Bangkok skyline shrouded in dust on Dec. 12, 2023.
A Bangkok school, Pramochwithaya Ramintra School, putting up a banner urging drivers to drive slowly around the site earlier this week in hope of having less PM2.5 kicking back up into the air from the road was indeed a desperate act of individuals handling the hazardous air pollution that both the local and national government have failed to eliminate over the years.
Better off Thais can buy more and more expensive air purifiers to save themselves from the worst. Some who can afford temporarily fled the capital to places with cleaner air in Thailand or even abroad. Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt’s suggestion that people work from home is not really solving the problem at all, it is merely an act of dodging the problem for a few days.
The national government, led by PM Srettha Thavisin, said the matter is a national agenda but while Bangkokians and Thais in the provinces constituting half of the country suffer from having to breath the harmful air over the past week, Srettha was “lucky” to be on an official visit to Japan where the air quality is far cleaner and safer.
Factors preventing PM2.5 micro-dust particles from being eradicated are numerous. Is the government committed to alienating some giant agricultural businesses involved in mass plantations of plants used as animal feed only to see the agricultural waste burned as the cheapest and irresponsible way of doing business – both in Thailand and in some neighboring countries up north?
The same can be asked but sugarcane plantations and farmers. Can the government punish them, if not offer an incentive to these farmers and businesses so they do not need to create perennial annual air pollution?
How about pushing harder to phase out outdated public buses belching more micro-dust particles? On the other hand, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration can plant more trees and find space for more public parks and pocket parks, but we are not seeing much being done by Chadchart.
Thus, Bangkokians and other Thais are now in a reactive mode and try to find their own personal solution like the school in Bang Khen district of Bangkok, or families buy more expensive air purifiers. They basically have lost faith in the government’s ability or will to solve the problem.
(Last month, speaking at a French Embassy-organized event on tackling air pollution, at the Alliance Française, Chadchart admitted he has been unable to solve the PM2.5 air problem. And there was no apology. It was a statement all too apparent for us to see when we look up at the grey sky.)
No wonder today’s poll release by Dusit Poll revealed that 74.53 percent of respondents said they think the government cannot solve the problem. The government, both local and national, hopes rain or wind will save them, or they hope they can put up with criticism for the next two or three months and people will simply stop complaining as the cool and dry season ends.
On the part of civil society, there is no permanent movement or lobby group to demand accountability from the government. Having one might be a good start. Some of us also think PM2.5 micro-dust particles would not kill most of us right away, although the health impact, especially on the infirm is enormous.
From January to March this year, the Public Health Ministry said 1.3 million people in Thailand suffered from air-pollution related illness.
BANGKOK – Vichai Wiratkapan, acting director of the Real Estate Information Center (REIC), said that in the third quarter of 2023, the number of condominiums in Thailand transferred to foreigners was 3,365, an increase of 0.4 percent.
The value amounted to 17,048 million baht, 2 percent less than the previous period. This brings the total for the first nine months to 10,703 units worth 52,259 million baht, an increase of 37.6 percent and 31.6 percent respectively compared to the same period last year.
The percentage of condominiums purchased by foreigners as a percentage of total condominium purchases also increased by 13.6 percent or 23.3 percent.
The location with the most condominium ownership transfers by foreigners was Chonburi Province, at 41.7 percent. Chonburi has surpassed Bangkok, which has now fallen to second place at 37.5 percent. Phuket was in third place with 6.4 percent.
Chinese nationals continued to be the leading nationality with 4,991 units transferred nationwide in the first nine months, or 46.6 percent. Russians were in second place with 962 units, or 9 percent. In third place were the Americans with 422 units or 3.9 percent. Taiwan was in fourth place with 378 units or 3.5 percent. France was in fifth place with 372 units or 3.5 percent.
The average number of condominiums transferred to foreigners per quarter is around 3,500 units, which is higher than the pre-COVID level of around 3,300 units per quarter. This shows that foreigners are returning to Thailand and that demand for condominiums in the major provinces and key tourist destinations remains strong. Chinese and Russian nationals are the main buyers in the country.
Wiratkapan also said that if tourism expands more than it did this year in 2024, it is likely to lead to an increase in foreign buyers of housing. This could help to compensate for the still-weak recovery in Thai purchasing power.
