Mr Pita's bid for prime minister faded away as Pheu Thai hit the ground running in its bid to assemble a government. The MFP will be up against its former ally and now the ruling party -- Pheu Thai. It was widely speculated the veteran Pheu Thai Party politician would be included in the cabinet line-up from the beginning. According to Mr Sutin, he also paid visits to other military figures who prefer to stay out of the media glare. It will set a precedent that a defence minister doesn't need to be a former serviceman.

Divided G20 in India to confront a sea of troublesPeople walk past a banner with flags of countries participating in the G20 summit in New DelhiNEW DELHI - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to forge consensus Saturday on a host of contentious issues from Ukraine to climate change, as G20 leaders hold their annual summit in New Delhi. The Group of 20 was conceived in the throes of the 2008 financial crisis as a way of managing the global economy. Even before it began, the importance of the New Delhi summit was called into question when China's Xi Jinping decided to skip the meeting and send his number two, Premier Li Qiang, to India instead. G20 countries account for around 85 percent of global climate warming emissions, making action in the forum crucial to real progress. Many G20 leaders fear their countries are already at risk of becoming collateral damage as the big beasts of world trade lock horns.

G20 gathers in India, without China's XiG20 leaders descended on New Delhi, with host Prime Minister Narendra Modi seizing a chance to occupy the geopolitical centre stage. (Photo: AFP)NEW DELHI - US President Joe Biden and other G20 leaders gathered in New Delhi on Friday for their annual summit, as deep divisions between heavyweight members and a no-show by China's Xi Jinping called the bloc's relevance into question. Even before it began, the importance of the G20 summit was undermined when China's Xi decided to skip the meeting and send his number two, Premier Li Qiang instead. But a failure of G20 leaders to agree a joint summit statement, a once routine diplomatic affair, would be a major embarrassment. Many G20 leaders fear their economies are already at risk of becoming collateral damage as the big beasts of world trade lock horns.

(Photo: Chevron via Reuters)Liquefied natural gas workers at key Chevron Corp sites in Australia began partial strikes on Friday after talks failed to reach an agreement in a dispute that has rattled global gas markets. Since then, Woodside has reached a compromise deal with workers, while Chevron and its workers remain apart on several key claims. The impact on LNG shipments is not likely to be immediate, and gas consumption is currently muted in both Europe and Asia. Tokyo Gas Co, which also has a stake in the plant, said it is checking on impact to its LNG procurement. The region relies heavily on stable LNG shipments after losing most of its pipeline-supplied gas from Russia in 2022.

Aircraft operated by Thai AirAsia and Thai Lion Air at Don Mueang airport in Bangkok. "Airlines cannot get a strong load factor except during long holidays. Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, right, met with leaders of eight airlines on Aug 28 and vowed to upgrade tourist entry services. Wichan CharoenkiatpakulNuntaporn Komonsittivate, head of commercial operations at Thai Lion Air, said the average load factor for its domestic flights dropped to 75%. IATA yesterday reported an increase of 105.8% for Asia-Pacific airlines in July traffic compared to the corresponding period last year, while load factor increased to 84.5%.

BoI okays 20 projects by Taiwan electronics firmsThe Board of Investment (BoI) has approved 20 new investment projects worth 30 billion baht from Taiwan-based electronics companies that want to use Thailand as their new export base. The BoI granted investment incentives to the Taiwanese firms during January and August. Semiconductors from Taiwan command a 65% global market share, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co considered a market leader. The BoI plans to invite more electronics firms to invest in Thailand under its five-year investment promotion strategy. "We are in talks with more Taiwanese firms in order to encourage them to invest here," he said.

(Photo: Wichan Charoenkiatpakul)Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit plans to acquire some flight slots from the air force to serve growing demand from airlines to boost tourism. Mr Suriya said on Thursday that that he learned from Airports of Thailand that the air force had many unused flight slots at the country’s airports. He subsequently asked Defence Minister Sutin Klungsang to look into allocating some of the unused slots to commercial flights. “A share of the slots should increase the number of (commercial) flights by 100-150 per day,” Mr Suriya said. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) last month expressed concern about a possible shortage of flight slots in the coming high season.

Pheu Thai MPs said to favour Paetongtarn for party leaderPaetongtarn "Ung Ing" Shinawatra arrives at Pheu Thai headquarters after visiting her father Thaksin at Police General Hospital on Aug 29. (Photo: Varuth Hirunyatheb)Pheu Thai MPs are backing Paetongtarn “Ung Ing" Shinawatra to be the new party leader following the resignation of Cholnan Srikaew, according to Prasert Chanthararuangthong, the party's caretaker secretary-general. Dr Cholnan, 62, announced his resignation as party leader on Aug 30, saying he was keeping his word after the party decided to form a coalition government with two military-linked parties from the previous administration. Mr Prasert said many party MPs wanted Ms Paetongtarn to be the new leader. A source said Pheu Thai was preparing to announce the appointment of 21 party MPs to sit on the party’s whip with party-list MP Adisorn Piangkatebeing as government chief whip.

