The 4th Capital, Provincial, Municipal, District and Khan Council Election will take place on Sunday, May 26, 2024.

The update was shared by H.E. Chi Chamnan, Vice President of the National Election Committee (NEC), in a dissemination meeting with stakeholders in Phnom Penh on Jan. 31.

H.E. Chi Chamnan called on political parties, concerned authorities, and stakeholders to exercise their respective roles and duties to ensure a smooth and successful election.

The council election is a proportional, non-universal election in which members of the commune and Sangkat councils are voters for two councils, including the capital, provincial council; and municipal, district, and Khan council.

There are 1,652 communes and 209 municipalities, districts, and khans for the election, he added.

There are in total 11,622 voters who are members of the commune and Sangkat council, and there are 559 seats for members of the capital and provincial council and 3,641 seats for municipal, district, and khan council.

Source
: Agence Kampuchea Presse

Bangkok, Mr. Montree Mahaprukphong, Vice President of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), revealed the results of the 37th FTI CEO Poll in January 2024 under the topic ‘High interest rates, rising debt, the industry is… What next?’ It was found that F.T.I. executives were quite concerned about the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) maintaining the policy interest rate at 2.5% for a long period of time. Although it is understood that in the past the Bank of Thailand (BoT) has tried very hard to create balance in the management of the country’s monetary policy. Both in the economic dimension and in strengthening the stability of the baht value. However, interest rates have increased. It has quite an impact on SMEs, which are the largest proportion of entrepreneurs in the country. and is in the process of recovering from the impact of COVID-19. and the need to quickly adjust the business to cope with the problem of production costs that have increased in almost every product over the past year.

The differe
nce between loan interest rates and deposit interest rates or spreads of commercial banks. that are too far apart are the top priority of countries in ASEAN causing Thai entrepreneurs to bear increased financial costs Resulting in a delay in business expansion or new investment. Increases the risk of lack of financial liquidity and debt default. Including affecting the purchasing power of the people. Therefore, we propose that the Bank of Thailand consider issuing measures to supervise financial institutions in setting interest rates for both deposits and loans. Including the announcement of an appropriate interest rate spread (Spread) to help reduce financial costs for entrepreneurs.

In addition, it is seen that the measures to solve the debt problem throughout the system that the government is currently implementing are It will help solve the debt problem for the people, the agricultural sector, and the business sector that have accumulated for a long time at a moderate level. As for the industrial sector,
it is proposed that the government issue low-interest loan measures for SMEs through state financial institutions. To develop potential in the production process and enhance financial liquidity. It should also help consider reducing the conditions for accessing credit to make it more convenient.

Source: Thai News Agency