The body was stuck on the rocks around 500 metres from the coast.
CHONBURI – Sattahip Police are investigating if a foreigner’s body in the sea may be originated from Jomtien Beach, Pattaya.
Sattahip police officers were alerted on December 16 that someone had discovered a body floating in the water on an unnamed island in Sattahip Bay, Samae San Subdistrict, Sattahip District, Chonburi Province, and they went to investigate alongside the Sawangrojanathammasathan Foundation Rescue Unit.
Officials had to use a kayak to reach the spot where the body was discovered. A man with the appearance of a foreigner was stuck on the rocks around 500 metres from the coast, shirtless and wearing only black shorts.
The body was stuck on the rocks around 500 metres from the coast.
Upon initial inspection, no evidence of murder was found. It appears that he died within the last 3-5 days.
Previously, at 6:29 p.m. on December 12, locals witnessed someone drowning in front of Lung Sawai Restaurant, Village No. 1, Na Jomtien Subdistrict, Sattahip District, Chonburi Province, but officials were unable to locate him. So the search was finished. Because the information that people view is unclear, and no one has yet arrived to report a missing person.
Because the locations where the body was discovered were some 40 nautical miles (74 km) apart, officials were unable to determine whether they were related events.
The police then photographed the deceased and sent them to a hotel and a police station near the shore in both Rayong Province and Chonburi Province for investigation. At the same time, the deceased’s body was transferred to the Institute of Forensic Medicine Police hospital for an autopsy in order to discover this man’s relatives.
This combination image of three undated photos provided by courtesy of the Shamriz, Al-Talalka and Haim families shows Alon Shamriz, from left, Samer Al-Talalka and Yotam Haim. Israeli troops mistakenly shot the three hostages to death Friday, Dec. 15, 2023, in a battle-torn neighborhood of Gaza City. (Courtesy of the Shamriz, Al-Talalka and Haim families via AP)
JERUSALEM (AP) — Three Israeli hostages who were mistakenly shot by Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip had been waving a white flag and were shirtless when they were killed, an Israeli military official said Saturday.
Anger over the mistaken killings is likely to increase pressure on the Israeli government to renew Qatar-mediated negotiations with Hamas over swapping more captives for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. Hamas has conditioned further releases on Israel halting its punishing air and ground campaign in Gaza, now in its 11th week.
The account of how the hostages died also raised questions about the conduct of Israeli ground troops. Palestinians on several occasions reported that Israeli soldiers opened fire as civilians tried to flee to safety.
The military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to brief reporters in line with military regulations, said it was likely that the hostages had been abandoned by their militant captors or had escaped. The soldiers’ behavior was “against our rules of engagement,” the official said, and was being investigated at the highest level.
This image taken from video taken on Dec 8, 2023, in the Faraa refuge camp shows soldiers shooting down the men at close range when they did not appear to pose a threat. (B’Tselem via AP)
The three, all young men in their 20s, were killed Friday in the Gaza City area of Shijaiyah, where troops have engaged in fierce fighting with Hamas militants in recent days. They had been among more than 240 people taken hostage during an unprecedented raid by Hamas into Israel on Oct. 7 in which around 1,200 people were killed, mostly civilians. The attack sparked the war.
Hundreds of protesters blocked Tel Aviv’s main highway late Friday in a spontaneous demonstration calling for the hostages’ return. The hostages’ plight has dominated public discourse in Israel since the Oct. 7 attack. Their families have led a powerful public campaign calling on the government to do more to bring them home.
Hadas Kalderon, whose former partner is still held hostage after their two teenage children were released in November, said the Israeli government must pay any price to free all hostages. “To make a deal, now, that’s what I’m saying. Yesterday, not now,” said.
The military official said the three hostages had emerged from a building close to Israeli soldiers’ positions. They were waving a white flag and were shirtless, possibly in an effort to signal they posed no threat.
An Israeli military Apache helicopter and a drone fly close to the Gaza strip, as seen from southern Israel , Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Two were killed immediately, and the third ran back into the building screaming for help in Hebrew. The commander issued an order to cease fire, but another burst of gunfire killed the third man, the official said.
