OIC assures on insurance: Commission seeks to restore public confidence in the industry reeling from the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic. The Office of the Insurance Commission (OIC) has vowed to tighten its supervision to restore public confidence in the industry, which has been hit by cash crunches during the prolonged pandemic. Bangkok Post
MOF reported TH public debt end of December at Bt9.644 trln, account for 59.57% of GDP mom, expects descending trend as GDP starts to improve.
Tour bubble plan in works: Talks with China, Malaysia ‘this month’. The government will open discussions to set up travel bubbles with China and Malaysia this month to attract more foreign visitors, following the resumption of the Test & Go scheme on Feb 1. Bangkok Post
State eyes options to retain fuel cap: Borrowing to surge to maintain funding. The government is looking for additional sources of funding to finance its energy subsidies, as its financial assistance is running low while global oil prices are approaching US$100 a barrel. Bangkok Post
Unemployment eased in Q4: Rate down to 1.6% from 2.3% in Q3. Thailand’s unemployment rate eased in the fourth quarter of last year, and bachelor’s degree holders still maintain the highest unemployment rate, according to the latest survey by the National Statistical Office. Bangkok Post
KTB preps for listing of Alibaba depositary receipts: Krungthai Bank (KTB) is set to issue subscriptions for the initial public offering (IPO) of Alibaba depositary receipts (DR) from Feb 14-17. The move makes this the first DR in Thailand to represent the shares of a leading global tech company like Alibaba. The DR is traded in baht with a minimum trading amount of one DR. Bangkok Post
State mulls waiver for tax on stock trading: Possible U-turn after pressure from Fetco. The Finance Ministry is considering the Federation of Thai Capital Market Organizations’ (Fetco) proposal to extend the waiver of the transaction tax for stock trades because reimposing it can cause trading costs to increase by 70% for general investors and 170% for foreign investors. Bangkok Post
Cabinet okays B41bn BCG action plan for 2022-27: The cabinet yesterday approved an action plan to drive bio-, circular and green (BCG) economic development between 2022 and 2027 with a total budget of almost 41 billion baht. Bangkok Post
New oil drilling licences set to be offered for Gulf sites: Authorities are planning to call for bids for new petroleum exploration and production licences in the Gulf of Thailand this April after a delay of 15 years, according to the Department of Mineral Fuels. The licences, to be granted under the 24th round of auctions covering three offshore areas, does not include the Erawan and Bongkot gas blocks, where rights to petroleum exploration and production only change hands for new operators. Bangkok Post
All seven cabinet ministers of the Bhumjaithai Party will not cast votes on a controversial proposal by the Interior Min and the BMA to extend the Green Line concession to BTS, reaffirming its protest against the plan. Latest sign of rift within the coalition government, amid calls by few private orgs for a house dissolution to pave way for new election.
