Thailand
Countries where you can see tigers in the wild | Atlas & Boots
From the Russian taiga to the Indonesian island of Sumatra, we profile the places and countries where you can see tigers in the wild A century ago, as many as 100,000 wild tigers stalked the planet but by the dawn of the 21st century, that figure had plummeted by around 95% largely due to habitat loss and The post Countries where you can see tigers in the wild appeared first on Atlas & Boots.
Bank of Thailand to allow first virtual banks by 2025
Bank of Thailand has disclosed plans to allow virtual banks to operate in the country for the first time. Financial firms will be able to provide services by 2025, a Bloomberg report shows. The “Consultation Paper on Virtual Bank Licensing Framework” published by the central bank says that applications will be available later in 2023 allowing virtual banks to act as financial services providers. The move focuses on increasing competition and boosting Thailand’s economic growth. The Bank of Thailand will issue three different licenses for interested companies by 2024. There are at least 10 parties interested in granting permissions, the report states. Regulations and supervision for virtual banks will be the same as those for traditional commercial banks under the licensing framework....
Crypto exchange Zipmex probed by Thai SEC amid buyout
The cryptocurrency exchange Zipmex is the focus of a new probe by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Thailand for a breach of local rules. A Bloomberg report revealed that local authorities are looking into activities that they believe may violate business rules for digital asset service providers. This includes its offerings of certain digital asset products. According to the Thai SEC, Zipmex has until Jan. 12 to clarify whether it has been functioning as a “digital asset fund manager without permission” in Thailand. If true, the firm would have needed to obtain a permit before conducting business in the country. Cast your vote now! Zipmex is currently in the process of being acquired by V Ventures, a subsidiary of Thoresen Thai Agencies PCL, for around $100 million.&nb...
DJ Dies Following Performance at Thailand’s Wonderfruit Festival: Report
A DJ has died after performing at Thailand’s Wonderfruit Festival, Coconuts Bangkok reports. Guillaume Wyss, a Bangkok-based DJ better known as Boogie G, was found unresponsive on the Wonderfruit Festival grounds on the morning of December 16th. He had performed a DJ set at the event early Friday morning from midnight to 2am. Medics arrived in an attempt to resuscitate Wyss, but reportedly failed to do so before taking him to Bangkok Pattaya Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. “We’re devastated by the loss of our husband, father, son, brother and friend Guillaume Wyss aka Boogie G,” the DJ’s wife, Pich Wyss, wrote in a Facebook post. “He was loved and he loved you all.” Scroll to Continue Recommended Articles Author...
Thai VC fund acquires troubled exchange Zipmex for $100M: Report
After weeks of negotiations on a potential buyout of Zipmex, venture capital fund V Ventures has reportedly reached a deal to acquire the embattled cryptocurrency exchange. V Ventures, a subsidiary of Thoresen Thai Agencies (TTA) public company, is looking to purchase a 90% stake in Zipmex crypto exchange, Bloomberg reported on Dec. 2. The VC fund is about to acquire Zipmex for about $100 million in digital assets and cash, anonymous sources familiar with the matter claimed. Citing a court hearing on Friday in Singapore, the report says that Zipmex was offered $30 million in cash and the rest in crypto. According to the court hearing, Zipmex is planning to use cryptocurrency assets received from the transaction to unlock frozen customer accounts on the exchange by April 2023. The acquisiti...
BIS marks CBDC pilot as ‘successful’ with $22M transacted
A multi-jurisdictional central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot has been marked “successful” by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) after a month-long test phase that facilitated $22 million worth of real-value cross-border transactions. The central banks of Hong Kong, Thailand, China and the United Arab Emirates took part in the pilot program along with 20 commercial banks from those regions. More than $12 million worth of value was issued onto the test platform, which facilitated 164 foreign exchange transactions and cross-border payments between the participating firms totaling over $22 million worth of value, according to a Tuesday LinkedIn post from the BIS. Graphic from the BIS on the CBDC pilot. Source: LinkedIn Daniel Eidan, an adviser and solution architect at the BIS,&...