Israeli media gave a more detailed account. The mass circulation daily Yediot Ahronot said Saturday that according to an investigation into the incident, a sniper identified the three hostages as suspects when they emerged from the building, despite them not being armed, and shot two of the three.
Soldiers followed the third when he ran into the building and hid, shouting at him to come out and at least one soldier shot him when he emerged from a staircase, Yediot Ahronot said.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz gave a similar account based on a preliminary investigation, saying the soldiers who followed the third hostage into the building believed he was a Hamas member trying to pull them into a trap.
Hamas released over 100 hostages for Palestinian prisoners during a brief cease-fire in November. Nearly all those freed on both sides were women and minors. Talks on further swaps broke down, with Hamas seeking the release of more veteran prisoners for female soldiers it is holding.
Israeli political and military leaders often say freeing all the hostages is their top aim in the war alongside destroying Hamas. However, they argue that their release can only be achieved through military pressure on Hamas, a claim that has sharply divided Israeli public opinion.
After negotiations broke down, Hamas said it will only free the remaining hostages, believed to number more than 130, if Israel ends the war and releases all Palestinian prisoners. As of late November, Israel held nearly 7,000 Palestinians accused or convicted of security offenses, including hundreds rounded up since the start of the war.
Smoke rises following an Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel , Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
The offensive has killed more than 18,700 Palestinians, the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Thursday before a communications blackout that has hampered telephone and internet services in the Gaza Strip. Thousands more are missing and feared dead beneath the rubble.
The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths. Its latest count did not specify how many were women and minors, but they have consistently made up around two-thirds of the dead in previous tallies.
Dozens of mourners held funeral prayers Saturday for Samer Abu Daqqa, a Palestinian journalist working for the Al Jazeera network who was killed Friday in an Israeli strike in the southern city of Khan Younis. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, the cameraman was the 64th journalist to be killed since the conflict erupted: 57 Palestinians, four Israelis and three Lebanese.
The war has flattened much of northern Gaza and driven 85% of the territory’s population of 2.3 million from their homes. Displaced people have squeezed into shelters mainly in the south in a spiraling humanitarian crisis. Only a trickle of aid has been able to enter Gaza and distribution is disrupted by fighting.
Residents in northern Gaza meanwhile reported heavy bombing and the sounds of gunbattles overnight and into Saturday in devastated Gaza City and the nearby urban refugee camp of Jabaliya.
“It was a violent bombardment,” Assad Abu Taha said by phone from the Shijaiyah neighborhood. Another resident, Hamza Abu Seada, reported heavy airstrikes in Jabaliya, with non-stop sounds of explosions and gunfire.
An Associated Press journalist in southern Gaza also reported airstrikes and tank shelling overnight in the cities of Khan Younis and Rafah.
The United States, Israel’s closest ally, has expressed unease over Israel’s failure to reduce civilian casualties and its plans for the future of Gaza, but the White House continues to offer wholehearted support with weapons shipments and diplomatic backing.
In meetings with Israeli leaders on Thursday and Friday, United States national security adviser Jake Sullivan discussed a timetable for winding down the intense combat phase of the war. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was also expected to visit Israel soon to discuss the issue.
The U.S. has pushed Israel to allow more aid into Gaza, and the government said it would open a second entry point to speed up deliveries.
The German tourist points out the place of the incident.
PHUKET – On December 16, tourist police officers in Phuket said that they, along with Wichit police officers, shortly captured the thief and returned the mobile phone to the German tourist.
Miss Vanessa, a 25-year-old German tourist staying at a hotel in Wichit Subdistrict, Mueang Phuket District, reported to the police at Wichit Police Station on December 14 at approximately 11:30 a.m. that she went swimming at Ao Yon Beach in front of the hotel and left her backpack on the beach. After about 30 minutes, she came out of the sea to get her backpack. Her iPhone 13 Pro was discovered to have been stolen.
The tourist police return the mobile phone to the German tourists.
The German woman was then taken to the hotel by the tourist police and patrol officers from Wichit Police Station, who demanded to check the CCTV footage and point out the place of the incident.
Later on December 15, 2023, at approximately 11:30 a.m., police returned to the hotel to gather new information and evidence before searching for the suspicious person. When they identified the suspect, they asked for a search and discovered an Apple phone, model iPhone 13Pro, dark grey in colour, which matched the German woman’s property.
