Category: Industry

People living within a five kilometre radius of a chemical factory in Bang Phli district of Samut Prakan province have been asked to evacuate their homes temporarily for their safety, because poisonous fumes have been released following a fire there, which broke out early Monday morning.

Pollution Control Department Director-General Atthapol Charoenchansa told Thai PBS today (Monday) that the chemical is used in the production of plastic pellets and Styrofoam, adding that, when the chemical burns, it emits carbon monoxide and carcinogenic styrene monomer.

Fumes from the burned chemicals will cause eye irritation and, if inhaled, can cause stomach ache and nausea, said Mr. Atthapol.

The evacuation was ordered by Mr. Somsak Kaewsena, the district chief officer of Bang Phli district, as the chemical fire was still on fire late this morning. The evacuees are gathering at the Triam Parinyanuson School and at the head office of the Ruamkatanyu Foundation.

The fire started at about 3am at a warehouse belonging to the Ming Dih Chemical Company, in Soi Kingkaew 21, Racha Thewa sub-district in Bang Phli district of Samut Prakan, at about 3am Monday morning.

Some witnesses, who live in the neighborhood of the factory, claimed they heard explosions before the fire broke out at the warehouse, which eventually spread to the factory.

The explosions damaged some of the houses located near the factory and one trailer truck, parked nearby, was torched.

Firemen spent about two hours pouring water and chemical foam into the burning warehouse, but could not control the fire, sending a huge plume of hazardous fumes into the sky.

Mr. Atthapol said a special team from the Pollution Control Department has been sent to the scene to measure the amount of hazardous chemical in the environment around the storage facility.

He also said that he had learned that there are still about 20,000 litres of unidentified chemicals near the scene of the fire which, he added, could only be extinguished by chemical foam.

The Chularat 9 Airport Hospital has ordered the postponement of COVID vaccination appointments until July 10th.

Meanwhile, the Health Department is advising people living around the factory to wear face masks to protect themselves against the hazardous fumes.

Source: Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS)

Thailand’s Fisheries Department has decided to ban the breeding and farming of 13 alien aquatic species, defined as non-indigenous species introduced by human activities, which are deemed to be a threat to native aquatic species and the local ecological system.

Alien aquatic species have had extensive impacts on native species, said Mr. Chalermchai Suwanrat, deputy director-general of the Fisheries Department, citing the case of the Blackchin tilapia (Sarotherodon melanotheron), which slipped into some shrimp farms three years ago, causing extensive damage to the farms and native species.

As a result, he said that the department issued a ministerial announcement banning the import, export, transit or farming of Blackchin tilapia, Mayan cichlid (Mayaheros urophthalmus) and Zebra cichlid (Maylandia estherae), effective as of March 19th, 2018, adding that farmers were told to kill the three species and turn them into organic fertilizer.

The more recent ban on the breeding and farming of the 13 alien aquatic species will come into effect August 16th, 2021. Farmers are advised to inform their provincial fisheries office if they still have any of the species in their possession or to deliver them to their local fisheries officials if they no longer want them.

Alternatively, they can consume them or sell them after they are killed. If any of the 13 species are to be kept for research or study, permission must be sought from the Fisheries Department.

The 13 alien aquatic species subject to the ban are Blackchin tilapia, Mayan cichlid, Zebra cichlid, Peacock cichlid, Butterfly peacock bass, Rainbow trout, Sea trout, Largemouth black bass, Goliath tiger fish, Giant tiger fish, Jade perch, all kinds of GMO fish, Chinese mitten crab, Triangle shell mussel and Blue-ringed octopus.

Source: Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS)

Bangkok’s main international airport, Suvarnabhumi, remains open as normal with planes landing and taking off as usual, said Deputy Director of Suvarnabhumi Airport Kittiya Kontong today (Monday).

A huge plume of black smoke, billowing from a burning chemical factory in Bang Phli district of Samut Prakan, can be clearly seen in the skies over parts of the airport.

He said that he has been in close contact with the control tower and the Aeronautical Meteorology Division of the Meteorological Department and has been assured that the fire and the fumes from the burning factory will not impact aviation operations.

He added, however, that the airport has provided support to all the agencies engaged in providing relief and public disaster mitigation operations to help the affected people.

Moreover, a space has been reserved near the firefighting unit, on the western wing of the airport, to provide logistical support for helicopters, from the Department of Public Disaster and Mitigation, being used to fight the chemical fire.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered all relevant agencies to provide relief to people living around the factory, who have evacuated to a school and the Ruamkatanyu Foundation.

