Latest:

• MICE SET FOR SLOWER GROWTH

  The growth rate of the international and local meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) market is expected to drop by 5-10 per cent next year due to political turbulence and the global financial crisis.

• Tourists call off trips to ancient ruins

  Most tourists intending to cross from Thailand to visit Cambodia's Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom have cancelled their trips due to the outbreak of violence along the border. Thai airlines servicing Cambodia are, however, operating as normal.

• Common ticket for commuters

  The Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning insists on moving forward with the common ticketing scheme aimed at making Bangkok's mass transit systems seamless.

• Thai car sales fall 10.5% in Sept

  Thai car sales fell for a fourth consecutive month in September, the industry reported yesterday as the global credit crisis compounded domestic political troubles already affecting local business.

• Briefs

  Cooking-oil price

• Most real-estate projects residential

  Property projects launched in the first nine months of the year had a combined value of Bt145.96 billion, of which 90 per cent was for residential projects, according to the latest report by the Agency for Real Estate Affairs (AREA).

• CPF: boost in shrimp wonton

  Charoen Pokphand Foods (CPF) will spend more than Bt100 million by 2010 to triple its capacity to produce shrimp wonton, to meet high demand in foreign markets, particularly the US.

• Thai firms prepare for evacuation

  The Nation

Keeping them smiling