Ms. Sobariya, a 24-year-old was handed up to investigators. She admitted to the accusation. The officer then charged her with stealing.
CHIANG MAI – The first accident occurred in the midst of Chiang Mai city, caused by a drunk driver after the government extended the hours for nightlife venues to open until 4 a.m.
Witnesses saw a car come very fast and crash into a group of workers putting a cable in the ground in front of the Lai Thai Guesthouse building, Kotchasan Road, along the city moat, Mueang Chiang Mai District. Muang Chiang Mai Police Station at 4:00 a.m. on December 16.
A male worker died at the scene in front of a white automobile with Chiang Mai Province registration. The car’s front part was entirely wrecked.
The driver was a Ghanaian man. The police detained him in order to test his blood alcohol level. It was shown to be as high as 121 milligrammes per percent, which was more than the legal limit. As a result, he was charged with drunk driving. as well as careless driving, which causes injury and death to others.
Two injured people received first aid.A female worker was transported to Chiang Mai Bangkok Hospital, while the other male worker was transported to Maharaj Nakhon Chiang Mai Hospital.
These victims were Sinyotha Company workers who were putting underground cables on Kotchasan Road.
Two of 16 pieces of artwork at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York will return to Cambodia and Thailand. (Metropolitan Museum of Art via AP)
PHNOM PENH — Cambodia has welcomed the announcement that New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art will return more than a dozen pieces of ancient artwork to Cambodia and Thailand that were tied to an art dealer and collector accused of running a huge antiquities trafficking network out of Southeast Asia.
This most recent repatriation of artwork comes as many museums in the United States and Europe reckon with collections that contain objects looted from Asia, Africa and other places during centuries of colonialism or in times of upheaval.
Fourteen Khmer sculptures will be returned to Cambodia and two will be returned to Thailand, the Manhattan museum announced Friday, though no specific timeline was given.
A late 10th to early 11th century sculpture titled “The Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara Seated in Royal Ease” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. (Metropolitan Museum of Art via AP)
“We appreciate this first step in the right direction,” said a statement issued by Cambodia’s Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. “We look forward to further returns and acknowledgements of the truth regarding our lost national treasures, taken from Cambodia in the time of war and genocide.”
Cambodia suffered from war and the brutal rule of the communist Khmer Rouge in the 1970s and 1980s, causing disorder that opened the opportunity for its archaeological treasures to be looted.
The repatriation of the ancient pieces was linked to well-known art dealer Douglas Latchford, who was indicted in 2019 for allegedly orchestrating a multiyear scheme to sell looted Cambodian antiquities on the international art market. Latchford, who died the following year, had denied any involvement in smuggling.
The museum initially cooperated with the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan and the New York office of Homeland Security Investigations on the return of 13 sculptures tied to Latchford before determining there were three more that should be repatriated.
This December 2005 photo shows a 7th century sculpture titled “Head of Buddha” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. (Metropolitan Museum of Art via AP)
“As demonstrated with today’s announcement, pieces linked to the investigation of Douglas Latchford continue to reveal themselves,” HSI Acting Special Agent in Charge Erin Keegan said in a statement Friday. “The Metropolitan Museum of Art has not only recognized the significance of these 13 Khmer artifacts, which were shamelessly stolen, but has also volunteered to return them, as part of their ongoing cooperation, to their rightful owners: the People of Cambodia.”
This isn’t the first time the museum has repatriated art linked to Latchford. In 2013, it returned two objects to Cambodia.
The Latchford family also had a load of centuries-old Cambodian jewelry in their possession that they later returned to Cambodia. In February, 77 pieces of jewelry made of gold and other precious metal pieces, including items such as crowns, necklaces and earrings were returned to their homeland. Other stone and bronze artifacts were returned in September 2021.
The bronze sculpture, which is about 900 years old, will be returned to Thailand.
The latest works being returned from the Metropolitan Museum of Art were made between the ninth and 14th centuries in the Angkorian period and reflect the Hindu and Buddhist religious systems prominent during that time, according to the museum.
Angkor in the ninth to the 15th centuries was a powerful kingdom in the area of present-day Cambodia. Tourists can see relics of that past at the Angkor Wat temple complex in the country’s northwest.
