Showing 1 - 10 of 35
S44 misused to bail out big business
News, Umesh Pandey, Published on 18/02/2018
» Earlier this week, General Rolex -- also known as Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon -- came out to say that the government had agreed in principle to give the winners of the 24 digital television and the 4G telecommunication licences a break from what is being perceived as being a loss-making venture.
Beware of the bull
Spectrum, Umesh Pandey, Published on 21/01/2018
» 'Sell your house and buy stocks," a banker told Spectrum over dinner a few months ago.
Government reshuffle offers hope
News, Umesh Pandey, Published on 26/11/2017
» The much-awaited fifth reshuffle of the Prayut Chan-o-cha government was announced late on Friday and although many had anticipated a deeper reduction in the number of men in uniform, the fact that a quarter of these men in green were let go was in itself an achievement.
Thailand must pass English test
News, Umesh Pandey, Published on 12/11/2017
» It would not come as a surprise to anybody that the latest English proficiency index showed that Thailand's standing remained close to where it was a year ago. Thailand was ranked 53rd out of 80 non-native English-speaking countries and territories in the EF English Proficiency Index 2017. This was a slight improvement from its 56th position out of 72 countries in 2016 and 62nd place out of 70 countries in 2015.
Consumers still lack confidence
News, Umesh Pandey, Published on 03/09/2017
» For those readers who have not read the business stories over the past week, let me recap some of the interesting issues that were written about by our intrepid business writers. Stories such as the Revenue Department coming out to openly state that their tax collection for the first 10 months of the fiscal year (October 2016 to July 2017) was 4% below the target came as a shock to many. The reason given for the shortfall was the lower collection of value added tax (VAT) that you and I pay for consuming.
Small firms' debts point to problems
News, Umesh Pandey, Published on 23/07/2017
» Over the past week data coming out of the government and the private sector are showing signs that could be worrisome in the medium to longer term for the country. Rising household debt, increasing non-performing loans among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and strengthening of the baht are all compounding the problems.
Decisive and diversified
Asia focus, Umesh Pandey, Published on 24/04/2017
» Many critics wrote off Kumar Mangalam Birla when he took the helm of one of India's leading businesses as a 28-year-old rookie. But the reviews in recent years have been mostly positive for the man who has helped build a conglomerate that is among the world leaders in the fields in which it operates.
Bangkok on the road to nowhere
News, Umesh Pandey, Published on 26/02/2017
» The past week saw lots of interesting stories, but the one that caught my attention was about the traffic jams. Best of all was the reaction by our government on the reasons for the rise in congestion on the streets in Bangkok.
Time for all Americans to come together
News, Umesh Pandey, Published on 11/11/2016
» The historic outcome of the US presidential election has left the world in shock while at the same time it has generated a lot of questions for the global community to ponder.
Our long holiday from reality
Asia focus, Umesh Pandey, Published on 09/05/2016
» This week's cover story in Asia Focus started with a simple question prompted by the endless string of holidays Thailand has been having. Can there be too much of a good thing?