject would not be broached.

Through its 48.5-per-cent share in Thai Airport Ground Services Co (TAGS) , Frobisher will take charge of ground services at Bangkok’s new airport.

For its efforts TAGS will earn about Bt1 billion annually – thanks to a controversial concession that never went to public tender.

The Singapore firm is suspected of being linked with powerful Thai politicians.

Rawadi told Nation Weekender that she was born in Trang, the eldest of three siblings, and spent her childhood in Nakhon Si Thammarat. While in secondary school, she won a scholarship to become an exchange student in the United States under the American Field Service (AFS) programme.

After returning to Thailand, she enrolled in Ramkhamhaeng University’s Faculty of Humanities and graduated within three academic years.

She described herself as a lively and outgoing person, but said her parents didn’t often allow her to go out alone when she was young. “They didn’t allow me to join school outings and they often accompanied me to cinemas,” she said, adding however, that her parents always welcomed her friends at home.

The businesswoman said she would retire after she had achieved what she set out to do with Maxima.

“Then I’ll go travelling with my nieces and nephews,” she said, adding that she had no children of her own.

[KatoeyLover69]

Report from Bangkok Post dated Friday 13 January 2006 :-

Hail a high-tech taxi in Bangkok : Bangkok's 'green' taxis will soon have GPS navigation and electronic payment facilities

Most people don't really worry about which taxi they jump into, but soon they could be a bit more selective now that one company is giving its cabs a technology upgrade.

Suvarnabhumi Taxi Cooperative has invested over ten million baht in a GPS tracking system and other high tech equipment that will allow the company to know exactly where taxis are and also allow passengers to track a vehicle over the Internet.

Its taxis will also be able to accept credit card payments.

Suvarnabhumi Taxi Cooperative committee member Hudsadin Eamsherangkul said the GPS and communication system enabled its computer control centre to locate and trace every "Green" taxi of the cooperative, of which there are around 1,500 vehicles today.

Every taxi has a GPS module that sends a signal to a computer system at the taxi centre via the GPRS mobile network, explained Mr Hudsadin, who added that the computer centre could also remotely control some functions of the taxi in cases of emergency, such as turning on the emergency light or a siren.

The GPS system will be active in around 1,000 Green cabs this year and 500 more cabs in 2007, with a target that every Green cab will be GPS-enabled within three years.

In conjunction with the credit card reader there will also be a display terminal that will show passengers relevant information regarding their trip. The display terminal will also be put to use this year as an advertising medium and also showing passengers music videos, film trailers, and tourism spots.

The Cooperative has worked with media companies and department stores such as Central and the Mall on sales promotion campaigns.

The electronic taxi payment system provides more convenience for passengers to pay fares electronically by using credit cards. It also allows the cooperative and drivers to manage their non-cash fares.

The cooperative has worked with Kasikorn Bank, Visa and Mastercard implementing the electronic payment system, and would select one of three companies - Ingenico, Embes, and HyperCom - to install the system.

A pilot project was run at the end of 2005 and the service will be available early this year.

The new system starts from the time the driver commences his shift. They start the shift by logging on to the network via a PIN pad. Whenever there is a card transaction, the driver swipes the card with the PIN pad and enters the fare for the trip. The system then computes other charges such as administration fees and communicates with the bank's host for online authorisation and prints the receipt upon approval.

At the end of the shift, the driver logs-off and prints the end-of-shift totals to collect money from the depot, off-set with the rental of the car for the day.

With an e-payment system, the drivers need not hold a lot of money, while passengers get more convenience. The cooperative handles the system and administration.

The digital mapping, vehicle tracking & monitoring, and the calling system was handled by Mappoint Asia, while the radio centre was run by Hova International.

Hova has over 20 years of experience in taxi service and radio centres, pointed out Decho Eamsherangkul, the president of the Suvarnabhumi Taxi Cooperative.

The cooperative received its licence in July 2002 and so far has around 2,500 members and 1,500 taxis.

