Additional train-line financing from Japan

The total budget for the Purple Line is Bt37 billion.

The JBIC is considering providing another Bt80 billion for the Red Line.

Thanachart raises its deposit rates

Thanachart Bank has raised deposit rates 0.125-0.5 percentage point, with immediate effect, for its three- and six-month time-deposit accounts.

The move follows the Monetary Policy Committee's decision to raise the policy rate 25 basis points on concerns about the negative real-interest rates, the bank said. 

Price of longan doubles from 2007

Longan prices this year doubled from last year, due to the lower output in the 2008 harvest season and higher demand for dried longan, said Banchakarn Polchomchuen, president of The Model Scheme Network of Thai Longan.

Output this year was 200,000 tonnes, half of the original target. Also, there has been high demand from China ahead of the Olympic Games. Premium fresh longan is priced at Bt24 a kilogram, while the dried longan price has climbed to Bt80 per kilogram.

Drop in smuggling of oil expected

Oil-smuggling along the southern border is expected to fall following the waiver of the excise tax, which narrows the gap in the price of diesel from Malaysia and diesel in the Kingdom from Bt8 a litre to Bt3, according to the Excise Department.

Cheap clothes getting even cheaper

Famous clothing brands are still selling well among consumers, but those in the medium and low markets have become cheaper, forcing manufacturers to cope with lower margins amid higher production costs, said Pipop Chokwatana, managing director of New City (Bangkok).

Suppliers now have to offer discounts, as consumers delay buying new clothes, he said. He urged government assistance to offset rising energy costs, as manufacturers have been instructed to maintain their prices.

Planned lottery shake-up on schedule

The new lottery-distribution system will be ready within three months as planned, with the new plan to be discussed with the Government Lottery Office next week, said comptroller-general Piyapan Nimmanahae-minda as chairman of the office.

He said clear government policy would ensure a reshuffle, as the office's contracts with 64 distributors had expired about eight months ago.