Southern Thailand’s Hat Yai city centre spared from floods

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PUBLISHED: 8 Dec 2024 at 15: 48

A road on the outskirts of Hat Yai city in the southern Thai province of Songkhla is seen flooded after two major canals overflowed last month. (Photo: Assawin Pakkawan)
After two significant rivers overflowed last month, a street in the southern Thai state of Songkhla has been spotted to be flooded on the fringes of Hat Yai city. ( Photo: Assawin Pakkawan )

SONGKHLA: Companies have yet to determine the losses incurred by business disruptions caused by the crisis, but Hat Yai’s central business district was largely spared from the floods, which left over four billion ringgit of destruction throughout the state, according to Songkhla’s chamber of commerce.

Songpol Chansiriwathanathamrong, chairman of the country’s chamber of commerce, said the storms that hit the South affected over 540, 000 persons across 533 settlements in the country’s 16 regions.

He claimed that while the room had estimated property damage worth more than four billion baht, losses incurred by temporary business shut downs during the floods have not yet been reported. &nbsp, &nbsp, &nbsp,

The worst of the flood, which specifically affected people living in rural areas, was largely spared from the central business district in Helmet Yai, he said.

” Up in 2010, the storms paralysed the central business district and caused over 10 billion ringgit of destruction, but this time the region was safe because of Klong Phuminartdamri, which is able to discharge about 1, 200 square feet of water per second from the area”, he said.

The chamber intends to ask the government to impose a 3-3-6-month debt moratorium and grant gentle loans to impacted residents so they can repair their homes and businesses to aid residents in dealing with the effects of the floods, according to Mr. Songpol.

” Without loan repayment suspension, non-performing funding may spike”, he said.

He stated that the tourism industry will collaborate with the Tourism Authority of Thailand ( TAT ) to provide promotions that will increase visitor numbers and boost the economy.

Sitthipong Sitthipataraprapa, president of Hat Yai’s hotels organization, said hospitality and event tickets which would have pulled in 300-400 million baht in earnings were cancelled because of the floods.

He urged the government to take into account property tax reductions for disaster victims and income tax deductions for local employees.

Korakot Tetiranon, chairman of the chambers of commerce in Surat Thani, Chumphon, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung and Songkhla, called for reduction measures for small-and-medium-sized companies.

The state needs to act as soon as possible as more heavy rain is forecast to collapse on these counties over the next few days.

According to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, 664, 173 communities in 87 districts in 10 southern provinces were impacted by the floods, which left 31 people dead between November 22 and December 8?

Although the condition is usually improving, there are still reports of flooding in six regions in Nakhon Si Thammarat, three in Songkhla, and two towns in Pattani. According to the office, rescue personnel and tools like water pumps and removal vehicles are still in use.

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Leftwing populists and far right teamed up to topple French PM – Asia Times

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France’s shortest-lived state has fallen in a vote of no confidence triggered by a dispute over now-departing excellent secretary Michel Barnier’s resources.

The far-right Rassemblement National ( RN ) supported the vote in an act that Barnier described as a” conjunction of opposites,” led by the left-wing populists La France Insoumise.

The condition is burial, according to Barnier, and it will only get worse if the government is unstable and the institutions are dysfunctional. As President Emmanuel Macron moves to remove Barnier, all involved, from state to opposition, really consider how they arrived at this scenario.

The political parties of France’s officials ‘ persistent dynamic and majoritarian tendencies caused this issue. They should then take that France’s situation will only be improved by a change in this kind of tradition.

Following his group’s disappointing performance in the European Parliament elections, Macron immediately suspended the National Assembly and called for first parliamentary elections in June.

Competent parties devised a joint strategy to stop it, anticipating that the RN might have won a clear majority in the National Assembly based on its election results in the first round ( where it received 32 % of the vote ). They organized a “republican top,” which brought together center-right, centrist, and far-left legislators.

In the first and second rounds of voting, the alliance’s parties made an electoral pact that allowed one party to withdraw their applicants where it would allow another to avoid the RN from winning the desk.

This technique resulted in the RN narrowly missing being in office for the first time after years of steady help growth. Additionally, it deposed France of a lot and created three roughly equal social clusters in the legislature, each of which could not stand alone.

