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Somkid Jatusripitak has resigned as chairman of Saha Pathana Inter-Holding.

He said his resignation was prompted by the fact that he has a new mission to pursue. The resignation took effect on August 17, the company’s announced.

It was anticipated that the long-anticipated Cabinet reshuffle would see Somkid appointed as the new deputy prime minister for economic affairs.

Fairs to go ahead

 Duangkamol Jiambutr, spokesperson for the Commerce Ministry, said the ministry would continue to organise trade fairs as normal as it believes Monday’s fatal bombing in central Bangkok will only have a short-term impact on investor confidence.

The upcoming trade fairs that will be organised soon include Top Thai Brands, which will be held in Chiang Mai on August 26-30, and TILOG-Logistix 2015, which will be organised at Bitec, in Bangkok’s Bang Na district on September 2-4.

Airline fee exemption

Thai Airways International (THAI) has announced fee exemptions for customers who have to change their flights as a result of Monday’s bombing in central Bangkok.

Charamporn Jotikasthira, president of THAI, said the deadly bombing has prompted the airline to waive all fees resulting from changes to flights booked through its sales offices, agencies and website (www.thaiairways.com) before or within August 17 with flights scheduled during August 18-September 18.

This one-time fee exemption applies to all routes. Flight schedules, reservations and other details can be checked on www.thaiairways.com or THAI Contact Centre at 02-356-1111.

Krungthai lends a hand

Krunthai Bank will put in place relief measures for customers who have been affected by Monday’s bombing in central Bangkok in the form of loan extensions, said Vorapak Tanyawong, president and executive director of the bank’s Risk Management Committee. But, he said, most of the bank’s customers in the hotel sector are five-star hotels so the short-term impact on the bank should be very limited.

“The potential impact of the loans, especially in the tourism sector, is normal and the demand for loans is not a problem because it is still there especially from small and medium enterprises,” he said.

“Our customers in the tourism and hotel sector in Bangkok are expected to be affected and this is also unfortunate since the hotel sector has just started to pick up this year from the increase of occupancy rates,” he added.