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Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak expects the economy to grow strongly over the next two years if the country’s infrastructure development and enhancement of national competitiveness follows the plans as targeted.
“I believe that within two years if we can push forward our infrastructure projects and policies like the EEC [Eastern Economic Corridor], start-ups, and [making the country a regional] aviation hub, while going ahead with ‘Thailand 4.0’, Thailand will start up instantly ... Investment will be paired in. Then GDP will see a leap,” he said.
In regard to the promotion of electric vehicles, he said a scheme along these lines would be presented to the Board of Investment at its meeting on March 24 before being forwarded to the Cabinet by the end of this month.
Pushing such projects to success requires collaboration from foreign institutions and researchers, he said. 
The government will increase the research-and-development budget from 0.62 per cent of gross domestic product in 2015 and 0.75 per cent in 2016 to 1.0 per cent in 2018, he said. 

Welfare for 14-15m expected

The Finance Ministry expects 14 million to 15 million low-income earners to register for welfare this year, with additional state assistance focusing on travel expenses, tap-water and electricity costs, rent and accident insurance.
Permanent secretary Somchai Sujjapongse said the ministry planned to increase assistance for low-income earners who register for welfare this year.
Those aged above 18 years with yearly incomes of no more than Bt100,000 and deposits of no more than Bt100,000 are eligible to register from April 3 to May 15. Owners of houses with an area of more than 25 square wah (100 square metres) or of condominiums with space of more than 35 square metres do not qualify.
Registration can be made at the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, Government Savings Bank, Krungthai Bank, the Comptroller-General’s Department (provincial comptroller’s office) and district offices in Bangkok. 

Huawei launches premium phones

Huawei has announced two new premium smartphones, the P10 and P10 Plus. The firm expects to be No 2 in terms of market share in Thailand by the end of the year, up from No 3 now.
Tossaporn Nisthanon, deputy country director of Huawei Consumer Business Group (Thailand), said the new models were the first smartphones with a Leica front camera and Leica dual rear cameras. They will be available for pre-order from today until March 26, with sales starting from March 31. The P10 is priced starting at Bt17,900 and the P10 Plus from Bt23,900.
Huawei this year plans to increase the number of dealerships from 7,000 currently to 8,000 nationwide. It will add 10 service centres to the four it has currently.