However, while Macron’s party was content to work with the others to stay the RN from taking office, these noble sentiments vanished when it came to power. Each party’s financial ideology was very various for them to come up with a common ground. Otherwise, the moderates created a minority government, a move that Macron’s moderates made possible by agreeing to abstain from voting in the government’s investiture in order to obstruct its course.

Brinkmanship

The RN, which had become the kingmaker due to the government’s budget approval, continued to exercise its strong dynamic instincts when it faced the current crisis.

To address a colossal public debt and correct a yawning deficit, Barnier’s budget to the parliament was difficult: €60 billion ($ 63.5 billion ) needed to be discovered. To the president’s breaks, it tried to spread the pain consistently ( though not likewise ) across the board through a mix of tax rises and spending cuts.

A compromise would need to be reached between the government and the RN in order for the budget to be passed. But here again, a strict majoritarian logic was at play.

The RN alleged that the government was being kept out of the open and that it wasn’t being heard. In that respect, the RN was correct. Barnier himself proclaimed to be open to conversation but not to bargaining.

The RN drew its red lines and issued its demands, focusing on the measures that would be most immediately felt by voters, knowing that the key to ratifying the budget was to be found. It wished to stop the reintroduction of electricity taxes and make a U-turn on the proposed reductions in medical prescription reimbursements. Additionally, it demanded that pension payments be immediately indexed.

The government conceded, first over the electricity prices, then over prescriptions, until Barnier finally decided that was enough. The government was unable to advance without halting its plans to restructure public spending and without losing face to blackmail.

And this is essentially what the entire exchange was about. The RN’s demands were also a form of repentance for the leftists and a rehashing of its earlier threats to lower the government.

Barnier has a thorough understanding of the game to which he was subjected, and is a seasoned politician. Therefore, he chose to make the vote about the “responsibility of the government” rather than the budget. In order to do this, he cited a constitutional provision that permits the government to pass laws without the approval of the parliamentary majority.

He did this because he knew the opposition parties ‘ only way to stop him would be to hold a confidence vote and to overthrow the government. The RN welcomed the motion, which was brought forward by the left-wing New Popular Front.

Why would Barnier’s plan to obliterate the government in this way? To re-engage the RN and make it confront the risks that its own behavior carries was a constant display of the competitive and majoritarian logic.

What happens next?

The RN now has to navigate the unknown waters that it has pushed the nation. The government has fallen, but fresh elections can’t take place until July. In the interim, a technocratic caretaker government will be in power, causing political stagnation in France.

However, this paralysis has shook the credit markets and caused the French government’s borrowing costs to rise. If the electorate believes it to be responsible, it is a problem for the government, but it is also a problem for the RN.

Many of the RN’s core supporters have an anti-system attitude. Because it is a part of an establishment, they always will be opposed to the government.

But the RN will never win office, and certainly not the presidency, by relying solely on this core base. It needs support from moderate centre-right voters, including those with economically liberal inclinations, who prize economic stability above all. Alienating them is not an option.

As Barnier had intended, the budget dispute has highlighted these internal tensions and harmed the RN’s prospects.

In the hope that Macron can only do so much as resign, the RN’s most likely response is to try to shift the blame back onto the government. Le Pen is waiting in the distance.

Simon Toubeau is an associate professor at the University of Nottingham’s School of Politics and International Relations.

This article was republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Yoon’s martial law stunt may cost Korea a lost decade – Asia Times

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Yoon Suk Yeol, president of South Korea, set his country’s economy back ten centuries in six days, and increased the chances that the following ten years will be lost.

The government’s urgent request to remove Yoon’s resignation and impeachment for his crazy martial law declaration later on December 3 is the focus at this time. When the dust settles, nevertheless, the actual collateral damage will be to Asia’s fourth-biggest business.

On Monday, the day before Yoon’s determined stunt, South Korea was now carrying serious existing conditions into a 2025 some Seoul policymakers despair. Between China’s decline and Donald Trump’s coming trade conflict, South Korea’s business may find itself in harm’s way first and often.

Record household debts, which is putting strain on consumer spending, complicates the way forward. Additionally, South Korea has a gender pay gap and a labor-intensive workforce that prevents technology.

