What to know before opening a bank account

Thailand’s Bank of Ayudhya reports the baht’s value is anticipated to surge past the 30-per-dollar mark next year driven by Thailand’s huge current account surplus and also the US’s ultra-loose monetary policy. The local currency’s value is forecast to hover between 29.50-30.50 baht per US dollar, with an appreciation bias expected throughout every quarter of 2021, said Tak Bunnag, head of global markets group at BAY. The baht is expected to appreciate to 30 baht per dollar in the first quarter before strengthening to 29.75 in the second quarter, according to BAY. The local currency’s value is forecast to strengthen further to 29.50 and 29.25 baht against the greenback in the third and fourth quarters, respectively. “The baht’s value tends to get stronger, but it would not appreciate past 29 baht per dollar and we are not expected to see an appreciation of 7-8% as witnessed in 2019,” said Mr Tak. Despite substantial outflows of net foreign funds seen in Thailand’s capital ... » Learn More about Bank of Ayudhya Anticipates Thai Baht to Surge in New Year

Police in Thailand are intensifying their efforts on tracking down criminals who run scam call centers and SMS smartphone scams. Cyber criminals send fake SMS messages to trick victims into replying back with their banking information. The widespread adoption of online payment methods in Thailand was highlighted by the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society showing that the number of internet users in Thailand has leapt from about 18 million in 2009 to more than 50 million in 2020. More than one in five activities carried out on the internet involves a financial transaction of some kind. In early December, 29 Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) customers received an SMS after they contacted its call centre. The SMS told them to send back their 13-digit ID number and a one-time password (OTP). The scammers then reportedly used the ID number and OTP to sign up to a mobile banking app which they used to transfer funds from the victims’ accounts. The Money Trap Siam Commercial Bank ... » Learn More about Thai Banks Warn Over Call Center and SMS Smartphone Scams

LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Large companies from carmaker Tesla Inc to business intelligence firm MicroStrategy Inc have swapped billions of dollars in cash for bitcoin in recent months. Yet hurdles remain for the quick dawn of a wider trend of major corporations holding bitcoin, from the cryptocurrency's volatility to reputational risk, financial chiefs and accountants told Reuters. Main story: Here are some of the key questions over cryptocurrency bookkeeping and tax: HOW DOES CRYPTO ACCOUNTING WORK? The bookkeeping rules used by U.S. companies make no specific reference to cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. Under guidance from 2019 issued by the U.S. accounting trade body, companies account for bitcoin under rules for "intangible assets" such as intellectual property. Companies record the value of bitcoin at the time of purchase in their accounts. If the price rises, they cannot log those gains until they sell. Yet if the value of bitcoin drops, the company must write ... » Learn More about Explainer: Bitcoin on your balance sheet? Here’s what you need to know

With the coronavirus pandemic closing schools in the UK most students are having to learn about Graphics Design online. With coronavirus officially a pandemic, the UK is taking an aggressive approach to limit its spread which is also reflected in the graphic design of many government websites. At first, we have to know about graphic design. So what is Graphic design? Graphic design is a combined thing of text and pictures advertisement format. it’s a kind of art or skill. In elaborate meaning, graphic refer to as art, imagination involving many mediums such as drawing, painting, etc. Based on visual elements, r design refers to decide upon the look and function. Nowadays, Graphic Design is a trending issue. Graphic design is becoming popular for all freelancer marketers. The reputed company is also looking for a good designer to make a good logo or advertisement for their company. Graphic design is such a creative process. There are many people interested in learning graphic ... » Learn More about How the Pandemic Pushed Graphic Design Courses Online in the UK

It is hard to keep up with world events in these turbulent times. But as a FX Market trader, one should always be aware of the news not to miss the right moment for entering the market. The unfortunate outbreak of COVID-19 is the global headliner these months. Usually, when a crisis like this hits the market, local currencies suffer, and people tend to invest in reliable, less volatile assets like gold, for example. We have seen spikes of volatility for currency pairs that included CNY at the beginning of 2020 year. The AUD was also affected as it is the biggest trading partner of China. But here is what we witness in the market now. Investors still tend to support traditional currencies like USD, EUR, CHF, and JPY. The EUR/CHF has reached the highest price since early January. At the same time, more challenging assets like Aussi, Kiwi, and Dow Jones are getting back to normal and enjoying the appetite for risky trading. Oil prices are on the back foot rising US inventories. ... » Learn More about How the Coronavirus Pandemic has Influenced the FX Market