Among the pieces being returned include a bronze sculpture called “The Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara Seated in Royal Ease” made some time between the late 10th century and early 11th century. Another piece of art, made of stone in the seventh century and named “Head of Buddha” will also be returned. Those pieces are part of 10 that can still be viewed in the museum’s galleries while arrangements are being made for their return.
There is no specific timeline for when the pieces will be returned, the museum said.
This March 2007 photo shows a bronze sculpture titled “Standing Shiva” or “Golden Boy” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. (Metropolitan Museum of Art via AP)
This isn’t the first time the museum has repatriated art linked to Latchford. In 2013, it returned two objects to Cambodia.
The Latchford family also had a load of centuries-old Cambodian jewelry in their possession that they later returned to Cambodia. In February, 77 pieces of jewelry made of gold and other precious metal pieces — including items such as crowns, necklaces and earrings — were returned to their homeland. Other stone and bronze artifacts were returned in September 2021.
Pieces being returned include a bronze sculpture called The Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara Seated in Royal Ease, made sometime between the late 10th century and early 11th century. Another piece of art, made of stone in the seventh century and named Head of Buddha, will also be returned. Those pieces are part of 10 that can still be viewed in the museum’s galleries while arrangements are made for their return.
“These returns contribute to the reconciliation and healing of the Cambodian people who went through decades of civil war and suffered tremendously from the tragedy of the Khmer Rouge genocide, and to a greater strengthening of our relationship with the United States,” Cambodia’s Minister of Culture and Fine Arts, Phoeurng Sackona, said in her agency’s statement.
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Sopheung Cheang reported from Phnom Penh. Associated Press writer Maysoon Khan in Albany, New York, contributed to this report. Khan is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative.
FILE - Prince Harry leaves the High Court after giving evidence in London, on June 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry won his historic phone hacking lawsuit Friday against the publisher of the Daily Mirror and was awarded over 140,000 pounds ($180,000) in the first of several lawsuits against British tabloids to go to trial in his battles with the press.
Justice Timothy Fancourt in the High Court found phone hacking was “widespread and habitual” at Mirror Group Newspapers over many years and private investigators “were an integral part of the system” to gather information unlawfully on Harry and his associates. He said executives at the papers were aware of the practice and covered it up.
Fancourt found the newspapers had invaded the Duke of Sussex’s privacy by using unlawful information gathering to produce 15 of the 33 newspaper articles examined at trial as a representative sampling from nearly 150 Harry cited.
A general view of the Royal Courts of Justice where Justice Timothy Fancourt gave his ruling in the Prince Harry phone hacking lawsuit in London, Friday, Dec. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Harry said the ruling was “vindicating and affirming” and should serve as a warning to other news media that used similar practices, an overt reference to two tabloid publishers that face upcoming trials in lawsuits that make nearly identical allegations.
“Today is a great day for truth, as well as accountability,” Harry said in a statement read by his lawyer outside court. “I’ve been told that slaying dragons will get you burned. But in light of today’s victory and the importance of doing what is needed for a free and honest press, it is a worthwhile price to pay. The mission continues.”
Fancourt awarded the duke damages for the distress he suffered and a further sum for aggravated damages to “reflect the particular hurt and sense of outrage” over the fact that two directors at Trinity Mirror knew about the activity and didn’t stop it.
“Instead of doing so, they turned a blind eye to what was going on and positively concealed it,” Fancourt said. “Had the illegal conduct been stopped, the misuse of the duke’s private information would have ended much sooner.”
Harry, the estranged younger son of King Charles III, had sought 440,000 pounds ($560,000) as part of a crusade against the British media that bucked his family’s longstanding aversion to litigation and made him the first senior member of the royal family to testify in court in over a century.
His appearance in the witness box over two days in June created a spectacle as he lobbed allegations that Mirror Group Newspapers had employed journalists who eavesdropped on voicemails and hired private investigators to use deception and unlawful means to learn about him and other family members.
“I believe that phone hacking was at an industrial scale across at least three of the papers at the time,” Harry asserted in the High Court. “That is beyond any doubt.”
FILE – Prince Harry leaves the High Court after giving evidence in London, on June 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, File)
Harry had a tendency in his testimony “to assume that everything published was the product of voicemail interception,” which was not the case, the judge said. He said Mirror Group was “not responsible for all of the unlawful activity directed at the duke.”