Korea’s fertility level is the lowest everywhere. A handful of family-owned conglomerates, or chaebols, continue to dominate the market, making it hard for start-ups to grow and destroy the government’s export-driven development model.

And the monetary system needs major changes to end the” Korea cheap” that underestimates Kospi index prices.

Problem is, Yoon’s antics really proved traders doubting Korea’s eagerness for global night right. His government is now even more in the lame-duck area than it was three days ago, also if Yoon can prevent being impeached — a great “if.”

It’s difficult to imagine how Yoon will survive this unless something else is dropping that we haven’t already discovered,” says Eurasia Group scientist Jeremy Chan.

As ideal as we can tell, Yoon’s martial law campaign was motivated by his disappointment with opposition parties that are stymieing his plan. The issue was considerably worsened by Yoon. Hope all-out gridlock today.

This new complication in Seoul elections appeared to be apparent to The Bank of Korea. Straight after Yoon declared martial law, BOK Governor Rhee Chang-yong pledged “unlimited cash” to calm industry. On Wednesday, he set up an urgent meeting to discuss how the BOK may protect the market from further political scheming.

” From a near-term plan aspect, apart from the market problems, doubt could also come in the event of government changes”, says Goldman Sachs scientist Goohoon Kwon. On Thursday, Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun resigned.

According to Bank economists, in the best-case situation,” the negative effects to the economy and financial industry may be short-lived as uncertainties on the political and economic environment may be quickly mitigated on the back of strategic policy response.”

However, Moody’s Ratings ‘ economist Anushka Shah adds that a “prolonged period of political conflict that affects economic activity and leads to work stoppages would be credit negative.”

The significance of the Korean victory, both for domestic politics and the external sector, is a key climax. The domestic political unrest will only exacerbate the bearish sentiment surrounding the Korean victory, but Alvin Tan, a currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets, believes that the growth slowdown and potential US-China trade war in the coming year will continue to be the main drivers.

A wiser leader than Yoon might have examined his mediocre approval rating and adjusted his policies accordingly. Or create new ones that might appeal to voters and opposition parties. Instead, Yoon threw a tantrum, leaving many of Korea’s 51 million people wondering if Yoon’s support rate is way too high.

Yoon also spewed a dose of Trumpian skepticism by warning of “anti-state” militias sympathetic to North Korea’s plot against him. Not a wise choice from a leader who makes Shigeru Ishiba and Joe Biden the most well-known Americans in the world right now.

This was” an act of political desperation”, Chan says. ” It wasn’t about North Korea or social order — despite Yoon’s claims”. In the end, Chan adds, Yoon was” trying to bring all legislative proceedings to a halt” by calling on the National Assembly.

The issue is that South Korea’s government functions are squandering up at arguably the worst possible time. Along with China exporting deflation, Seoul is bracing for US President-elect Trump’s coming tariffs. Trump has threatened that the 60 % tariffs against China could be the start of a global arms race.

Trump has telegraphed 100 % taxes on automobiles made in Mexico. Car-making giants in Korea and Japan worry — for valid reasons — that they’re next.

Concerned about the fates of Hyundai, Kia and others, Yoon has been scrambling for a meeting with Trump. In a bid to get a Mar-a-Lago tee time, Yoon dusted off his golf clubs for the first time in eight years.

Yoon’s government even hired the lobbying firm Susie Wiles, the incoming White House chief of staff, worked for. The Washington embassy of Korea hired Mercury Public Affairs to build connections with the incoming White House, according to Korean media.

Trump, of course, is less of a bridge-builder than a geopolitical wrecking ball. Still, Yoon has studied up on former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Trump bromance.

Abe became the first world leader to hurl a long way to New York’s Trump Tower to kiss the ring in November 2016. The stunt also caused Abe to sit next to Trump at Group of Seven meetings and other global confabs, earning him a spot there.

If Yoon looked closer, he’d see how little the late Abe got in return for his subservience. Trump ignored Abe’s pleas and still abandoned the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact, a cornerstone of Japan’s effort to contain China.

