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April 19, 2011

Yesteryear – Bangkok in 1956: What Was It Like When AMCHAM Thailand Was Founded?

AMCHAM 50th Anniversary

In this text of a presentation for the 50th anniversary of the American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand, David Lyman reflects on the changes he has observed in Thailand in the 50 years since AMCHAM’s founding.

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One significant development in the health sector in Indonesia is the use of information technology and communication in the implementation of health efforts—particularly digital health services such as telehealth and telemedicine integrated into the country’s National Health Information System. This development was addressed in a major new piece of legislation for the healthcare sector in Indonesia. Enacted in August 2023, Law No. 17 of 2023 concerning Health (the “Health Law”) provides the updates needed to support the development of healthcare services in Indonesia. Under the Health Law, health information system (HIS) providers must: Carry out processing of data and health information in the territory of Indonesia, except for certain limited and specific processing activities that may be conducted outside Indonesia when permitted by the relevant authorities and in compliance with relevant regulations. Ensure the reliability of its HIS, including availability, security, maintenance, and integration with Indonesia’s National Health Information System. Provide quality health data and information. Process data and health information, which includes planning, collection, storage, inspection, transfer, utilization, and destruction. Record its data- and information-processing history. Protect every person’s data and health information. Obtain approval from the relevant personal data subject or comply with relevant regulations if the processing of data and health information involves an individual’s health data. Inform the data owner if there is a failure to protect data and individual health information. The Health Law’s personal data protection requirements listed above appear to be aligned with the provisions in Law No. 27 of 2022 concerning Personal Data Protection (the “PDP Law”). Under this law, data and information relating to health are identified as “specific personal data,” the processing of which carries a high potential risk of impacting the relevant personal data subject. In the implementation of digital health services, patients’ personal data or medical records
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Sale and leaseback structures and pledges of an aircraft are primary tools in Thailand for lenders to secure aircraft financing. However, these prevalent approaches come with certain limitations. Sale and leaseback structures usually require lots of documentation, while the use of pledges requires delivery of the pledged property to the pledgee and the pledged property must always remain in the possession of the pledgee or a third-party custodian as agreed to by the parties, because the pledge will be legally discharged if the pledged property is returned into the possession of the pledgor. Since 2015, there has been another alternative for securing aircraft financing in Thailand. This came with the introduction of the Business Security Act B.E. 2558 (“BSA”). The BSA allows creation of a security interest over movable property (including aircraft) as collateral to secure debt repayment or other obligations without having to deliver the property to the secured party. Therefore, it is now possible for a security interest to be created over an aircraft on a non-possessory basis. To realize this type of security interest, the BSA requires that a business security agreement be made in writing and registered with the Business Security Registration Office. Unless the parties agree otherwise, the security providers still retain the right to transfer or dispose of the secured property. However, the BSA prohibits the security providers from transferring or selling the secured property when there is a cause for enforcement of the secured property and the security receivers have notified the security providers about this cause in writing. According to the BSA, entities that are eligible to be a security holder and take business security as a secured creditor include financial institutions and other persons prescribed in ministerial regulations issued by the Ministry of Commerce or the Ministry of Finance. However,
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Thailand has released a notification adding new consumer protection provisions related to the collection of prepaid telecom service fees and combining several disparate regulations and resolutions. The Notification on the Criteria Relating to the Collection of Prepaid Telecommunications Service Fees was issued on September 4, 2023, and came into effect on September 21, 2023. The notification will be enforced as a general regulation and guideline for all telecom services other than fixed broadband services, which already fall under a comparable regulation.   Previously, Thailand’s National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) had issued several regulations to regulate the collection of prepaid telecom service fees. These include the NBTC Notification on Contract Standards, the NBTC Notification on the Maximum Service Fee Rate and Collection of Prepaid Telecommunications Service Fees, and the NBTC Notification on the Criteria Relating to the Collection of Prepaid Fixed High-Speed Broadband Service Fees. These are now subsumed by the new notification. Key requirements of the new notification on prepaid telecom fee collection are described below. Collection Approval Requirement Before collecting prepaid telecom service fees, service providers (SPs) must apply to the NBTC for approval by submitting the required forms and supporting documents. Changes to the criteria and methods of prepaid telecom service fee collection must also be reapproved. This provision aims to protect against fraud and money-laundering transactions. The NBTC will consider whether to approve an SP’s proposal for the maximum period to be covered by the prepaid service fees on a case-by-case basis. After the collection criteria and methods are approved by the NBTC, SPs must inform their users individually. SPs must also report to the NBTC by the 15th of every month after receiving the NBTC’s approval to collect prepaid service fees. Approvals of prepaid service fee collection granted by the NBTC prior to the