The Thai branch of U.S. global IT company IBM will promote blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) in order to turn the country into a major sales hub in the surrounding region, English-language daily news outlet The Bangkok Post reports Wednesday, Nov. 14. According to the article, IBM is going to promote blockchain in collaboration with the country’s central bank, Bank of Thailand. A recent survey by IDC-IBM shows that global spending on blockchain will reach $9.7 billion by 2021. Moreover, IBM is also discussing the possibility of blockchain education in local schools and universities, aiming to provide enough member of …

Thailand’s financial regulator has told a cryptocurrency exchange to cease advertising and warned citizens not to use it due to legal uncertainty, the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (Thai SEC) reported Tuesday, Nov. 13. In the release, the Thai SEC said it had not officially endorsed Q Exchange, a joint Thai and South Korean venture, within the framework of its new cryptocurrency laws. The Q Exchange, which reportedly offers ten crypto including Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC), noted that it had plans to launch its Q Token on Oct. 25, Thai news outlet Lokwannee reports. Cointelegraph notes that although several …

Thailand’s securities regulator will clear “at least one” Initial Coin Offering (ICO) “portal” to operate legally in November, local daily news outlet Bangkok Post reported Nov. 8. Speaking to the publication, Rapee Sucharitakul, secretary general of the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said that ICOs themselves could also start seeing official approval to serve Thai markets as soon as December. “At least one ICO portal will be certified in November, then we can approve each ICO offering, which might start in December,” he said. The confirmation marks the closing stages of Thailand’s final push to formalize cryptocurrency markets, which …

The Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand Wissanu Krea-ngam has called for more regulations on cryptocurrencies, local news daily the Bangkok Post reports Nov. 8. While Thailand introduced a regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies earlier this year, Krea-ngam urged that new measures must be introduced both domestically and internationally in order to keep up with new tactics and threats to consumer security. Speaking at the Counter-Terrorism Financing Summit, Krea-ngam said that experts should not be satisfied with current security protocols so as not to lag behind criminals that would use cryptocurrencies for funding terrorism or money laundering. He also noted the security …

Three Thai citizens who are currently being prosecuted for allegedly swindling $24 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) have pleaded “not guilty” in the Criminal Court of Bangkok, major Thai newspaper Bangkok Post reports Wednesday, Nov. 7. During the hearings, Thai prosecutors accused the three defendants and six accomplices of defrauding 21-year-old Finnish investor Aamai Otava Saarimaa back in 2017. According to the investigation, he was persuaded to buy shares in Expay Software Co, invest in a gambling-focused crypto token Dragon Coin (DRG), and buy 500 million shares in DNA (2002) Co, which he consequently did by transferring crypto to the …

The Thai Revenue Department has revealed its plans to track tax payments using blockchain and maсhine learning, local news outlet Bangkok Post reported Nov. 5. Ekniti Nitithanprapas, the Revenue Department’s director-general, told reporters that blockchain will be used to verify the validity of taxes paid and to speed up the tax refund process. Machine learning, in its turn, will help reveal tax fraud and create more transparency, Nitithanprapas also noted. The official further noticed that a digital tax collection system based on modern technologies is one of the government’s top priorities. Nitithanprapas, who has also been International Economic Advisor of …

U.S. manufacturer of household cleaning supplies SC Johnson and environmental organization Plastic Bank will open several plastic recycling centers in Indonesia, offering locals tokens for waste collection, according to a press release published Sunday, Oct. 28. SC Johnson, which owns such brands as Glade, Ziploc and Mr. Muscle, has revealed recent scientific data on the plastic pollution of the ocean, stating that five Asian countries — China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand — account for more than 55 percent of the plastic waste leaking into the ocean. With the help of Plastic Bank, SC Johnson will open eight plastic …

The Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a warning about investing in nine digital tokens and Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), which have not been accredited by the regulator, news outlet Bangkok Post reported Oct. 26. The SEC reportedly initiated an investigation into digital tokens and ICOs being promoted on social media platforms for investment, and found nine cases wherein promoted digital assets had not been authorized by the market regulator. Per the SEC, the alleged digital assets and ICOs have neither filed an application for the SEC’s approval, nor have they met the necessary qualifications and had smart …

Global management consultancy firm Accenture announced it had partnered with a subsidiary of Thailand’s oldest bank on a new blockchain tool aimed at supply chains in a press release Wednesday, Oct. 17. In the latest implementation of the technology for Accenture, the company partnered with Siam Commercial Bank’s fintech subsidiary Digital Ventures Co. Ltd on the blockchain solution, which has already gone live with its first clients. Known as Procure-to-Pay or B2P, it leverages R3’s Corda technology as its basis, the release confirms. Divyesh Vithlani, head of Accenture’s Financial Services practice in the ASEAN region commented: “The most exciting part …

Thai citizen Prinya Jaravijit, who allegedly defrauded a Finnish investor of $24 Million worth of Bitcoin (BTC), has recently been detained in Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, the Bangkok Post reports Friday, Oct. 12. According to newspaper, Jaravijit arrived in Bangkok on a flight from South Korea en route from the U.S., where he allegedly spent two months after his brother’s detention in connection with the same crime. Shortly after the arrest Jaravijit, who was wanted on charges of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering, was delivered to local police where he was questioned. His lawyers are reportedly preparing to apply …

The Foreign Ministry of Thailand has revoked the passport of an alleged crypto scammer, which has reportedly rendered him unable to return to his home country for prosecution, the Bangkok Post reports Wednesday, Oct. 10. According to the report, Prinya Jaravijit was in the U.S. after a cryptocurrency investment scheme surfaced in which he and several accomplices allegedly defrauded a Finnish investor of $24 million. The Crime Suppression Division’s (CSD) deputy commander Pol Col Chakrit Sawasdee claimed on Wednesday that the Foreign Ministry invalidated the passport of the prime suspect Jaravijit. Sawasdee reportedly ordered the suspect to turn himself in …

The Thai Ministry of Commerce has begun to conduct feasibility studies on the use of blockchain in copyright, agriculture, and trade finance, English-language Thai newspaper Bangkok Post reports Tuesday, Oct. 9. A Thai official from Thailand’s Trade Policy and Strategy Office (TPSO), Pimchanok Vonkorpon, told the Bangkok Post that the study is being conducted with the help of the British embassy in Bangkok. As per the article, the ministry wants to find out whether decentralized solutions can boost the country’s competitiveness and credibility, especially in relation to small business. Vonkorpon added that blockchain feasibility studies will also refer to processing …