VENTURE CAPITAL POST

The cloud seeding program will deploy 30 aircraft across its 77 provinces as part of its annual royal rainmaking initiative to combat severe drought and escalating air pollution.

The Thai Air Force plans to petition the state budget for 19 billion baht ($538 million) to buy new fighter jets to replace its old fleet.

King Bhumibol Aldulyadej is the longest King reigned in Thailand and had just recently died at the age of 88

El Niño is hitting on cane productions especially in Asia, leading to a global shortage and the rise in prices. This would be the first year of sugar shortage after years of surplus. The shortage is projected to be prolonged to at least next year.

India is now the world's largest exporter of rice, with 10.23 million tons of rice exported in 2015. The country outranked the former leader, Thailand whose export numbers have fallen to 9.8 million tons this year, which also recorded the lowest rice prices in the last ten years. It seems the falling prices are also tied to the global oil crisis that has hit the rice importers, thereby affecting their purchasing power.

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) concluded the study based on 27 factors that bring both positive and negative impact towards global innovation. The study involved 56 countries, whereas China stood at the 44th rank, Thailand the 53rd, followed by India. ITIF also noted that supporting global innovation is crucial for countries' economic growth.

Though usually considered only when convenient for consumers in the US, the 7-Eleven franchise in Asia has become a different company, selling varieties of snacks and services to its varied customers across Asia.

The current Asia-Pacific Wealth Report 2015 showed Asia Pacific has a larger number of high net worth individuals compared to North America. A recent study indicates Asia Pacific region had exceeded North America with the number of high net worth individuals.

Chinese factor is impacting significantly growth plans of several economies in the Asian region. The uncertainty in the stock markets and volatility in the foreign exchange (forex) have kept the many Asian nations in a gripping situation.

The president of Mitsubishi Motors Corp (7211.T) said Japan, SouthEast Asia and Russia will become the automaker's principal production hubs after it calls time on making cars in the United States later this year because of dwindling output there.

Japan said on Saturday it would extend around $6 billion in development aid to Mekong region countries, as China prepares to launch a new institutional lender seen as encroaching on the regional clout of Tokyo and ally Washington.

Sentiment at some of Asia's biggest firms has deteriorated as a slowing Chinese economy, Greek sovereign debt crisis and looming U.S. interest rate hike create deepening concern about the state of the world economy, a Thomson Reuters/INSEAD survey showed.

China's factories stayed stuck in the slow lane in April while Japanese output went into reverse and South Korea suffered its worst export performance in two years, adding urgency to calls for more state stimulus in all three economies.

Thailand plans to build high-speed railway links connecting Bangkok to tourist destinations south of the Thai capital modeled on Japan's bullet trains, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said on Thursday.

Japan-based messaging app company Line Corp is launching an online grocery delivery service, its first ever, in Thailand and plans to expand it to other Southeast Asian nations to tap booming growth in the region's mobile phone transactions.