Members pay a fee of 200 baht a year and 100 baht a month for service administration, while each member holds 500 shares in the cooperative, a value of 5,000 baht.

"Suvarnabhumi Taxi was born to be different and we position the Green cab as an alternative for taxi passengers," the president said.

He pointed out that all data is recorded at the centre, which also keeps driver records in a computer database, providing a higher level of security for passengers. There are more than 25 Green taxi service stops throughout Bangkok at various hotels, department stores and hospitals, with the number to increase to 40 by the end of the year.

"You will notice that every Green cab has covered seats with white cloth, which we do to make our service look professional. But passengers pay a normal fare, with no extra charges," the president said.

The GPS equipment for each vehicle costs around 10,000 baht, but the co-operative didn't install it to make a profit, but rather to improve quality and safety for passengers.

Besides adding hi-tech gear, the Cooperative has also held training for members in areas such as English language, first aid and self-protection. The drivers were given English classes and passenger service tips by the Non-Formal Education Office.

In case of an emergency, the drivers have take a first aid course provided by Phyathai 1 Hospital.

At the Suvarnabhumi Taxi call centre there are three teams of staff that work with the digital map 24-hours a day. The call centre will receive jobs and distribute them within a 100 kilometre area around Bangkok and suburbs.

The cooperative is now in the process of testing a vehicle location system that will allow a passenger's friends and family to track the location of a cab over the Internet. The service is expected to be launched this year.

[taurus75]

Thai pair admit murdering Katherine

Two Thai fishermen arrested for the rape and premeditated murder of a British tourist earlier this month on the southern resort island of Koh Samui have pleaded guilty in court to both charges.

Bualoi Posit, 23, and Wichai Somkhaoyai, 24, were charged by police with carrying out a brutal New Year's Day attack on Katherine Horton, a 21-year-old student from Cardiff, whose body was found floating in the Gulf of Thailand on January 2.

The two men nodded affirmatively in turn when asked by a judge at the provincial court of Surat Thani, 330 miles south-west of Bangkok, whether they were guilty of the charges.

Wichai's lawyer, Promphatchara Namuang, confirmed both men pleaded guilty, and said that a hearing to determine their punishment would begin on Friday, and probably last just one day.

The murder charge carries a maximum sentence of death.

However, Thai courts usually reduce such sentences to life imprisonment or less in cases where defendants plead guilty.

[singrakthai]

Originally Posted by taurus75

However, Thai courts usually reduce such sentences to life imprisonment or less in cases where defendants plead guilty.

Bad luck for these 2 fishermen... cos PM Thaksin himself calls for Death Sentence for these 2 men.
Well, but if those 2 men really did what the newspapers reported them doing... raping, killing, and then boasting to their friends about raping, then they really deserve death...
cheers

[U-Need]

445 words
16 January 2006
English
(c) 2006 Thai News Service

Section: Business News - The Nation - PTTEP unit finds crude oil,natural-gas deposits in Algeria.

PTT Exploration and Production Plc announced yesterday that it had discovered natural gas and crude oil deposits at an onshore field in Algeria.

PTTEP said its unit, PTTEP Algeria Co, has discovered oil and gas at blocks 433a and 416b in the Bir Seba field.

PTTEP Algeria owns a 35-per-cent stake in the blocks. PetroVietnam Investment and Development Co holds 40 per cent and Algeria's national oil company, Sonatrach, the remaining 25 per cent.

The discovery is expected to yield a daily maximum flow of 5,100 barrels of crude oil and 4.8 million cubic feet of natural gas. - The Nation.

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THAI airways: Code-share agreement with Gulf

National carrier Thai Airways International yesterday signed a code-sharing agreement with Bahrain-based Gulf Air.

The pact covers flights from Bangkok to Bahrain and Muscat, the capital of Oman, and allows Gulf Air to code share on Thai flights from Bangkok to Phuket and Chiang Mai.

Gulf Air operates daily Bahrain-Bangkok flights and four flights from the Thai capital to Muscat. The Middle Eastern airline is owned by Bahrain, Oman, and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.