Deputy government spokeswoman Traisulee Traisoranakul said the prime minister reminded officials to treat the safety of people as first priority, especially against the hazardous fumes.

One fireman, from Lat Luang municipality in Samut Prakan, was killed and four others injured as they tried to put out the fire. About two dozen other people were also reported injured.

Source: Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS)

Thailand’s currency collapsed on July 2, 1997, as market speculation forced the country to abandon its fixed exchange rate and the central bank depleted its coffers to protect the baht.

The baht plummeted from Bt25 per US dollar to around Bt50 before eventually recovering to the Bt30-Bt32 level we see now.

The baht debacle came as a shock to many, as the Finance Ministry and Bank of Thailand had been insisting that the currency would never be devalued. On the back of these assurances, companies kept borrowing in US dollars while lending in baht because of the perceived interest-rate arbitrage.

“Many companies did not have a natural hedge because their revenue was in baht, but their interest costs and debts were in dollars. So, when the baht was devalued, their debt burden rose by more than 100 percent and turned from an asset to a liability, triggering bankruptcies,” said Kobsidthi Silpachai, chief of capital markets research at Kasikornbank.

Many finance companies that facilitated this so-called arbitrage for Thai firms also got caught with soaring non-performing loans, he said.

Meanwhile, customers also started panicking and withdrawing their deposits, which accelerated the demise of many small banks and private companies.

Once a rising star

Thailand had achieved high economic growth between 1962 and 1996, hitting double digits in some years. The high growth was largely driven by investment expansion, which was blamed for inflating the economic bubble in the run-up to 1997.

The baht’s collapse burst this bubble – but it also contributed to the expansion of the export market in later years. Before the 1997 crisis, Thailand had a current account deficit equivalent to 8 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) as the country invested more than it saved.

Once the financial crisis was over, that current account deficit turned into a surplus which helped the baht rebound.

Yet, despite the rebound, Thailand’s economic growth has been slow since 1997 – averaging around 3-4 percent a year.

The country adopted a floating exchange rate regime to remain flexible in dealing with market volatility.

The baht has fluctuated from being overvalued to being undervalued against the US dollar but has been steadily overvalued since 2016, Kobsidthi added.

Lesson learned?

Thai businesses, meanwhile, should have learned from the 1997 crisis that there are no free lunches. The baht should reflect economic fundamentals, such as the level of inflation, the balance of payments, and economic growth rate, said Kobsidthi.

In recent years, however, the baht’s appreciation has had an adverse impact on exports.

“The rising value of the baht has not been reflected in the fundamentals of the Thai economy, which have been very weak since 1997,” said Teerana Bhongmakapat, former dean of Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Economics.

There are many factors contributing to the appreciation of the baht despite slower economic growth, and a weaker baht may not necessarily boost exports, said Teerana.

The biggest problem is a drop in investment relative to savings. Before the crisis, Thailand was a debtor country due to low savings, but relatively high investment. Now, Thailand has less investment but larger savings, much of which it exports abroad.

Before 1997, Thai businesses borrowed too much in foreign currency. But Thailand learned its lesson and is now careful about borrowing from overseas.

Private companies are also taking on less foreign debt or hedging sufficiently against their borrowing.

After the crisis, Thailand set up its National Credit Bureau, which now plays an important role in helping banks manage lending by making debtors’ credit ratings available to lenders.

Yet, against this backdrop, new problems have arisen. Public debt has now increased to nearly 60 percent of GDP.

“Populist policies and lack of continuous reforms have contributed to rising public debt. We introduced reforms in answer to the 1997 financial crisis but did not reform the economy to answer new challenges,” Teerana lamented.

He pointed out, for instance, that reporting of public debt in Thailand does not fully meet international standards, resulting in figures lower than the reality.

Under the current debt-reporting system, money owed by state enterprises is counted as public debt. But when the government sells off assets or reduces its holding in any state enterprise, the debt of that enterprise is no longer counted as public debt, Teerana pointed out.

Observers also point to a lack of reform in the public sector, which has ballooned and become more inefficient, resulting in higher consumption of public resources.

Regulatory burdens and bureaucracy have also piled costs on businesses and people. The Thai private sector has subsequently lost its competitiveness in the global market and our workforce is lacking skills, Teerana commented.

“We are in a silent crisis – a weakening economic structure,” he added.

Costly populist policies

Certain populist policies implemented after 1997, such as the universal healthcare scheme and village revolving fund implemented, did help narrow the inequality gap, said former finance minister Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala.

However, populist programs introduced later, like the rice subsidy schemes, were not financially feasible, he said.

Under these schemes, governments offered subsidies and welfare to citizens without raising taxes to fund them.

