Month: January 2021

Phu Kradueng National Park in Loei province will reopen on February 1 after being closed to visitors since January 5 to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Park Director Samret Phusaensri said tourists must follow preventive measures, including pre-registering via QUEQ application, checking in and out on ThaiChana platform, having their ID card scanned, passing thermal screening and wearing face masks.

He added that those who travelled from provinces in the maximum control zone must present a certificate stating that they were permitted to travel by the provincial authority.

Bangkok Expressway and Metro (BEM) has installed tap-and-scan points on the Si Rat-Outer Ring Road Expressway and the Udon Ratthaya Expressway (Bang Pa-in-Pak Kret).

Contactless payment can be made with a Visa debit or credit card (PayWave enabled) or a Mastercard (Paypass enabled) from Friday onwards.

The procedure is simple and convenient: stop at the booth, lower the window and touch the card to WiFi-like symbol on the payment device.

Five million people have signed up for the government’s Rao Chana COVID-19 payout campaign, in the first half day since the opening of online registration. More people can still sign up until 12th February, with every person meeting the criteria to receive the payout without any quota limit.

The Ministry of Finance this morning opened online registration for the government’s new Rao Chana COVID-19 payout campaign.

Online registration is required for eligible persons who are not holders of the state welfare card, or have not signed up for either the 50:50 co-pay or the We Travel Together campaign before.

Online registration is available every day from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. until 12th February. Everyone who meets the criteria will receive the payout without a quota limit. Registered persons can start checking their approval status online from 8th February onwards.

To register, applicants must provide their personal information, including their full name, national ID number, date of birth, and their mobile phone number. They will have to confirm their registration by filling in a One-Time Password sent to their mobile phone number provided in the final step of registration.

Some people who signed up for the campaign today said they didn’t experience any delays or encounter errors with the website at all.

The Export-Import Bank of Thailand (Exim Bank) plans to propose a loan measure to the Finance Ministry early next month to help crippled airlines retain staff.

Exim Bank President Pisit Serewiwattana said the proposal aims to beef up liquidity for these airlines by offering financial liquidity through loans.

He said the amount of loans will depend on the cost of hiring personnel for each airline, and loans will be principally offered to Thai-owned airline businesses.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will allow government agencies, private companies, farmers and the public to apply to grow hemp from January 29 after the Public Health Ministry removed the plant species from the category V narcotics list in November.

FDA vice Secretary-General Supattra Boonserm said people can apply to grow hemp for commercial, medical, educational, research or for traditional use.

She said hemp fibre and its oil extract are also allowed for use as material or ingredients in the textile, food and beverage, food supplementary, and cosmetics industries.

Thai manufacturers and exporters have to improve their competitiveness in the European market after the EU-Vietnam free-trade agreement (FTA) became effective in August 2020.

Trade Negotiations Department Director-General Auramon Supthaweethum said EU buyers may consider importing products from Vietnam instead of Thailand if they find cheaper goods there.

According to Mrs Auramon, Thai entrepreneurs need to speed up differentiating their products, focusing more on quality development and standards upgrades as well as optimizing export privileges from existing FTAs between Thailand and key partners.