The plan was unveiled on Thursday by Orachon Ouiyamapun, senior vice-president for financial affairs at PTTEP. The problem was blamed for causing a drop in gas production at the block. According to PTTEP, it can currently increase gas production at Erawan to 376 MMSCFD, up from 200 a few months ago. At Bongkot, PTTEP plans to increase gas production to 700 MMSCFD within 2023, up from 200 MMSCFD. PTTEP expects its average petroleum sales to increase to 467 kilo barrel of oil equivalent per day (KBOED) in 2022, up from 416 KBOED last year.

GTG unveils hemp-based applicationsMr Kris, centre, says there is an opportunity to develop a range of hemp-based products to serve growing consumer demand. GTG believes hemp-based products, including skincare products, have the potential to grow. GTG plans to introduce hemp-based food and beverages in the second half of this year to serve customers. This year, GTG has set a revenue target of 270-300 million baht, with an average growth of 55% per year. The company expects to have a 6.3% market share in the Thai hemp industry over the next three years.

Thai stock investor mood at 3-month low over Ukraine war, FedAn investor monitors share price movements at Asia Plus Securities’ headquarters on Sathon Road, Bangkok. (Photo: Pornprom Satrabhaya)Investor confidence in the Thai stock market has slipped to a three-month low on concerns about Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the US Federal Reserve's tightening policy, a capital markets group said on Thursday. Foreign investor confidence fell 19% from the "bullish zone", also weighed by the Finance Ministry's plan to collect a financial transaction tax, the group said, adding it also opposed the plan. The group lowered its target for the main Thai stock index to 1,750 points this year from 1,800 points, he said. The SET index has fallen 0.76% to 1,645.76 points so far this year, after rising 14.4% in the whole of 2021.

The global process automation market is forecast to grow to more than US$13 billion (THB445 billion) by 2030. Most enterprises see automation technology as the top priority of their digital transformation to succeed and be competitive globally. According to studies conducted by Grand View Research, the total value of the global robotics process automation (RPA) market was $1.89 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach $2.32 billion this year. Furthermore, its compound annual growth rate is projected at 38.2 per cent from 2022 to 2030, with the market size expected to exceed $30 billion in 2030. There are around 7,000 small-to-medium companies in Thailand and they would like their business to stand out in such a competitive market.

The enforcement of the PDPA has a crucial impact on them," Atip Bijanonda, vice-chairman of the Board of Trade, told the Bangkok Post. Once implemented, it is expected to upgrade personal data protection in Thailand. He said strict enforcement of the PDPA would make it more difficult for big data analytics and the country's digital transformation. "Thailand's PDPA was derived from the EU's General Data Protection Regulation, including some measures that are too strict," said Mr Atip. According to Mr Thienchai, the PDPA will create confidence among foreign business operators, particularly those from Europe, in conducting business in Thailand.

Among other things, the DTN will push for more FTA agreements to cover up to 80 per cent of Thailand’s trading partners. Currently, the FTA ratio of Thailand with trading partners stands at 64 per cent, while Singapore’s FTA ratio is 96 per cent, Vietnam 73 per cent and the Philippines 71 per cent. “This year, the DTN plans to complete pending FTA talks, such as Thailand-Turkey FTA, Thailand-Sri Lanka FTA, and Thailand-Pakistan FTA,” Oramon said. She is confident that the FTA talks with Turkey will be concluded this year and Thailand will then hold talks with the European Free Trade Association as well as with the European Union. The DTN will gradually hold talks of the joint trade committee (JTC) with key trade partners.

According to Reuters, the Thai public prosecutor filed charges in 2017 against Philip Morris Thailand and seven of its Thai employees for inaccurate price declarations of cigarettes imported from Indonesia between 2002 and 2003. Later, on March 20, 2020, a Thai court fined the local unit of Philip Morris THB130 million for dodging tax on cigarette imports from Indonesia. The court also dismissed all charges against the seven former employees. The ruling followed a court decision to fine the tobacco giant THB1.2 billion in November 2019 for similar customs violations regarding cigarette imports from the Philippines. The World Trade Organisation subsequently ruled that Thailand had not met its obligations under the Customs Valuation Agreement regarding the valuation of cigarettes imported by Philip Morris Thailand from the company's subsidiaries in the Philippines and Indonesia.

