Showing 1 - 10 of 37
Going bananas over Chinese investment
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 20/04/2016
» Kluai hom -- or the Cavendish banana -- found itself in the spotlight recently on social media and in local news. The issue involves Chinese investors renting land in Chiang Rai to grow kluai hom. Local villagers complained about water because the farm sucked up a large volume of it, leaving so little for local farmers. Fears about the use of chemical fertilisers also arose. Another problem is that the practice might be against the law, which reserves the occupation of farmer for Thais. The public is alarmed because Chinese-backed kluai hom farming in Laos has already proved a disaster. Toxic pesticides are dumped into the river, while environmental management is below par.
Open economy evangelist
Asia focus, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 14/08/2017
» New Zealand has long been known for kiwi fruit, lamb and the invincible All Blacks, the fearsome national rugby team. But in the global economic sphere, the country is also known as a champion of open economies and free trade. Last year, the country was rated the world's second-best place to do business by Forbes magazine. That helps confirm its reputation in the field of trade -- and explains why the British government chose a New Zealander to head its post-Brexit trade negotiating team.
Did Apec elite taste enough of Thailand?
Oped, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 26/11/2022
» What lasting benefits will Thailand enjoy having just wrapped up its hosting of Apec 2022 -- a global trade forum held in Bangkok last week? How will the much-touted meeting make Thailand better off in the long run? And will the excited chatter about a "BCG" economy ever amount to more than an acronym few working in those targeted sectors can decypher to give a full name to?
Yingluck gone but populism sticks around
News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 30/08/2017
» Ousted premier Yingluck Shinawatra has gone -- some might say -- with the wind. And the way she fled the country was so sly, like a Hollywood film noir where the femme fatale coolly sashays out of the scene having outwitted everyone.
It need not be the end of the road
News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 27/06/2016
» Route 3077, a small lane that cuts through the heart of Khao Yai National Park, a Unesco World Heritage site, is one of my favourite drives. Several times my family brought me to this national park when I was very young.
The need for big data to prevent a second wave
Oped, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 16/07/2020
» The recent detection of Covid-19 infecting a member of an Egyptian military group who visited the kingdom and a diplomat's daughter in the kingdom has heightened fears that a second wave of the disease will occur.
Riding the waves of the pot rush
News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 15/04/2019
» Daycha Siripatra, founder of the Khaokwan Foundation, would have remained largely unknown had the police and anti-narcotics officials not raided the foundation's premises in Suphan Buri province and seized 200 cannabis plants, some marijuana extract, oil and seeds.
Going Dutch can transform water to gold
News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 19/10/2018
» The National Legislative Assembly (NLA) finally passed the long-awaited water resource bill early this month, with 191 votes in favour, two votes against and six abstentions.
No quick fix to our higher education ills
News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 31/08/2018
» I don't know whether I should laugh or cry about the product of our government's hard and diligent work in its efforts to reform Thailand's higher education.
A watershed moment for Thai mining
News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 23/03/2018
» This month marks a landmark moment for the mining industry.