Siam Commercial Bank abandons plans to purchase $500M stake in crypto exchange Bitkub
Thailand’s oldest bank has scrapped plans it first announced in November 2021 to become the majority shareholder of crypto exchange Bitkub. In a Thursday announcement, Siam Commercial Bank’s SCB X Group said it would no longer be paying 17,850 million Baht — roughly $536 million in November and $497 million at the time of publication — to acquire a 51% stake in the Thailand-based crypto exchange. The bank cited concerns with Bitkub “resolving various issues” according to recommendations from the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission without a definite timeline. According to the SCB, the company conducted a due diligence exercise on Bitkub following the November 2021 announcement it planned to become a majority shareholder, resulting in “many opportunities for cooperation in various ...
Zipmex gets 3 month protection in Singapore amid halted withdrawals
Cryptocurrency exchange Zipmex has gotten a chance to sort out liquidity issues as a court in Singapore has granted the firm with more than three months of creditor protection. Singapore’s High Court has ruled to give each of the five Zipmex entities a moratorium until Dec. 2, 2022 to come up with a restructuring plan, Bloomberg reported on Monday. The action aims to protect Zipmex from potential creditor lawsuits during the moratorium period after the exchange abruptly halted crypto withdrawals on its platform in mid-July. The cryptocurrency has since resumed partial withdrawals from Zipmex’s trade wallet but is yet to resume all withdrawals. Zipmex sought creditor protection for a period of six months subsequently after halting withdrawals, filing five moratorium applications on July 27....
The Bank of Thailand to pilot Retail CBDC by the end of 2022
On top of its wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) projects and proof-of-concept Retail CBDC testing with corporates, the Bank of Thailand (BOT) will extend the scope of CBDC development aimed at retail to a pilot phase. A possible real-life application of the “Retail CBDC” will be conducted inside the private sector on a limited scale. he Friday announcement on the official page of the BOT goes: “The BOT will assess the benefits and associated risks from the Pilot to formulate related policies and improve the CBDC design in the future.” The pilot is separated into two tracks. During the first one — a “Foundation track” — CBDC will be tested in cash-like activities, i.e., paying for goods and services, within limited areas and a scale of 10,000 retail users...
Thai SEC launches digital hotline for Zipmex users
In the aftermath of the Thai cryptocurrency exchange Zipmex stopping withdrawals last week, local financial regulators are stepping in to look into potential losses by investors. Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is taking action to collect all necessary information from investors on how they have been affected by issues on Zipmex. The regulator officially announced on July 25 that Zipmex customers can submit information via an online forum on the Thai SEC’s official website. The SEC has received a number of complaints from people affected by Zipmex after the crypto exchange temporarily suspended withdrawals of the Thai baht and digital assets on Wednesday, the regulator said. “In the past, the SEC issued a letter requesting the company [Zipmex] to provide an efficient sy...
Zipmex resumes withdrawals for trade wallets
Cryptocurrency exchange Zipmex has resumed withdrawals from its trade wallet after two days, but said transfers, deposits and trade will continue to be disabled from its Z Wallet. In a Friday announcement, Zipmex said its Thailand-based users could make withdrawals from its trade wallet, with the function expected to be “re-enabled this evening” for clients in other countries. The crypto exchange has had withdrawals disabled since Wednesday, citing a “combination of circumstances” beyond its control, including the recent market volatility. “Ever since the black swan events surrounding the crypto space Zipmex has retrieved the majority of our funds and assets that were historically deposited with our deployment partners and have been actively working to resolve the situatio...
10 most visited countries in the world
We profile some usual suspects plus one or two surprises in the top 10 most visited countries in the world Have you dreamed of a romantic kiss atop the Eiffel Tower? Perhaps you’ve thrown a wish into the Trevi Fountain or stopped and stared at the Sistine Chapel. If so, you’re certainly not alone. According to the last available pre-pandemic figures, France and Italy are two of the most visited countries in the world. Together with the rest of the top 10, they make up a whopping 41% of global tourist arrivals (i.e. overnight visitors). Here’s the complete list of the most visited countries in the world. 10 most visited countries in the world The below figures come from the 2020 edition of the UNWTO’s International Tourism Highlights report. 1. France &nbs...