Abe’s acquiescence didn’t earn Tokyo a pass on the Trump 1.0 trade war. Trump continued to try to shake down Abe for US$ 8 billion in annual payments to keep American troop levels in Japan. It didn’t stop Trump from palling around with Kim Jong Un, legitimizing North Korea’s murderous regime at the expense of Japan‘s national security.

Yet Trump 2.0 is just one of South Korea’s biggest economic challenges. The other is how the economy is bouncing off course because of its already-existing circumstances.

The first half of Yoon’s five-year term did little to raise Korea’s economic game. He’s done little, if anything, to level playing fields to help small-and-medium-sized companies grow into larger ones.

He hasn’t made any discernible progress in lowering the nation’s crippling debt, increasing worker productivity, empowering women, and raising the average income.

Yoon hasn’t been able to dispel MSCI’s reservations about Korea Inc. Yoon argued in a uniquely assertive way earlier this year that the world’s largest index company should establish South Korea as a developed nation, a designation that would entice tidal waves of global capital into won-denominated assets.

Back in March, Yoon pledged to scrap outdated regulations, loosen limits on corporate ownership, strengthen capital markets, increase currency-trading hours, boost transparency and even tolerate short sellers.

MSCI went away unimpressed. According to its analysts,” these efforts will be subject to consultation with market participants once in effect,” as they stated in June. In other words, Team Yoon needs to carry out the Big Bang without resorting to a supply-side explanation.

Unfortunately, Yoon is only the most recent leader to talk a lot of money-savings and talk little. Like his five predecessors over the last 20 years, Yoon quickly realized the difficulty and risk of clashing with Korea’s chaebol-industrial complex and demurred.

This persistent complacency comes at a high price. In any tally of major economies courting a&nbsp, Japan-like lost decade&nbsp, through complacency and political distraction, &nbsp, South Korea&nbsp, deserves a primary place. Yoon, part of this sad continuum, also let the BOK run the show.

So did Moon Jae-in, who was elected in 2017 to restore faith in the Korean economy. Moon began with a bold plan to champion” trickle-up economics”. Higher corporate taxes were included in the plan to better distribute wealth and employment opportunities.

The strategy spearheaded by Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, and Abe decades earlier had a reversed impact due to Moon’s emphasis on enriching the middle class. Yet Moon, too, saw the magnitude of the task of taming Korea Inc&nbsp, &nbsp, — and he backed off.

The same was true for Park Geun-hye, president from 2013 to 2017. Not only was she Korea’s first female president, but also the daughter of former national leader Park Chung-hee, who built the chaebol-led model that still dominates today back in the 1960s and 1970s.

Park Geun-hye took office with grand plans to dismantle her father’s economic system. She talked of devising a more” creative” model of entrepreneurship and shifting&nbsp, tax incentives&nbsp, toward startups.

Park planned, too, to strengthen antitrust enforcement&nbsp, and penalize big companies for hoarding profits that could be used to boost paychecks and fund new cutting-edge research and development.

Her father’s export-driven development strategy placed a premium on loans to domestic businesses and shielded domestic industries from global competition. The strategy borrowed from the” Asian tigers” playbook Japan had written.

Of course, Park Chung-hee’s legacy is back in the news this week. The upheaval that occurred at the time of his 1979 murder occurred at the same time as a previous declaration of martial law.

Over time, Korean officialdom was captured by the home-growth giants Park&nbsp, Chung-hee’s policies created. But once daughter Park Geun-hye settled into the presidential Blue House, 38 years after her father’s assassination, she too decided change was too difficult and risky.

Rather than upending the chaebol system, Park got co-opted. By 2017, she was &nbsp, impeached and jailed&nbsp, in a scandal involving Samsung leader Lee Jae-yong. Both have since been pardoned, much to the dismay of many Korean voters.

Before Park, Lee&nbsp, Myung-bak, president from 2008 to 2013, &nbsp, pledged to generate more economic energy from the ground up. Voters hoped that, as a former CEO of Hyundai Engineering&nbsp, and Construction, Lee had the know-how to shift growth engines away from exports toward domestic demand. Lee demurred, siding with the chaebols that produced him.