Mirror Group welcomed the judgment for providing the “necessary clarity to move forward from events that took place many years ago.”
“Where historical wrongdoing took place, we apologize unreservedly, have taken full responsibility and paid appropriate compensation,” the company said in statement.
The case is the first of three lawsuits Harry has brought to court against the tabloids over allegations of phone hacking or some form of unlawful information gathering. They form the front line of attack in what he says is his life’s mission to reform the media.
Harry’s beef with the news media runs deep and is cited throughout his memoir, “Spare.” He blames paparazzi for causing the car crash that killed his mother, Princess Diana, and he said intrusions by journalists led him and his wife, Meghan, to leave royal life for the U.S. in 2020.
Harry alleged that Mirror Group Newspapers used unlawful means to produce nearly 150 stories on his early life between 1996 and 2010, including his romances, injuries and alleged drug use. The reporting caused great emotional distress, he said, but was hard to prove because the newspapers destroyed records.
Of the 33 articles at the center of the trial, Mirror denied using unlawful reporting methods for 28 and made no admissions concerning the remaining five.
Fancourt previously tossed out Harry’s hacking claims against the publisher of The Sun. He is allowing Harry and actor Hugh Grant, who has similar claims, to proceed to trial on allegations that News Group Newspapers journalists used other unlawful methods to snoop on them.
Journalists and TV cameras outside the Royal Courts of Justice, Rolls Building, where Justice Timothy Fancourt gave his ruling in the Prince Harry phone hacking lawsuit in London, Friday, Dec. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Another judge recently gave Harry the go-ahead to take a similar case to trial against the publisher of the Daily Mail, rejecting the newspaper’s efforts to throw out the lawsuit.
Phone hacking by British newspapers dates back more than two decades to a time when unethical journalists used an unsophisticated method of phoning the numbers of royals, celebrities, politicians and sports stars and, when prompted to leave a message, punched in default passcodes to eavesdrop on voicemails.
The practice erupted into a full-blown scandal in 2011 when Rupert Murdoch’s News of the World was revealed to have intercepted messages of a murdered girl, relatives of deceased British soldiers and victims of a bombing. Murdoch closed the paper.
Newspapers were later found to have used more intrusive means such as phone tapping, home bugging and obtaining flight information and medical records.
Mirror Group Newspapers said it has paid more than 100 million pounds ($128 million) in other phone hacking lawsuits over the years, but denied wrongdoing in Harry’s case. It said it used legitimate reporting methods to get information on the prince.
In one instance, Mirror Group apologized “unreservedly” for hiring a private investigator for a story about Harry partying at a nightclub in February 2004. Although the article, headlined “Sex on the beach with Harry,” wasn’t among those at issue in the trial, Mirror Group said he should be compensated 500 pounds ($637).
BANGKOK – Oramon Sapthaweetham, Director-General of the Department of Business Development, revealed on December 15 that for the fiscal year 2024 (September 2023-October 2024), the Department has laid out a plan to prevent nominee businesses that use Thais as shareholders to avoid obtaining a business license under the Foreign Business Act.
Initially, the Department is preparing to inspect businesses with a foreign ownership ratio of over 40 percent, totaling 25,000 businesses, to determine if they are in violation of the law.
The target business groups to be inspected include tourism and related businesses, real estate businesses, and hotel and resort businesses, in 9 target provinces: Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phuket, Surat Thani, Chonburi, Rayong, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Phetchaburi, and Bangkok.
Both Thai and foreign tourists visited Chiang Mai during long holiday.
“The goal of inspecting nominees for the fiscal year 2023/24 of 25,000 businesses is higher than the previous fiscal year of 15,000 businesses, because businesses in the tourism sector have a growth rate of up to 64 percent, resulting in a large increase in the number of new businesses established by foreign companies in the tourism sector,” Oramon said.
As for the results of the inspection of foreign businesses in 2022/23, 400 businesses were found to be nominee businesses. When the details were examined in depth, there were 8 businesses that committed nominee offenses that had to be sent to the police for prosecution.
Most of these businesses were in the tourism sector in tourist provinces such as Phuket. The foreign shareholders in the nominee companies that were prosecuted were mostly from China, Russia, and Europe.