In a separate development, the Finance Ministry said it would issue euro commercial paper worth US$141 million (Bt5.6 billion) for THAI to borrow to refinance its Samurai bond that is due in March. - Agence France-Presse, The Nation.

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New name: TOCC now Aditya Birla Chemicals

Aditya Birla Chemicals (Thailand) Ltd became the new name of Thai Organic Chemicals Co Ltd (TOCC) on January 1.

In addition to local sales, the company exports about 35 per cent of its output to 44 countries.

The chemical business is carried out through five legal entities: Thai Organic Chemicals (TOCC), Thai Epoxy and Allied Products, Thai Sulphites and Chemicals, Thai Polyphosphate and Chemicals and Thai Peroxide. During 2005, the group merged all these companies (except Thai Peroxide Company Ltd, a joint venture with FMC Corp, US) into TOCC. - The Nation.

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OTOP: Tesco Lotus sales reach Bt200m

More than Bt12 million was taken by vendors of One Tambon One Product crafts in the 10-day fair held from December 16-25, bringing cumulative Otop sales through Tesco Lotus outlets to Bt200 million.

Tesco Lotus chairman Sunthorn Arunanondchai said it was a win-win situation for both customers and Otop vendors and an example of how Tesco Lotus supports local communities.

He added that the company would continue its support of Otop fairs this year and expected to hold 12 nationwide in the first quarter.

[U-Need]

245 words
16 January 2006
English
(c) 2006 Thai News Service

Section: Business News - Tell officials sugar costs hitting them hard, The Nation reports.

The local sugar shortage and rising expenses have prompted many food manufacturers and related industries to approach the Internal Trade Department for approval to increase retail prices.

Items whose producers have proposed price increases include condensed milk, soda beverages, concentrated soft-drink syrup, canned fruits and some chemicals that use sugar as a raw material.

Siripol Yodmunagcharoen, director-general of the department, said yesterday that many firms making products under its price control measures were prepared to increase retail prices.

However, the department has to consider their real production costs and whether they have actually been affected by the sugar problems.

The department has not yet allowed those goods to increase retail prices. We have to control the price of some goods, not only to curb inflation but also to alleviate consumers' cost of living, he said, adding that the department has asked for cooperation from consumer-goods suppliers to maintain prices.

Siripol added that manufacturers and suppliers who want to increase the retail price of goods needed to submit both production costs and a balance sheet for their operations over the past two years. This information will be used to determine whether to approve a price hike.

The Commerce Ministry has forecast that inflation should not exceed 4.5 per cent this year.

[U-Need]

241 words
16 January 2006
English
(c) 2006 Thai News Service

Section: General News - Thousands of free-trade protesters yesterday retreated after declaring an initial victory, claiming their two days of rallying had raised public awareness about the threat the Thai-US trade pact poses to Thailand, The Nation reports.

After a clash between police and some 500 protesters at Chiang Mai's Sheraton Hotel on Tuesday, the government decided to shift the talks to the Northern Heritage Resort, about 20 kilometres from the hotel. Though the talks have continued at the new venue, Kamol Upakaew, leader of the People Living with HIV/Aids Network, claimed the change of the venue was evidence that trade negotiators had realised the power of people.

However, Deputy Public Health Minister Anuthin Charnveerakul, who attended the negotiations on Intellectual Property Rights yesterday, said the talks were shifted because the government was concerned about the safety of the delegates and wanted to continue the talks in a friendly atmosphere.

Saree Ong-somwang, secretary general of the Consumers Organisation, said the ongoing trade negotiations showed the government was too enthusiastic about the talks, even though they had already lost legitimacy. However, Saree said the FTA Watch Group was satisfied with the media coverage about the possible impacts of the Thai-US FTA.

Although, we couldn't stop the talks, we think more peopleare concerned now and will join us next time, she said.

[U-Need]

555 words
16 January 2006
English
(c) 2006 Thai News Service

Section: Government and Politics - Being Thaksin's brother-in-law has meant others get transferred instead, The Nation reports.