REUTERSThe Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking (JSCCIB) is looking into new trade issues, including the influx of Chinese goods, aiming to draft a new economic proposal for the Srettha Thavisin government. The import of cheap Chinese products is on the rise, which will also affect the trade balance between Thailand and China, said Mr Kriengkrai. The JSCCIB plans to consider on Thursday revising its growth and inflation projections as economic circumstances change. The export projection is based on the global economic slowdown and estimates for China's growth to decrease to 5.4-5.5%, down from a previous outlook of 6%, as well as rising interest rates. "The JSCCIB is monitoring global economic factors that may affect the Thai economy," said Mr Kriengkrai.

(Photo: Chanat Katanyu)A draft policy statement has been handed out to parliamentarians highlighting the Srettha government's priorities, including the 10,000-baht digital wallet scheme, addressing debt problems, cutting energy costs and revising the charter. The 52-page document submitted to MPs is for studying before Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin delivers it to parliament on Sept 11. The government will also seek to lower energy costs, including electricity, fuel and cooking gas, revamp energy use and promote the production of clean and renewable energy sources. For middle-term and long-term plans, the government plans to increase revenue through finding new markets abroad for Thai products and services. The draft also said the government would look to enhance the universal healthcare scheme and carry on with carbon-neutral policies.

Piyabutr calls for political prisoner dealThe new government should consider passing a new law to grant amnesty to all those facing criminal sentences in connection with their political activities regardless of their affiliations, said Piyabutr Saengkanokkul, secretary-general of the Progressive Movement, on Tuesday. However, amnesty should be granted to anyone prosecuted for their role in any political movement from 2005 until now, regardless of which political side they belonged to, Mr Piyabutr said. "This would, in reality, become a first step for Thai society to overcome political conflicts and begin fostering national unity," he said. Last October, the MFP proposed a similar amnesty for political cases as it unveiled its policy platform to kickstart the election campaign. The proposed amnesty, particularly for political offenders facing legal action since the 2014 coup, was the highlight of its proposed reforms.

Mr Srettha said he and cabinet ministers will take advice from His Majesty the King and use it as a guideline when carrying out their duties. What can be done quickly must be done first," the prime minister said. He also said he has yet to put a deputy prime minister in charge of national security. Asked when he will assess the performance of his cabinet ministers, Mr Srettha said: "It depends. Our work will be based on people's needs," said Mr Srettha.

In total, JKN issued seven tranches of bonds worth 3.36 billion baht with maturity dates in 2024 and 2025. Stark Corporation missed payment on five tranches of bonds worth nearly 9.2 billion baht, while All Inspire Development missed payment on seven tranches of bonds worth 2.33 billion baht. One popular method is rolling the debt over by issuing a new tranche of debentures to raise fresh funding for the redemption of previous bonds. Obtaining loans from financial institutions has become more difficult, whether for corporate or project loans, amid growing caution by banks. Before the financial crisis in 1997, financial institutions offered project loans to developers for both land acquisition and project development.

(Photo: PTT Plc)SINGAPORE: Thailand’s capacity to convert liquefied natural gas (LNG) will nearly double by the end of the decade as imports are set to rise to replace declining domestic natural gas production, a senior executive of PTT Plc said on Tuesday. Costly LNG imports have been a major factor behind the high cost of electricity, something the new Pheu Thai-led government has pledged to address as quickly as possible. ML Peekthong expects LNG imports to fall to “a more manageable level” at the end of this year or in the first quarter of next year as domestic gas production recovers. However, natural gas production is set to decline in the long run which will require more imports, said ML Peekthong. PTT is also looking to diversify LNG imports and reduce pricing risks by buying from different locations and using a variety of benchmarks, he added.

Bomb attack in Myanmar border hub kills 5 officials, wounds 11Hla Win walks with crutches at an internally displaced people camp near Pekon township on July 29. (Photo: AFP)A bomb attack on a government compound in the Myanmar border hub of Myawady killed five government and security officials and wounded 11 policemen, sources told AFP on Monday. The town has seen sporadic clashes between the military and anti-junta fighters since a coup in 2021 plunged the country into turmoil. Early Sunday evening two "drop bombs" fell into a compound containing the district police office and general administration office, a military source told AFP. The dead included a military officer, two police officers and two officials from the administration department, they said.