Instead, they depended on debt financing, which is not sustainable, Thirachai said.

Repeat not expected

Many economists believe Thailand has learned its lesson and will not suffer a repeat of the 1997 crisis.

However, new challenges have emerged.

Post-1997, Thailand is no longer a favored investment destination in the region. Foreign investors now choose Vietnam and Indonesia, said Pipat Luengnaruemitchai, a chief economist at Kiatnakin Phatra Securities.

Many factors are to blame for this, including an aging society, high cost of labor, shortage of unskilled labor and red tape. Thailand’s development has come to a point where it cannot move forward at a fast pace.

“We are now trapped in the middle-income country slot,” said Pipat.

The already weak economy is now being further weighed down by the COVID-19 crisis.

“The outbreak has proved that Thailand depends far too much on tourism, accounting for 20 percent of GDP. So, we need to diversify our economy,” Korbsidthi added.

Source: Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS)

Thailand’s National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has agreed to establish five panels to investigate the installation and maintenance of decorative lamp posts, in Racha Thewa sub-district, in Bang Phli district of Samut Prakan province since 2013, by the Racha Thewa Tambon Administration Organization (TAO).

According to NACC Deputy Secretary-General Niwatchai Kasemmongkol, the anti-graft watchdog has discovered the TAO’s budgetary spending, for fiscal years 2013, 2014 and 2018 through 2021, for the installation and maintenance of the lamp posts, was not in line with the Interior Ministry’s regulations pertaining to budgeting of local administration organizations.

It was also discovered, by the NACC, that the procurement process has favoured some companies and that some of the lamp posts are not up to the required standard.

Niwatchai said that each of the five investigative panels will concentrate on the Racha Thewa TAO’s spending in each fiscal year, adding that the activities of more than 20 individuals and entities, including former governors of Samut Prakan and ex-mayors of the Racha Thewa TAO, are being looked at.

The panels have 180 days to complete their investigations.

Installation of decorative, or “fancy” lamp posts has become a popular practice by TAOs in several provinces throughout Thailand. The decorative part of the lamp posts come in different styles and shapes, in accordance with the requirements of each TAO. For instance, the Racha Thewa lamp posts feature Kinnaree (half bird, half human) figurine. In Chiang Khong district of Chiang Rai, they feature the rare giant catfish of the Mekong River.

The Racha Thewa TAO, however, surpasses all other TAOs across the country for having spent about 669 million baht on the “fancy” lamp post project for the past seven years.

On June 22nd, as the lamp post controversy was still raging, the Racha Thewa TAO council approved the spending of an additional 68 million baht to install another 720 decorative lamp posts in 11 villages in the sub-district. Approval of the council’s resolution was later withheld by the mayor.

Each lamp post was estimated to cost about 94,000 baht, which was criticized as being overpriced.

Source: Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS)

Thailand’s household debt in the first quarter of 2021 increased to 14.13 trillion baht, representing 90.5% of gross domestic product (GDP), compared to 89.4% of GDP for the fourth quarter of last year, and is at its highest in 18 years, when the Bank of Thailand started collecting data on household debt in the country, according to the Kasikorn Research Centre of Kasikorn Bank.

It attributed the rise to three types of borrowing, namely housing debt, business debt and debt to fund consumption.

Housing debt increased by 55.3 billion baht from last year’s fourth quarter, coinciding with the increase in sales of housing units in the 1-3 million baht and 3-5 million baht per unit price ranges. The buyers are regarded as having high or moderately high income who have not been badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and can still afford to pay the instalments.

Business debt increased by about 40 billion baht, as business operators experience liquidity problems and have to secure loans to carry on with their businesses.

Debt from consumption increased by 33.5 billion baht, as many households currently have insufficient income to meet their expenses, forcing them to borrow.

Kasikorn Research Centre conducted a survey of the debts and savings of people in and around Bangkok in March, which is before the third wave of pandemic, and in June. The results show that 59.6% of the respondents said their income has become unstable after June, compared to 56.2% in March, and the debt service ratio (DSR) for June is 46.9%, compared to 42.8% in March.

79.5% of the respondents are not sure whether their debt problem will improve in the second half of the year, while 26.6% accept that their debt problem will get worse.

45.3% of household debts are credit cards and personal loans, while leasing accounts for 25.3% and 14.3% for housing.

Debtors of banks and non-bank institutions, representing 1.69 million bank accounts, sought financial help in April, compared to 1.68 accounts in March, accounting for 12.4% of small debtors.

Household debt for this year is projected to increase 4.1%, to 90-92% of GDP, compared to last year’s 89-91% of GDP.

Source: Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS)