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Bangkok (VNA) – Thailand’s new economic package to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will be worth about 10 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP), Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak has said. Deputy PM Somkid stated that the package will cover all economic sectors for at least the next six months. If possible, final approval will be sought from the cabinet on April 7, he added. He did not give a specific value for the package, but the GDP of Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy last year was 16.88 trillion baht (512.76 billion USD). The measures will be partly financed by the fiscal budget and borrowing, he said. The latest package follows last month’s two sets of stimulus measures together worth more than 500 billion baht. The Bank of Thailand (BOT) expects the country’s economy to contract 5.3 percent this year, the worst since the 1998 Asian financial crisis./. … [Read more...] about COVID-19: Thailand’s new economic package to be worth 10 percent of GDP

Bangkok (VNA) - Thailand is now able to produce new COVID-19 test kits itself with RT-PCR, a standard laboratory technique recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The test kits were developed by the cooperation of Siam Bioscience and the Department of Medical Sciences (DMSC), said Spokesman of the Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration Dr. Taweesin Visanuyothin. The Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation (MHESRI), Siam Bioscience, and DMSC have already delivered the first batch of 20,000 test kits to the Government. This innovation can solve the shortage of test kits by lowering the cost of production to only 1,500 baht (45 USD) each, whereas the imported ones may cost approximately 4,500 baht each. Moreover, Siam Bioscience and DMSC are aiming to produce and deliver 100,000 test kits to the Government within six months for distributing to 100 hospitals nationwide. Meanwhile, the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) … [Read more...] about Thailand produces new COVID-19 test kits

Vinh Long (VNS/VNA) - Vinh Long province has stepped up efforts to speed up site clearance, compensation and resettlement for households affected by the My Thuan – Can Tho Expressway project’s first phase. The provincial People’s Committee on April 3 met with the project’s investor, the Cuu Long Corp for Investment, Development and Project Management of Transport Infrastructure (Cuu Long CIPM). Tran Hoang Tuu, vice chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said a site clearance board had been established to closely work with the Cuu Long CIPM to speed up progress of the project. He urged the Cuu Long CIPM to quickly send documents related to the project to local authorities for implementing compensation, site clearance, and resettlement assistance for affected households. The corporation will ask the Ministry of Transport to grant approval to build a path linking National Highway 1 in Vinh Long Province to the My Thuan – Can Tho Expressway, … [Read more...] about Vinh Long speeds up site clearance of My Thuan – Can Tho Expressway

Hanoi (VNA) – Millions of labourers in Southeast Asia could lose their jobs as economies grind to a halt due to impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). In the policy paper on the Asia Pacific region issued on March 26, ESCAP noted that while exact data on the impact of the pandemic on employment remained unavailable, the impact is likely to be substantial as services and labour-intensive manufacturing comprise over 80 percent of the region's informal sector and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and contribute to most of the jobs in the region. The report stressed the need for countries with weak social protection systems to have ample policy space to save jobs and support minimum living standards for households. Meanwhile, in its report issued on April 3, the Asia Development Bank projected that growth in Southeast Asia will decelerate from 4.4 percent in 2019 to 1 percent … [Read more...] about COVID-19 to force millions of Southeast Asian labourers to lose jobs

Singapore (VNA) – Singapore’s retail sales in February fell by 8.6 percent year-on-year, compared to the 5.3 percent reduction in the previous month, according to the country’s Department of Statistics. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the retail sales declined by 8.9 percent month on month in February, compared to the 0.2 percent increase in January, the department said on April 3. Excluding motor vehicles, retail sales in February decreased by 10.2 percent year on year and 11.2 percent month on month. The estimated total retail sales value this February was about 3.1 billion SGD (2.16 billion USD). Of these, the proportion of online sales was 7.4 percent. The authority attributed the retail sales decrease mainly to larger year-on-year declines in retail industries selling discretionary items, due to the decline in tourist arrivals and lower domestic consumption as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. It also announced that the sales of food and beverage services … [Read more...] about Singapore’s retail sales down 8.6 percent in February