If only these leaders had swayed the wind in a significant way, Korea might not be struggling to raise its prices and compete in the era of China. Even if Yoon manages to cling to power, somehow, his odds of elevating the economy to greater heights in the 887 days he’d have left in office are slight, at best.

What Yoon has accomplished is placing South Korea in the shoes of Asian martial law enforcers in a manner that international investors won’t find appealing. These include Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand – and now South Korea.

Yoon reassured markets about the Korean discount while also bringing up a past Kospi investors would prefer not to think about, such as 1948 martial law episodes.

One silver lining:” The swift reversal of the martial law underscores the resilience of South Korea’s institutions”, write analysts at BMI, a Fitch Solutions Company.

We anticipate only temporary effects for the economy and financial markets as the Bank of Korea and the Ministry of Finance have responded quickly by reassuring investors, according to BNI. Notably, the central bank has pledged to increase short-term liquidity and take steps to stabilize the FX markets, which is in line with our opinion that the risks associated with the South Korean victory should be kept under control for the time being.

Perhaps, but the effects of Yoon’s insane and selfish act may make South Korea worry about where and how all that potential was lost in a decade.

Follow William Pesek on X at @WilliamPesek

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COP29’s new climate finance deal: Will India and China step up? – Asia Times

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India and China, the country’s two most popular nations, are key to international environment efforts. They make up over a third of the international community as a whole, and they tremendously increase global pollution. As significant economies and emerging market leaders, their actions may have a significant impact on achieving or preventing international climate goals.

This reality was highlighted by the recent 29th Conference of the Parties ( COP29 ) in Azerbaijan, which was a significant advance in the global climate agenda. Countries converged to set a more ambitious climate finance target, which would accelerate action on pollution and adaptation, after key agreements were reached to promote climate action at the summit, known as the” climate finance COP.”

The New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), which will remove the US$ 100 billion goal that is pending, and commit to organizing US$ 300 billion yearly for developing nations by 2035, was a crucial result.

Nevertheless, the NCQG falls little of the US$ 1.3 trillion goal that developing nations had advocated for, and even that figure may not be sufficient to meet their climate financing needs.

Important questions remain: Who will make the expenses? Does the money remain in the form of grants, concessional funding, or private field loans? And, crucially, how will these tools be allocated and distributed? For the NCQG to really work, these difficulties must get addressed.

Major effects will be had by the new agreement for both China and India. As main players in this environment financing commitment, their contributions, alongside international support, may be crucial in determining whether the world can match its climate objectives.

India is a key emerging economy that struggles to strike a balance between achieving climate goals and achieving financial growth and reducing poverty. India’s need for more climate finance was highlighted by current COP29 discussions as a result of its need for a low-carbon business.

New Delhi has much argued that developed countries, which account for the majority of traditional pollution and have experienced higher levels of economic growth, may bear a larger share of the fiscal load. India has made significant progress in renewable energy, setting a lofty goal of 500 gigawatts ( GW ) of non-fossil fuel-based energy by 2030, but it still faces significant challenges in implementing these initiatives without substantial financial and technological support.

Hope is provided by the NCQG’s commitment to raising US$ 300 billion annually for developing nations. However, India’s request for more significant climate fund is still unheeded.

India’s strategy to weather motion is essentially linked to its growth priorities. India is ranked 10th in the most recent Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI), with a relatively low per capita emissions of 2.9 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2 ), which is significantly lower than the global average of 6.6 tCO2. This ranking reflects India’s vigilant climate policies, which demonstrate that green growth is possible even for developing nations.

India has, however, constantly emphasized that climate finance should not have constrained by factors like green standards or policy restrictions that might impair its ability to grow economically. The important issue facing New Delhi may be balancing its development needs with its commitments to the environment, making sure that financial aid is both fair and clear.

China, for its part, has also faced investigation. China’s inappropriate contributions to climate financing at COP29 were subject to intense scrutiny. Its monetary commitment to international climate action is increasingly seen as a decisive test of its authority on the international level because it is the world’s largest emission.

Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, weather fund responsibility falls on developed countries due to their historical pollution. But, negotiators are increasingly urging China to play a bigger economic part.

China maintains its position as a developing nation and opposes mandated contributions, but its deliberate pledges have raised questions about their commitment, setting the stage for further discussion of China’s financial responsibility in international climate actions.