Thailand Economic Monitor.
The offense is punishable by imprisonment for up to 3 years or a fine of 100,000 -1 million baht or both, and a daily fine of 10,000-50,000 baht until the violation is stopped.
The Director-General said that the inspection will select high-risk groups with indications that they may be engaged in businesses on the back of the list by using Thais as nominees to avoid obtaining a license under the Foreign Business Act, such as businesses in which foreigners hold less than 50 percent of the shares, businesses in which foreigners are the authorized persons, and businesses that give foreigners more rights than Thais, including the right to vote, the right to receive dividends, and the right to receive capital repayment when the business is dissolved.
Bangkok – UOB Thailand today launched five co-branded credit cards, expanding its offerings to meet customers’ unique lifestyle needs and preferences. The co-branded cards are designed in collaboration with leading domestic and global brands: Grab, Lazada, Makro, Mercedes-Benz and Thai Royal Orchid Plus.
With the completion of UOB’s acquisition of Citigroup’s consumer business in the four markets in ASEAN, the Bank currently serve close to eight million retail customers across the region. With UOB’s unrivalled ASEAN footprint, these partnerships pave the way for the Bank’s enlarged customer base to enjoy even more perks and privileges suited to individual profiles.
Ms Suporntip Pongsachamnankit, Head of Card Business, UOB Thailand, said, “As UOB’s footprint continues to expand, we are thrilled to establish new and exclusive partnerships, providing a diverse suite of offerings and perks to cater to the different lifestyles and interests of our growing customer base. Our wide partnership network enables us to provide tailored solutions and services that extend beyond borders and stand out in the marketplace.”
The launch of these co-branded cards signifies UOB Thailand’s commitment to integrate living with banking. Each card is designed to resonate with distinct customer segments, offering exclusive privileges and benefits that align with their lifestyle.
UOB Grab card for urban living
The UOB Grab card is designed for the modern urbanite, capitalising the widespread use of smartphones for various purposes such as on-demand ride hailing, food ordering and payment. With UOB Thailand cardholders clocking nearly a million transactions on Grab each month , this card offers customers special privileges, additional rewards such as more rewards points for Grab services as well as coupons and vouchers for other services, and greater convenience.
UOB Lazada card for savvy shoppers
With the significant shift to online shopping post-COVID 19, the UOB Lazada card caters to the savvy e-commerce consumers. UOB cardholders’ credit card spending on online retail purchases has grown 37 per cent year on year in 2023. This collaboration with Lazada Thailand, a leading e-commerce platform in Thailand, reflects UOB’s focus on personalised banking solutions and offers enhanced rewards for online purchases. UOB Lazada cardholders will enjoy 10 times more reward points on Lazada purchases and 30 times bonus points during their birthday month and the best offers during Lazada’s mega campaigns.
UOB Makro card for value-maximising consumers
Based on UOB’s 2023 ASEAN Consumer Sentiment Study , 30 per cent of Thai consumers are most worried about their ability to afford essential items. The UOB Makro card is ideal for both the business owners and individual customers focused on optimising every dollar spent. This card addresses the growing concern over the affordability of everyday supplies for their business and daily needs, offering reward points for every purchase, which can be redeemed for Makro vouchers or cashback on spending at Makro.
UOB Mercedes card for luxury lovers
With affluent customers contributing more than 40 per cent of UOB’s credit card spending, the UOB Mercedes card is tailored to those who appreciate commuting in luxurious vehicles. This card offers discounts at authorised Mercedes-Benz dealers, the first ever in the market, and the opportunity to get eight times rewards points on new car deposit payment and two times rewards points on other spending in both local and foreign currencies.
UOB Thai Royal Orchid Plus card (UOB ROP) for veteran travellers
With the return of travelling post pandemic, spending on flight tickets accounted for 37 per cent of all spending made on UOB Thailand credit and debit cards in 2023. The UOB Thai Royal Orchid Plus card is specially curated for frequent travellers, offering exceptional benefits, like a fast track to Gold status in the Royal Orchid Plus programme and the ability to convert spending into airline miles.
These five co-branded credit cards add to the five core UOB credit cards specially curated to the discerning preferences of UOB’s customers, elevating customers’ experiences with customised rewards and privileges.
