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Floods Kill 76, Cost Industry 18 Billion Baht
Floods have killed 76 people since mid-September, including 25 in the single province (just to the south of Khao Yai National Park) of Prachin Buri. Water is starting to recede, but Bangkok and 20 provinces are still flooded in parts, mostly over the Central Plains. Nearly 250,000 families have been affected in Pathum Thani, and the disaster department says it has paid out 4.12 billion baht in aid to more than 540,000 families. The Industry Ministry estimates that 4,635 businesses have lost a cumulative 18.21 billion baht, almost all that financial damage centered in Chonburi.
Read more: Bangkok Post (death tolls), Ua News (Bangkok flooding), Thai Enquirer (industry losses)
TG Suspends CEO After 25k Bags Stranded
Thai Airways' board has suspended chief executive Chai Eamsiri after flooding resulted in 25,000 stranded bags and more than 200 flight cancellations. Despite the “suspension,” Chai says he’s been more-or-less fired. Director and former PTTEP executive Samrit Samniang is acting as CEO for now. Early investigations point to floods keeping about 200 employees from work, as well as the late application of emergency procedures and a slow call for backups. Police (!) are investigating and have 30 days to come back with their report. The board also says that it is taking this opportunity to review outsourced baggage and ground operations contracts. The airline says passengers will be compensated automatically and delayed bags are able to be forwarded on any carrier.
Read more: Bangkok Post
2027 Budget Flat, Cuts to Transport and Farming
The government has approved a 3,788 billion baht budget for fiscal year 2027, just slightly (0.2%) more than 2026’s number, and the second near-flat budget in a row. Transport and agriculture spending will be reduced; military and police spending is holding steady. Health, education and welfare get modest increases, but there are no big new programs. The budget projects a deficit of 3.8 percent of GDP. Public debt was about two-thirds of GDP at the end of March, still in relatively safe territory.
Read more: The Diplomat
CB Sees 3% Growth Within Three Years
Growth could return to about 3 percent within three years if structural problems ease, Bank of Thailand Deputy Governor Piti Disyatat says. That might be his way of saying that growth will not return to about 3 percent within three years. Nonetheless, he expects growth of at least 2.3 percent this year, slowing to 1.8 percent through 2027 before (possibly) finding a firmer footing. Piti struck a hawkish note on the 1 percent policy rate, saying another cut is hard to imagine without a major shock because the rate is already historically low. The next policy review is due October 28.
Read more: Reuters
Tourism Industry Fights 1,000 THB Departure Tax
Travel agents are working to get Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas to drop a proposed 1,000-baht departure tax on all air travelers. The Tourism Council wants the government to consider the benefits of revenue against the damage to tourism. The hotels association says existing charges and two proposed levies would cost a foreign visitor about 2,570 baht each (10,280 baht for a family of four!), making Thailand less competitive as a destination. The draft also has a mechanism to allow the government raise the departure tax to as much as 5,000 baht. Consultation closes October 29.
Read more: UA News
EU Trade Deal Expected by EOY
Commerce Minister Suphajee Suthumpun is sounding confident that an EU trade deal will be wrapped up by the end of the year. She says only politically sensitive questions about opening markets are still remaining open after negotiators were able to agree about rules of origin, energy and sanitary measures in the 10th round. The EU was the country's fourth-largest trading partner last year, with more than $43 billion in trade.
Read more: Thai PBS World
Army Disputes KH’s UN Claim 20K Can't Go Home
The army is pushing back on Cambodia's claim (at a UN refugee meeting) that more than 20,000 Cambodians are still unable to return home after December's border fighting. Cambodian Ambassador Sovann Ke said about 650,000 people were displaced at the height of the conflict, but Thai army spokesman Maj Gen Winthai Suvaree says the disputed figure includes people who took temporary shelter. Thai officials count about 4,600 people from to three settlements in Sa Kaeo. The army says the settlements are on Thai territory, a claim Cambodia disputes.
Read more: Nation Thailand
IMF, WB and BOT Launch Anti-Scam Blueprint
Digital scams cause an estimated $1 trillion a year in losses worldwide. The IMF, World Bank Group and the Bank of Thailand have come up with and launched the “Bangkok Blueprint,” which is a plan for preventing fraud and quickly freezing money that’s being moved around by transnational gangs. The government is also using a tool called “Connect the Dots,” which is a central hub that brings together agency data to spot patterns of scamming. Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas is putting the project forward as a cross-border answer to borderless crime.
Read more: Asian News Network
Police Block Anti-IMF March and Scuffle Over Banner
Police with batons blocked anti-IMF and World Bank marchers near the Rama IV intersection, keeping them away from the meetings being held at the nearby Queen Sirikit National Convention Center. Crowd estimates ranged from about 600 to more than 1,000 protesters. After negotiations, the marchers pulled back to a designated area nearby, but a scuffle broke out on a pedestrian overpass when about 10 protesters tried to unfurl a banner. The protest network accuses police of using excessive force to seize the banner and says the route and display had been agreed to in advance.
Read more: Bangkok Post (protesters), Nation Thailand (police response), Khaosod English (assembly law)
Swiss Foundation to Buy $120M of Carbon Credits
Switzerland's KliK Foundation is expected to buy about $120 million in carbon credits once both governments give their approval. The purchase is an expansion to an existing Bangkok program that has already put more than 2,000 electric buses into service. Swiss President Guy Parmelin and Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul also talked about how they could speed up their trade deal with EFTA.
Read more: Bangkok Post
Anutin Gives Allies Engraved Casio Watches
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul is giving cabinet ministers, senior officials and allies Casio watches engraved with his name. The model retails for less than $60, and recipients are comparing notes on metal and resin bands. The gift of watches is an interesting one, as timepieces have played an inflammatory role in recent political times. Anutin has reported 22 luxury watches worth more than 60 million baht in his mandated asset declaration, and former deputy prime minister Prawit Wongsuwan was involved (but cleared) in a 2017 graft probe into 22 wildly expensive watches in his possession. Government spokesman Ekkapob Pianpises promises that the gifts come with no political signal.
Read more: NDTV (recipients), Hindustan Times (purchase)
That's all for this week, thanks for reading. Your voice matters to us. Feel we're missing something? Have additional sources to suggest? Don't hold back- hit reply and tell us what you think.
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