Critics argue that China’s rising world influence, its powerful technological capacity and its reputation as the country’s largest greenhouse gas emitter&nbsp, involve greater role in addressing climate change. China’s position in climate finance will be under increased scrutiny as the pressure mounts against it, especially if Beijing wants to exert greater influence in shaping international climate politics.

Since 2016, China has committed over US$ 24.5 billion in climate financing to developing countries, according to Chinese leaders. Monthly efforts are thought to be around US$ 4 billion, which is around 5 % of what developed nations contribute. While important, it also falls short of the US$ 100 billion annual goal for developed countries, a duty China has yet to join.

China has emerged as a significant person in climate financing, but it does so on its own terms and outside the conventional United Nations construction. Importantly, a significant portion of its monetary contributions are in the form of loans rather than grants, which raises questions about the potential debt burdens of the recipient countries over the long term and the potential viability of the project.

As China’s geopolitical and economic power grows, its climate finance plan will be under increasing pressure, especially as demands for greater accountability and stronger commitments grow.

COP29 set a crucial step with the NCQG. The meeting made clear that India and China are crucial in funding international climate action. Both nations may then set the example. After all, their actions may shape the future of climate politics and international conservation.

Neeraj Singh Manhas is the Republic of Korea’s Parley Policy Initiative’s special assistant for South Asia. He recently held the position of Research Director for the Indo-Pacific Consortium at Raisina House in New Delhi.

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Flood victims to get cash aid

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PUBLISHED : 2 Dec 2024 at 06:30

Flood victims are evacuated from their residence in Sungai Kolok district, Narathiwat, on Nov 27. (Photo: Royal Thai Navy)
Flood victims are evacuated from their residence in Sungai Kolok district, Narathiwat, on Nov 27. (Photo: Royal Thai Navy)

Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the government intends to compensate every household affected by flooding in the South with 9,000 baht in a similar fashion to payouts made to those recently affected by floods in the North.

Mr Anutin, also the Interior Minister, said the flood situation should improve as weather forecasters predict a decrease in rainfall from now on.

Local authorities are assessing the damage, both to people’s houses and public utilities in areas where the water has caused damage.

He said the government has approved 70 million baht for emergency use in flooded provinces.

The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) is also coordinating with local authorities in what were declared official disaster areas. “In principle, the payment of 9,000 baht per household should be applied to the South just as it was for those hit by floods in the North,” he said.

Then the money will be transferred directly to the accounts of each flood victim if the measure is approved by the cabinet.

Phatsakorn Bunyalak, DDPM director-general, said the heavy downpours that began on Thursday have resulted the worst flooding seen in the South in decades.

The flood inundated 640,581 homes in 87 districts across 10 provinces and claimed the lives of 12 people, he said. Townships were underwater and locals stranded.

Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra will visit flood victims in Songkhla and Pattani on Friday and has ordered Prommin Lertsuridej, the PM’s secretary-general, to expedite assistance.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance will order state financial institutions including the Government Savings Bank to offer 50 billion baht in soft loans with favourable interest rates to help people and businesses affected by the floods get back on their feet, said the Ministry permanent secretary Lavaron Sangsnit.

There will also be other debt relief measures, interest rate reductions and repayment extensions, he added.

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Flood victims in Southern Thailand to get cash aid

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PUBLISHED : 2 Dec 2024 at 06:30

Flood victims are evacuated from their residence in Sungai Kolok district, Narathiwat, on Nov 27. (Photo: Royal Thai Navy)
Flood victims are evacuated from their residence in Sungai Kolok district, Narathiwat, on Nov 27. (Photo: Royal Thai Navy)

Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the government intends to compensate every household affected by flooding in the South with 9,000 baht in a similar fashion to payouts made to those recently affected by floods in the North.

Mr Anutin, also the Interior Minister, said the flood situation should improve as weather forecasters predict a decrease in rainfall from now on.

Local authorities are assessing the damage, both to people’s houses and public utilities in areas where the water has caused damage.

He said the government has approved 70 million baht for emergency use in flooded provinces.