“Sir/Ma’am, I’m deaf. I cannot read your lips because you’re wearing a mask. I’m here to withdraw my money. Please write down what I need to do. Thank you.” Widi Utami, 28, handed this handwritten note to a security guard when she arrived at a bank in Semarang, Central Java, on June 4. While she can usually read lips, with all the security guards and tellers covering their mouth with masks, she relies on notes. The security guard, Kurniawan, promptly nodded and wrote below the note, “How much do you want to withdraw?” Kurniawan accompanied Widi to the teller and stayed with her until she had finished taking her money, making sure she could communicate properly with the teller using handwritten notes. Widi shared her story on her twitter account @MustikaUngu expressing gratitude to Kurniawan for being so helpful. Her post went viral, with other deaf people sharing accounts of their experiences accessing public services during the “new normal”. Tuli Pergi ke Bank di Tengah ... » Learn More about People with disabilities demand access to information, basic rights during pandemic

Since she joined property developer Sena Development Plc 17 years ago, 2020 turned out to be one of the most memorable years for Kessara Thanyalakpark. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, her company still managed to achieve record revenue, record pre-sales and a high net profit. She was also promoted to managing director. Last year was the best year for the company despite the virus crisis. The company's strong performance was derived from the foundations she had spent five years previously laying down, initiatives she had worked hard to push before the pandemic struck. "Frankly speaking, if I had not spent 100% of my full time working with the company five years ago, joint ventures such as the one with Japanese partner Hankyu Hanshin Properties and the new initiatives like the solar homes and Made From Her campaign would not have happened," she said. In 2004, while working as a full-time lecturer in banking and finance at Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Commerce and ... » Learn More about The woman behind solar residential properties

Carlos Dominguez III (left) and Carlito Galvez Jr. The government is considering borrowing up to $9 billion (P433.3 billion) from the World Bank to help fund the country’s purchase of a potential COVID-19 vaccine as it starts negotiations with a leading pharmaceutical company for at least 3 million doses of the drug that will be given primarily to health workers. Carlito Galvez Jr., COVID-19 national task force chief, said on Monday that the country would have to enter into “multilateral engagements with our credit partners,” such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, since the allotted budget for the vaccine cannot be used to buy the drug in advance. Galvez said Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III was already working on how much the government could borrow from the World Bank for the advance procurement of the vaccine. ‘A lot of funds’The government has set aside P10 billion and may get an additional P8 billion for vaccines, Galvez said. This is apart from the ... » Learn More about Gov’t mulls $9-billion loan for purchase of vaccine

Facebook and Twitter have taken down more than a dozen disinformation networks, including more than 900 Twitter accounts linked to the Royal Thai Army, that they said were used by political and state-backed groups in multiple countries to deceive users. “Our investigation uncovered a network of accounts partaking in information operations that we can reliably link to the Royal Thai Army (RTA),” Twitter said in a blog post . “These accounts were engaging in amplifying pro-RTA and pro-government content, as well as engaging in behaviour targeting prominent political opposition figures.” The social media company said the network involved 926 accounts. “[We will] continue to enforce against small-scale activity associated with this network, as we identify it.” The origins and extent of the army's efforts to paint critics in a negative light and influence public opinion online are detailed in a paper titled " Cheerleading Without Fans " and released on Thursday by the Stanford ... » Learn More about Twitter takes down Thai army IO network

The following is an opinion editorial by Ong Bo Yang. His bio and information can be found at the bottom of the article. His opinions are his own. Economists and political experts have long predicted that the Asian century will arrive sometime in the 21st century, where Asia is expected to play a major influence in global affairs, particularly economic-wise, and in international relations. The RCEP deal was signed on 15 November 2020 by Australasia nations and 13 Asian countries, illustrating Asia’s willingness to embrace multilateralism and ensure greater economic integration in the Asia-Pacific region. In Asia, there are three economic powerhouses, namely China, Japan, and India, amongst the top 6 largest economies in the world. China opened up in 1978, leading to dramatic social and economic changes in the country, reducing poverty for more than 800 million Chinese nationals in the process. The Asian country has continued to liberalize its economy and open up to foreign ... » Learn More about Opinion: The Asian century