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)
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