The Labour Ministry permanent secretary position seems to be the best one for the prime minister's brother-in-law Somchai Wongsawat.

The Cabinet on Tuesday approved the appointment of two top officials: Somchai swapped his position as permanent secretary of the Justice Ministry with Charu-pong Ruangsuwan, the Labour Ministry's permanent secretary.

The transfer drew attention because Somchai is Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's brother-in-law. It was clear that the swap was made because the government had to find the most suitable position for Thaksin's brother-in-law. Somchai had served six years in the post, which comprised a full four-year term and a maximum of two 12-month extensions.

At first, there were discussions about how to extend Somchai's term in the Justice Ministry, as the 58-year-old has two years left before he retires.

Deputy Prime Minister Wissa-nu Krea-ngam suggested Somchai could stay in his position if the government amended the law.

But Thaksin did not dare face the criticism that would inevitably fly his way if he were to amend the law to favour a relative. Instead he took the easy way out and transferred Somchai to another position.

During his six years at the Justice Ministry, Somchai watched four people serve in the position of minister. The reason for each change was the same: a conflict between the minister and Somchai. And each time, it was the minister who was ousted, not the permanent secretary.

In Thai politics, conflicts between politicians and ministry officials usually end in the transfer of the official. So it was clear just how much clout Somchai has as the PM's brother-in-law.

Four former justice ministers - Purachai Piumsombun, Suwat Liptapanlop, Pongthep Thepkanjana and Chaturon Chaisang - circulated through the Justice Ministry's revolving door because of disputes with Somchai.

So why did Thaksin place Somchai at the Labour Ministry?

The main reason is that Labour Minister Somsak Thepsuthin is close to Somchai's wife, Yaowapa Wongsawat.

Yaowapa is leader of the Thai Rak Thai Party's Wang Bua Ban faction. Somsak used to be a member of the faction before he defected and founded his own Wang Nam Yom faction.

However, Yaowapa always attends Wang Nam Yom meetings at Somsak's house. It is a badly kept secret that Wang Bua Ban and Wang Nam Yom are one and the same.

The relationship between Somsak and Yaowapa is quite good, so this position [Labour Ministry permanent secretary] is very suitable for her husband, said a source close to Somsak.

The source added that if Somchai had been moved to another big ministry, such as Public Health or Agriculture, it might have created conflicts. Yaowapa does not have a good relationship with Public Health Minister Pinij Charusombat or Agriculture Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan.

However, Somchai might only stay in his new post temporarily, before being promoted to permanent secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, which is a more important post in the upcoming bureaucratic reform. Or he could return to the Justice Ministry after Charupong's retirement in October.

[U-Need]

UK Daily News 14:50pm 12th January 2006

Two men arrested for raping and murdering a Welsh backpacker may have been responsible for another sex attack on a UK tourist, it emerged today.
The Bangkok Post is reporting that Bualoi Posit, 23, and Wichai Somkhaoyai, 24, are being linked to the rape of a British tourist last October.

The two men appeared in court in Thailand today and pleaded guilty to raping and murdering 21-year-old Katherine Horton of Cardiff.

Police Major-General Santhan Chayanond, deputy chief of Provincial Police Bureau 8, told the paper he has ordered local police to check for any link between the two defendants and the unsolved rape which occurred during the early hours of October 20.

A spokesman for the Royal Thai Police said that Somkhaoyai this week confessed to raping women in the past despite never being prosecuted.

The spokesman said: "He told police that he had raped many times before."

On the day Miss Horton's inquest was opened and adjourned in Cardiff today, a memorial service attended by locals, tourists and Buddhist monks was held near to her body was found on Lamai Bay on January 2.

During the 30-minute ceremony, flowers were laid on the ground while eight monks chanted and prayed for the soul of Miss Horton.

Varakorn Rattanarak, head of the Samui municipal council, told local media: "We wanted to do something good to show that we have not ignored her plight.

"All Samui residents regret what has happened to her and her family."

He added: "The alleged perpetrators are not island residents. We're doing what we are able to do to help."