Progressive Movement leader Thanathorn JuangroongruangkitCritics have slammed Progressive Movement leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit for seeking charter amendments to scrap the positions of provincial governor, district chief as well as tambon and village heads. The group posted on Facebook a media interview in which Mr Thanathorn discussed a proposal that aims to end what he called state centralisation. Mr Thanathorn also said that provincial governors, who are appointed officials, are in fact more powerful than elected chairmen of the provincial administrative organisations (PAO). Instead, such power must be handed over to elected PAO chairmen with authority to handle management of local resources and taxation, Mr Thanathorn said. "The Progressive Movement has launched a campaign to invite the public to sign a petition to amend the constitution's Chapter 14 related to local administration," he said.

Action urged on export banEars of wheat are seen in a field near the village of Hrebeni in the Kyiv region, Ukraine. According to Trade Negotiations Department director-general Auramon Supthaweethum, many countries have imposed restrictions on food and agricultural product exports that have adversely affected net food importers. They are asking the WTO, which has 164 members, to help tackle export bans on food, particularly those related to the UN World Food Programme. The meeting will consider the restriction and reduction of agricultural subsidies as well as solutions for the agricultural export bans, she said. Russia and Ukraine together account for 45% and 25% of global sunflower and wheat product exports, respectively.

Published byThe Bangkok PostBTS members shine in individual collaborationspublished : 5 May 2022 at 07:44 newspaper section: [Life](http://search.bangkokpost.com/search/result_advanced?category=news&xNewsSection=Life) Although global sensation BTS is notable for excellent teamwork, their individual talent is also recognised. While listeners are waiting for their new album, which will be released on June 10, two band members — Suga and Jimin — worked with other artists to make hit songs. Psy and Suga in the music video, That That. Official Psy YouTube That ThatPsy featuring Suga Before BTS became the world’s biggest boy b…Read More

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said perseverance was key in the match with the team never letting up. “Just when everyone thought the match was all but over, there was a small detail and a good play that was enough for Rodrygo to score and from there, with just a bit left, we gave our all,” Ancelotti told a post-match news conference. Ancelotti said two late goals by Rodrygo meant Real went into extra time with the psychological advantage.

Southern Ukraine shows signs Russia has come to stayRussian forces took control of Berdyansk, a port city on the Sea of Azov, in the first days of Moscow's military campaign in Ukraine. BERDYANSK, Ukraine: A Russian military plane was flying in the skies over Berdyansk, a city in southern Ukraine, but no one took much notice. In the weeks since, it has been cut off from other parts of the country, as Moscow's troops and pro-Russian separatists battle to seize swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine. He said other cities in Ukraine, like the southern regional capital Zaporizhzhia or Kharkiv in the northeast, "should become Russian". Melitopol's mayor Ivan Fedorov was famously detained and held for several days by Russian forces in March, and eventually left the city.

The committee aims to conduct surprise visits to find the truth. If any problems are discovered, they must be solved immediately. The department has had external agencies inspect inmates’ food on a regular basis. Prisons had been instructed to follow the guidelines, from procurement of ingredients, inspection and preparing food nutritionally to hygiene. If an inmate gets sick or even dies from eating prison food, the warden and head chef of that facility will be responsible while the committee investigates the case.

He said 566,000 tonnes, or 30 per cent of the fruits, will be sold in the country with help from the Department of Internal Trade in their distribution. Jurin said the department would tap 18 proactive wholesale markets to distribute 244,000 tonnes of fruits and it has also arrange cold storage to freeze some 120,000 tonnes of fruits. The department will also open 10,092 retail outlets nationwide to distribute 145,000 tonnes of fruits.

The source said the next increase would be inevitable as global oil prices are still rising. As of May 3, the Oil Fuel Fund was still subsidising diesel oil price at THB10.21 per litre, the source said. “Next week, diesel price may rise by THB1 or THB2 per litre,” the source said. The fund is using about THB20 billion for the diesel price subsidy. Although the government has borrowed THB20 billion to top up the fund, it will be used up within a month,” the source said.