The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) is also coordinating with local authorities in what were declared official disaster areas. “In principle, the payment of 9,000 baht per household should be applied to the South just as it was for those hit by floods in the North,” he said.

Then the money will be transferred directly to the accounts of each flood victim if the measure is approved by the cabinet.

Phatsakorn Bunyalak, DDPM director-general, said the heavy downpours that began on Thursday have resulted the worst flooding seen in the South in decades.

The flood inundated 640,581 homes in 87 districts across 10 provinces and claimed the lives of 12 people, he said. Townships were underwater and locals stranded.

Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra will visit flood victims in Songkhla and Pattani on Friday and has ordered Prommin Lertsuridej, the PM’s secretary-general, to expedite assistance.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance will order state financial institutions including the Government Savings Bank to offer 50 billion baht in soft loans with favourable interest rates to help people and businesses affected by the floods get back on their feet, said the Ministry permanent secretary Lavaron Sangsnit.

There will also be other debt relief measures, interest rate reductions and repayment extensions, he added.

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The specialty coffee wave sweeping small-town India

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BBC A barista crafting a milk foam design on top of a freshly brewed coffee in a mugBBC

“It’s not just about brewing a good cup of coffee but connecting with customers on a deeper level.”

It was this one thought that made Harmanpreet Singh leave his family bakery to open a specialty coffee shop in the northern Indian city of Jalandhar.

It was an unexpected decision – coffee has always been popular in southern states, traditionally served strong and frothy in a steel tumbler. But it’s still not the first choice of beverage in the vast swathes of north India, where drinking tea is an intrinsic part of the culture.

For Mr Singh, the journey began in 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic when he saw a growing demand for specialty coffee, particularly among the city’s youth and the overseas residents who returned to the country at that time.

Recognising this shift, he moved to the southern city of Bengaluru to learn brewing techniques. “I studied everything – from the way coffee is served to the role things like decor, cutlery, music and even packaging played in the overall experience,” he said.

Three months later, Mr Singh put his learnings to test and opened Buland Café in Jalandhar.

Today, the cafe has 40 outlets across the city and has become a favourite spot for the city’s youth, who come here to relax or work over piping cups of coffee.

The beans, roasted in various blends, are sourced from the famed coffee estates of Karnataka. Mr Singh says he personally trained his staff on how to brew the perfect cuppa and take care of the coffee machine.

“It’s a thriving scene,” he says.

AFP A waiter serves customers at the India Coffee House in New Delhi, India, on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2013.AFP

Mr Singh is among a crop of young entrepreneurs that are benefitting from a wave of specialty coffee consumption in small north Indian towns and cities.

India has had a vibrant cafe culture for years – but it has been largely restricted to big cities where homegrown specialty and international coffee chains dominate the market.

However, post-Covid, several tier-two cities are also seeing a boom in demand for such spaces as people embrace practices like remote working and look for new places to meet their friends and families.

Cafe owners say more Indians are now willing to pay more for coffee that’s roasted in smaller batches and customised as per their preferences.

“Clients have become more knowledgeable about the roasts and are interested in the origins of their coffee,” says Bharat Singhal, the founder of Billi Hu roasteries.

In fact, more than 44% of the Indian population now drinks coffee, a 2023 report by CRISIL, a marketing analytical company, shows.

While a lot of it comes from home consumption, the growing demand for specialty coffee in small cities plays a big part, says Bhavi Patel, a coffee consultant and dairy technologist.

Roastery owners say the growth is also evident in numbers. “Subscription based orders have surged by 50% in one year,” says Sharang Sharma, the founder of Bloom Coffee Roasters. “Customers have moved from French presses to pour-over or espresso machines, adopting more sophisticated brewing methods.”

While India is often associated with tea, it also has a long coffee-drinking history.

The culture took shape in the 1900s when Indian Coffee Houses emerged as a hangout spot for the intellectual and elite class. Housed in colonial-styled buildings, these cafes served English breakfasts with steaming hot coffee and offered a space to discuss politics and mobilise support during pivotal periods in history.

A shift occurred in the 1990s when economic reforms opened India to the world, allowing entrepreneurs to open private coffee shops frequented by young peeople, who saw it as a hip experience.

