Get local news delivered to your inbox!
FILE – Visitors sit at a True telecom service center in in Bangkok, Thailand on Nov. 22, 2021. Thailand’s telecoms regulator has agreed to allow a merger between the country’s two main phone carriers in a decision raising worries over whether reduced competition will harm consumer interests.
BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s telecoms regulator has agreed to allow a merger between the country’s two main phone carriers in a decision that raises worries over whether reduced competition will harm consumer interests.
The $7.3 billion deal will merge True Corp. and smaller DTAC, a subsidiary of Norway’s Telenor Group. The new entity, to be called NewCo, will have about 51 million subscribers. The next largest telecoms carrier, AIS, or Advanced Info Service, has 44 million subscribers.
True is owned by Charoen Pokphand (CP) Holding, one of the country’s biggest family-controlled conglomerates. It has 32 million subscribers to DTAC’s 19 million.
Shareholders of True and DTAC, or Total Access Communication Plc., approved the merger plan in April.
The regulatory go-ahead by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission came late Thursday in a 3-2 vote in favor, with the chair casting a deciding vote after more than 10 hours of discussions.
The commission imposed conditions that included price controls, keeping current service agreements in place and requiring the expansion of 5G coverage to at least 90% of the population within five years. It said it could cancel or add further conditions if it observes monopolistic behavior due to the merger.
“The merger will create a long and lasting impact and make it impossible to turn back the clock,” Pirongrong Ramasoota, one of the two commissioners who voted against letting the merger go ahead, said in a Facebook post. She said the deal could result in unfair competition and prevent other companies from trying to enter the market.
“The development of our country depends on the competitiveness of the mobile service industry, which also is a key to boosting the economy,” she said.
The approval reflects the sway of the huge family-run conglomerates that own big chunks of Thailand’s economy, critics said.
“Despite massive protest, comments, reports, analysis and plain common sense, it is no surprise that the NBTC ended up allowing the merger,” Yozzo, a telecoms, media and technology consulting firm, said in a report.
“Big conglomerates in Thailand have long enjoyed market power in a regime that many perceive to be friendly towards the big family companies,” it said, adding that consumers and businesses will pay the price of having two companies be the virtual gatekeepers of going digital.
True and DTAC have said they are merging to better invest in next-generation telecommunications to advance Thailand’s adoption of digital technology.
The companies have said they plan to list the newly merged company on Thailand’s stock exchange as soon as November.
Associated Press journalist Tassanee Vejpongsa contributed.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Get local news delivered to your inbox!
A California ballot measure that would tax the rich to pay for electric vehicle programs has divided Democrats. Gov. Gavin Newsom is against Proposition 30, which would boost taxes for people making more than $2 million. He says its a giveaway for rideshare company Lyft, which is the primary funder of the initiative. Lyft and other rideshare companies must ensure all their car trips are zero-emission by 2030. But backers of the measure include the California Democratic Party and numerous environmental groups. They say the state needs a lot more money to speed the transition to electric cars and lower planet-warming emissions.
The Biden administration on Wednesday awarded $2.8 billion in grants to build and expand domestic manufacturing of batteries for electric vehicles in 12 states. A total of 20 companies will receive grants for projects to extract and process lithium, graphite and other battery materials, manufacture components and strengthen U.S. supply of critical minerals. The announcement comes as the administration seeks to boost production and sales of electric vehicles as a key part of President Joe Biden’s strategy to slow climate change and build up U.S. manufacturing. A sweeping climate and health-care law passed in August includes several provisions to boost electric vehicles, including tax credits for EV buyers worth up to $7,500.
Politically connected billionaires from Russia and Venezuela are at the center of a 49-page criminal indictment that reads like a how-to guide on circumventing U.S. sanctions. Charges were unveiled this week in New York against seven individuals who allegedly used a complex network of Hong Kong shell companies, cryptocurrency and cash drop offs to sidestep the western financial system. Prosecutors allege the conspiracy’s aim was to purchase sensitive U.S. military technology, smuggle illicit Venezuelan oil and launder tens of millions of dollars on behalf of wealthy Russian businessmen.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is promoting Biden administration policies as the key to advancing the nation’s “long-term economic well-being” in the lead-up to the midterm elections. The former Federal Reserve chair visited a Virginia research and development business park with Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine on Friday and talked up administration efforts to revitalize America’s manufacturing capacity, spur computer chip production and upgrade the country’s infrastructure. Yellen’s visit is part of the Treasury leader’s ongoing tour of the U.S., as she and other administration officials try to quell the impact on Americans of persistent high inflation.
The Republican National Committee has filed a lawsuit against tech giant Google, alleging the company has been suppressing its email solicitations ahead of November’s midterm elections. The lawsuit, filed in the District Court for the Eastern District of California Friday evening, accuses Gmail of “discriminating” against the RNC by unfairly sending the group’s emails to users’ spam folders, impacting both fundraising and get-out-the-vote efforts in pivotal swing states. The group alleges more than 41.5 million of its emails have ended up in spam folders. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the filing.
The Taiwanese company that assembles smartphones for Apple Inc. and other global brands has unveiled an electric SUV that will be produced for a Taiwan automaker under a similar contract model. Foxconn Technology Group said the SUV will be sold by Taiwan’s Yulon Motor as the Luxgen n7 starting next year. It said the five-seat vehicle should be able to travel 700 kilometers (440 miles) on one charge. No price was announced. Foxconn announced plans last year to produce electric cars and buses for brands in China, North America, Europe and other markets.
Having a fast internet connection at home has become a near-requirement for many Americans, especially with the rise of remote education and working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But an investigation by The Markup has found that internet service providers often offer drastically different speeds to different customers, even when those customers live in different parts of the same city. In many cases, the poorest and least white parts of a city only are offered service that’s so slow it doesn’t meet federal regulators’ definition of broadband — and providers regularly charge the same amount for that service as they do for their fastest speeds in other neighborhoods.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping has called for faster military development and announced no change in policies that have strained relations with Washington and tightened the ruling Communist Party’s control over society and the economy. China’s most influential figure in decades spoke at the start of a party meeting Sunday that was closely watched by companies, governments and the Chinese public for signs of its future economic and political direction. It comes amid a painful economic slump and tension with Washington and Asian neighbors over trade, technology and security. The congress will install leaders for the next five years. Xi, 69, is expected to break with tradition and award himself a third five-year term as party leader.
Mississippi voters will be able to use their smartphones as their voter identification in next month’s election. The 2022 elections mark the first real test of a new statewide program that integrates technology into Mississippi’s voting process. A smartphone app stores a resident’s driver’s license in digital form and allows them to use their phone in places where they would typically show a license. Around 100,000 people in Mississippi have downloaded the app and more than 51,000 residents signed up for the digital driver’s license. State leaders say Mississippi is one of 10 states with a complete mobile identification program.
The Paris auto show is back. Tuesday’s opening is the first for the show since 2018, with it previously held every two years but the pandemic canceling it in 2020. This year’s show will be shorter and some major carmakers are skipping it as auto shows lose some of their importance for the industry. The focus is on the French home team of Stellantis and Renault and on electric vehicle offerings that are becoming routine as their market share grows due to regulatory pressure in Europe. Automakers at the show include Chinese manufacturers who analysts say are making rapid technological progress as they explore expansion into Europe.
FILE – Visitors sit at a True telecom service center in in Bangkok, Thailand on Nov. 22, 2021. Thailand’s telecoms regulator has agreed to allow a merger between the country’s two main phone carriers in a decision raising worries over whether reduced competition will harm consumer interests.
Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.