Department of Revenue to issue law to tax e-commerce business. There will be 3 actions: 1) cancelling VAT exemptions on some goods valued at under Bt1,500. 2) Stating that e-commerce firms are required to pay VAT. 3) Taxing online entities Google, YouTube, Facebook and Line. (Khao Sod, 9/4/18)

World Bank raises Thailand 2018 growth forecast. Thailand’s economy is expected to grow 4.1% this year, up from 3.6% predicted last August, as the recovery is broadening, the World Bank said on Monday. While rapid export growth continues to fuelling the economy, an increase in capacity utilization and acceleration in capital goods imports suggest a nascent domestic demand recovery, the World Bank said in a statement. (Bangkok Post, 10/4/18)

Somkid to discuss with BOT, Minister of Finance, SET-SEC, and Minister of Commerce regarding US-China trade war, which goods they expect to be affected and how they plan to respond. The BOT and Ministry of Commerce are concerned that products those two counties bar might be dumped in Thailand. (Khao Sod, 10/4/18)

NBTC steps away from payment pleas. The telecom regulator has finally backed off support for assisting the country’s two mobile giants after facing weeks of heavy criticism from academics and the public sector, who argue that Advanced Info Service (AIS) and True Move have not suffered enough to warrant support. (Bangkok Post, 10/4/18)

Government to help out digital TV players this week. This will be good news for WORK, RS, MONO, BEC, GRAMMY, and MCOT as it will help lower operating costs. (Khao Hoon, 11/4/18)

ADB forecasts 2018 GDP growth at 4%. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) forecasts Thailand’s economic growth to inch up to 4% this year and 4.1% next, underpinned by increasing public and private investment and domestic consumption. )Bangkok Post, 12/4/18(

Brushing aside fears of rising household debt. The Bank of Thailand has sought to dispel fears that the ratio of household debt to GDP accelerated in the final quarter of last year, saying the higher family debt load could be attributed to seasonal spending by mostly middle- to upper-income earners. )Bangkok Post, 12/4/18(

Federal Reserve policymakers all saw strengthening economy, inflation: minutes. All of the Federal Reserve’s policymakers felt that the U.S. economy would firm further and that inflation would rise in the coming months, minutes of the central bank’s last policy meeting on March 20-21 released on Wednesday showed. The readout of the meeting, at which the Fed unanimously voted to raise borrowing costs by a quarter percentage point, also showed that policymakers were wary about the impact of the Trump administration’s trade and fiscal policies. )Reuters, 12/4/18)

Fed Chair Powell says growth has picked up enough to justify rate hikes. In his first speech on the economy since taking over at the Federal Reserve, Chairman Jerome Powell said Friday that growth is running at a solid pace and continued gradual rate hikes will be necessary. While acknowledging challenges from low productivity and lagging labor force participation caused in part by the opioid crisis, Powell’s remarks were mostly positive about the state of the economy. (CNBC, 6/4/18)

Trade war fears already hurting the economy, ECB’s Coeure says. A trade war triggered by U.S. tariffs would cause a global recession – and the mere fear of one is already hurting the economy, European Central Bank board member Benoit Coeure said on Friday. Investors have been wondering whether an economic slowdown, aggravated if not caused by global trade tensions, could delay the end of the ECB’s exit from its aggressive monetary stimulus, aimed at boosting inflation in the euro zone. (Reuters, 6/4/18)