Pheu Thai ups stakes in race: Sceptics worry about giving the party too much power. The Pheu Thai Party has recently revised its MP target, aiming to capture 310 House seats in the next polls – an ambitious scale-up from the 250 seats – and form a solid singleparty government. The move is seen by academics as a major task and tactic to intensify the campaign and to get rid of the pro-Prayut camp. Bangkok Post
Thailand Decides: Wage hikes could harm economy: Political parties are being urged to stop wooing voters by promising them unrealistic leaps in daily minimum wage rates which many experts warn will do more harm than good to the country’s economic system. Bangkok Post
Ethanol tax incentives mulled: The Finance Ministry stands ready to use tax measures to support the use of ethanol to produce bio-ethylene, a major feedstock used for making biobased polyethylene, says a ministry source who requested anonymity. Commonly known as PE, polyethylene is a type of plastic used for making a variety of products, including packaging materials and bottles. Bangkok Post
SCB ramps up growth outlook to 3.9%: SCB Economic Intelligence Center (EIC), the research arm of Siam Commercial Bank, has upgraded its Thai economic growth forecast for 2023 to 3.9% from 3.4% because local and global economic trends are better than expected. Bangkok Post
New tax reduction for land and buildings comes into effect: A 15% reduction in the land and building tax has taken effect, says Fiscal Policy Office (FPO) directorgeneral Pornchai Thiraveja. Bangkok Post
Thailand’s general election is scheduled for May 14, with early ballots cast on May 7, said the EC. Poll sees Bt100-120b circulating, boosting GDP by 0.5% – 0.7%.
Massive outlay: Seeking alternative energy opportunities. Electricity Generating expects to spend 30 billion baht to increase capacity by 1 gigawatt. Electricity Generating Plc (Egco), the power generation arm of Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, plans to spend 30 billion baht on growing its power business this year by increasing capacity by 1 gigawatt. Additional capacity of 250 megawatts is projected from various new projects, including wind farms in Taiwan and the US, which would start commercial operations this year, said Thepparat Theppitak, president of Egco Group. Bangkok Post
Rice panel eyes 6% increase in output: The government’s marketing-led production strategy calls for rice output of 29.3 million tonnes of paddy for the 2023/24 season. According to government spokesman Anucha Burapachaisri, the first meeting of the National Rice Policy and Management Committee in 2023 chaired by the prime minister on Monday acknowledged a rice production plan for the 2023/24 season that is a 6% increase from 27.6 million tonnes the previous season. Bangkok Post
Energy Regulatory commission(ERC) approved a uniform power tariff for electricity sales May-Aug period at Bt4.77/ kWh vs current at Bt4.72/unit for households & Bt5.33/unit for commercial users.
Q4 condo transfers hit 5-year high: The value of condos transferred to foreigners nationwide in last year’s fourth quarter reached the highest level in five years, with the number of units sold during the period being the second highest, according to the Real Estate Information Center (REIC). Vichai Viratkapan, REIC’s acting director-general, said 3,780 condo units worth 19.5 billion baht were transferred to foreigners in the fourth quarter of 2022, up 82% and 96%, respectively, compared with the corresponding period in 2021. Bangkok Post
