Thailand legal news
• 28 July 2020:
– The interior ministry proposed 2 projects creating 30,000 job offers for stimulating local economies consisting of taking care of elderly persons, and data collection in the rural sub-districts around the country. Those projects are expected to start in August 2020.
• 1 August 2020:
– The interest rates on unpaid card balances was reduced from 18% to 16%, while the interest rate on the personal loan is down from 28% to 25% excluding the vehicle hire purchase (lease) under the Bank of Thailand (BOT)’s order.
• 4 August 2020:
– The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) officially permitted the selected groups of foreigners to enter Thailand. Those groups are as follows:
 Foreigners who have a certificate of residence, together with their spouses and children;
 Foreigners who have work permits or permitted to work in Thailand legally, together with their spouses and children; and
 Foreigners permitted to enter under the special arrangement between Thailand and specific partner countries. However, those are required to follow the country’s diseasecontrol regulations, such as having a certificate of entry issued by a Thai embassy or consular office in their country, a health certificate as well as a health insurance policy.
• 6 August 2020
– The board of EEC arranged the VDO conference call with the Thai ambassadors positioned in 21 countries in order to call the support from ambassadors to persuade foreign business investors to invest in EEC on the targeted industries such as logistic, medical and healthcare.
New Cabinet resolutions
29 July 2020:
• Approved principle: 2 Draft notifications of the Ministry of Commerce re: the importation of products under ThailandAustralia Free Trade Agreement (TAFTA) and the importation of products under Thailand-New Zealand Closer Economic Partnership (TNZCEP).
– Determine that potatoes under TAFTA and potato, onion, and onion seed under TNZCEP must be imported via the customs and a food and drug checkpoint.
4 August 2020:
• Approved Draft: 3 Draft Ministerial Regulations for implementing the Emergency Decree on the Foreigners’ working management (issue no. 2) B.E. 2561 (2018)
– Re: the application for the work permit, the issuance of work permit, and notification of foreigners B.E….
– Re: the determination of the qualifications and prohibited criteria of the applicants B.E…
– Re: the determination of the value of fee and the waiver of fee on the foreigners’ working managementB.E…
– Approved Draft: Draft loan agreement on COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support Program of Asian Development Bank in the amount of THB 48,000 Million with the interest of 0.15 percent per year.