Getty Images An employee serves a customer at a Tata Starbucks Ltd. store in Mumbai, India, on Monday, Aug. 12, 2024. Getty Images

Café Coffee Day (CCD), which opened in 1996, quickly became one of India’s most popular and widespread coffee chains. At its peak, CCD boasted over 1,700 outlets, serving as a popular gathering spot for students and young adults. But mounting debt, management issues and the untimely death of its founder led to a closure of most of its outlets across India.

In 2012, the arrival of international giant Starbucks spurred the rise of homegrown specialty coffee brands like Blue Tokai Roasters, Third Wave Coffee and Subko Coffee.

Mr Singhal says that while big cities like Delhi, Jaipur, Mumbai, and Bengaluru still dominate the scene, smaller cities are quickly catching up.

However, it’s not just changing palettes that’s driving consumption. “Often it’s social media,” Mr Singh says. “People want good coffee but they also want to be in a space that’s trendy and which they can post online.”

Nishant Sinha from Lucknow city is among those who understood the trend early on.

His Roastery Coffee House offers trendy ambience, free wi-fi and cosy seating options along with an array of coffee roasts. While the beans are sourced from coffee estates in the south, the food is distinctively north Indian.

Getty Images A Hindustan Petroleum Corp. employee stands in the gas station forecourt in front of a Cafe Coffee Day store, operated by Amalgamated Bean Coffee Trading Co., in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India, on Monday, Oct. 13, 2014Getty Images

Others like Jatin Khurana in the northern city of Ludhiana are experimenting with flavours.

At his Urban Buhkkad cafe, Mr Khurana serves the “Shadi Wali Coffee [the wedding coffee]” – a wedding favourite in the 1990s, which became famous for its blend of instant coffee, milk, sugar, and a sprinkle of chocolate powder.

But instead of coffee powder, Mr Khurana uses freshly grounded beans, available in different roasts and varieties, to enhance its flavours. “The idea is to capture the essence of the beverage that many Indians grew up drinking,” he says.

It’s an exciting time to be in the business – but growth comes with its own set of challenges.

“Demand is growing, but a smaller coffee shop owners tend to cut corners, whether it’s by opting for substandard machines, serving weaker coffee shots, or hiring inexperienced baristas,” Mr Singhal says.

And running the business is not always profitable given the high price of coffee and the infrastructural costs involved in running such spaces.

When Neha Das and Nishant Ashish opened The Eden’s café in Ranchi in 2021, they wanted to create a safe and relaxed space for young students to get together in the city.

Today, their hazelnut coffee and cold brews have become a favourite of many.

“It took some time but longevity requires more than profit,” Ms Das says.

“It’s about dedication, crafting local flavours, and understanding customers, even if it means working with slim profit margins for the long haul.”

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17 loan sharks nabbed in Pattaya

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In: South-East Asia

Chinese nationals did business with compatriots over WeChat, charging 5% interest a month

PUBLISHED : 29 Nov 2024 at 21:07

Police question one of the 17 suspects accused of operating an illegal loan business following a raid on two luxury houses in Pattaya on Nov 27. (Photo: FM91 Trafficpro)
Police question one of the 17 suspects accused of operating an illegal loan business following a raid on two luxury houses in Pattaya on Nov 27. (Photo: FM91 Trafficpro)

PATTAYA – Seventeen Chinese nationals have been arrested in two houses in Pattaya on charges of operating an illegal loan business, police say.

The arrests followed raids on Wednesday at two luxury houses rented in the Khao Phra Tamnak area of South Pattaya, said Pol Lt Gen Yingyos Thepjamnong, acting commander of Provincial Police Region 2.

Police arrested 17 suspects and seized laptops, mobile phones and a list of more than 2,000 customers, with a turnover of more than 400 million baht.

Police had been monitoring the group’s activities for more than two weeks before taking the action, Pol Lt Gen Yingyos said.

Investigators found that the suspects invited other Chinese customers to borrow money by advertising and chatting via WeChat.

They made loan contracts online and lent money by transferring it through a Chinese bank. The interest rate was 5% per month.

If a customer did not pay off their loan on time, another group of Chinese people would act as debt collectors to threaten the debtors, police said.

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