Readers of RES magazine, which has a circulation of 45,000, also found Thailand the best shopping destination and the best for cuisine. They voted Phuket the best charter-flight destination, followed by Koh Lanta in Krabi province. - The Nation. 

Ccredit-card promo: Fuel freebie at PTT kiosks from HSBC

From Thursday until July 31, holders of HSBC credit cards will be given up to 3 per cent cash back on their fuel bills when filling up at more than 800 PTT petrol stations around the country.

Under the campaign, customers are entitled to a refund of no more than Bt150 per month. - The Nation.

Petroleum exploration: UAE starts pumping oil in Gulf of Thailand

United Arab Emirates petroleum-investment company Aabar has announced that its Singaporean-based subsidiary, Pearl Energy,

has begun producing oil at its Jasmine B platform in the Gulf of Thailand at an initial rate of 2,300 barrels a day.

The oil flow began last week

from a single development well named B2. Five more development wells will be brought into production in the next few days in the initial phase of a drilling programme to provide a total of 16 development wells.

"We are confident that Pearl's oil-production capacity will increase significantly in coming months," said Aabar's chairman Sohail Al Mazrui. "This will certainly add value to Aabar's position as an oil and gas producer." - The Nation.