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HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]: 

Subway fares are on the rise

Three panels set up to oversee major state projects

Thailand to be ‘slum-free’ by 2008, says PM

New banknote honors King Rama V who abolished Thai slavery

PM sues media tycoon for Bt 500 million for libel over Supreme Patriarch appointment

Gold prices to further rise due to speculation

Subway fares are on the rise

Bangkok’s underground train fares have risen by Bt.2 to Bt.5 and will increase again next month.

The subway’s new Bt 2-5 fare hike, from Bt 12-31 to Bt 14-36, was effective starting October 1, according to the Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA), which oversees the subway system.

MRTA Governor Prapat Chongsa-nguan told journalists Saturday evening that the new fare rise was in line with a concessionary contract with the subway’s operator, Bangkok Metro Co., Ltd. (BMCL).

“According to the concessionary contract, BMCL is to raise the underground train fares again in November. The new rates will be announced later to the public,” Prapat said.

Passengers on Saturday expressed different views on the new fare rise. Some told journalists when interviewed that they did not know about the new fare increase in advance and were not prepared for it, saying public relations on the issue was insufficient.

The same group of passengers said they disagreed with the fare increase, claiming that consumers are already shouldering increasing costs of products due to oil price hikes and rising inflation.

Other passengers said, however, that the new fare rise was acceptable when considering the subway’s rapid services and journeys, which reduce their traveling time, especially during the rush hour when they face traffic congestion on the roads most of the time. (TNA)


Three panels set up to oversee major state projects

In an attempt to effectively monitor the country’s economic growth and development, the Thai Ministry of Finance is setting up three committees to oversee major state projects, according to Finance Minister Thanong Bidaya.

Thanong told journalists here on Wednesday that the three committees would be in charge of supervising government mega projects, entire restructuring of the tax system and macro economic monitoring.

The first two committees will be chaired by Permanent Secretary for Finance Suparut Kawatkul, while the third committee on macro economic supervision will be headed by an honorary advisor of the ministry’s Fiscal Policy Research Institute Olarn Chaiprawat, who is also a most renowned Thai economist.

The committee on mega project supervision would be responsible for overseeing financial sources and the efficient implementation of the state mega projects over the next four years, while the committee on overhauled tax system supervision would be in charge of conducting studies on new appropriate tax structures to facilitate the country’s expanded trade and economic activities over the next 10 years when Thailand would fully engage in free trade area (FTA) agreements with several allied countries, Thanong noted.

The committee on macro economic supervision would oversee the country’s macro economic policies and propose measures to address economic problems, if any, he disclosed.

Members of the third committee include top economists from various agencies and institutes, including those of the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI), to help brainstorm ideas for the country’s steady macro economic expansion, according to the finance minister. (TNA)


Thailand to be ‘slum-free’ by 2008, says PM

Thailand will be declared a ‘slum-free’ country within the next three years, according to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Presiding a ceremony marking ‘World Housing Day’, organized by the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security at Sanam Luang royal ceremonial ground Tuesday, the prime minister said that his administration would turn shabby houses in all slum areas into ‘durable houses’ over the next three years.

PM Thaksin Shinawatra

“By the year 2008, there will be no more slum areas in our country and Thailand will be declared ‘slum-free’,” said Thaksin.

“The government will use unlimited budgets to help the poor, a powerful force of the Thai economy, to improve their living and to give opportunities to their children equal to those of richer families,” the Thai leader vowed.

Thaksin promised that he would work hard over the next three to four years to eliminate poverty.

“As long as I’m still the prime minister, I’ll take care of all Thais to make them happy, have a hopeful life and fulfill their basic needs, especially the housing need,” he said.

“Those who are deeply impoverished will be given free houses, while those who are self-supporting but economically reliable will be assisted with soft loans to build their houses through the government-sponsored ‘Bank for the Poor’ Project,” he noted.

The prime minister said the government would also begin to restructure people’s debts from October 18.

The United Nations marks the first Monday of October as ‘World Housing Day’ and the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, with cooperation from UN Habitat and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), along with local civic groups and agencies, observe the day.

The cabinet, meeting in Kalasin on Tuesday, also endorsed a plan to provide more funds to 3,270 villages remaining under the government’s small, medium and large-scale (SML) village fund development project by the end of October.

Most villages entitled for the SML fund nationwide, nearly 35,000, have already been helped by the funds, worth Bt 8.2 billion (US$205 million) in total.

The cabinet also approved a poverty alleviation plan proposed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives. Additionally, the prime minister, himself, instructed agencies concerned to accelerate implementing income generating plans for the public. (TNA)


New banknote honors King Rama V who abolished Thai slavery

The Bank of Thailand (BOT) will issue a new Bt.100 banknote later this month in honor of King Rama V The Great.

The new banknote will have an image of King Bhumibol Adulyadej (King Rama IX) on one side, as usual, and the other side will depict King Rama V the Great, known also as Chulalongkorn the Great. These new banknotes will be issued on October 21, according to a BOT announcement.

The new banknote commemorates the 100th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in Thailand and honors King Rama V the Great, said the BOT announcement. (TNA)


PM sues media tycoon for Bt 500 million for libel over Supreme Patriarch appointment

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra sued a media tycoon, Sonthi Limthongkul, the founder of Manager Newspaper, for libel on Monday seeking Bt 500 million (US$ 12.5 million) in damage compensation.

The prime minister’s lawyer Thana Benchathikul announced that he had filed the libel suit against Sonthi as first defendant and Sarocha Porn-udomsak, mediator of an ex-Modernine TV program entitled “Thailand Weekly”, as second defendant, following allegations broadcast against the prime minister involving the nomination of an acting Supreme Patriarch early last month.

His Holiness Somdet Phra Yanasangvara, the Supreme Patriarch, who is now 92 years old, celebrated his birthday Sunday in a public audience at Wat Bowonnivet Vihara.

Sonthi allegedly criticized Thaksin regarding the nomination of an acting supreme patriarch as the Supreme Patriarch had not appeared in public for approximately one year.

Thana said Sonthi’s accusation might have considerably blemished Thaksin’s reputation in the eyes of the Thai people nationwide.

The court scheduled an initial hearing of the criminal case for December 26.

Meanwhile, the prime minister’s lawyer filed a separate civil suit against Thai Day Dot Com Co. as first defendant, Sonthi as second defendant and Sarocha as third defendant, following the broadcast of an article entitled “Stray Lamb” in the Thailand Weekly program and on a website. The prime minister is seeking compensation for alleged damage done by those persons. The court has scheduled an initial hearing on the civil case for March 13, 2006. (TNA)


Gold prices to further rise due to speculation

Gold prices in the domestic market are expected to rise further due to speculation by hedge funds, but they will not exceed Bt 10,000 per one baht in gold weight, according to the President of the Gold Traders Association, Chitti Tangsitpakdi.

Chitti said on Sunday that the current gold prices now stand at around Bt 9,200 per one baht in weight, slightly lower than its record high of Bt 9,250 recently, and a sharp rise from Bt 7,650 earlier this year.

He said it was possible that the local gold prices could increase, but they would not reach Bt 10,000 per one baht weight within this year.

Speculation by hedge funds pushed the gold prices on the global market to rise unrealistically, said Chitti.

He said current gold prices were, however, not too expensive because the price used to be as high as US$700 per ounce at an earlier time when the global economy boomed and demand for gold was high. Now, world gold prices stand at around US$470 per ounce, with a chance that the prices on the overseas market would advance to US$500 per ounce. He believes that the price of gold will be volatile for a short term, and that prospective buyers should be cautious and buy only small amounts because the price could fall in the future. (TNA)