PM Orders All Agencies to Manage Water and Transport for IMF-World Bank Meetings in Bangkok

The Federation of Thai Industries, or FTI, has issued a warning urging industrial operators to closely prepare for water situations, after the Meteorological Department assessed that October 5-7 will bring volatile weather and October 8-11 will bring another round of rain, with the rain band moving down into the South. Extra vigilance is required in the western, central, Bangkok, eastern and southern regions. For the Chao Phraya and Pa Sak river basins, although northern water flows at Nakhon Sawan are trending downward, water is still joining from the Sakae Krang River, so the Chao Phraya Dam continues to release water at 2,500 cubic metres per second, while the Pa Sak Cholasit Dam has increased its release to 500 cubic metres per second, pushing water levels below the Rama VI Dam up by 1 to 1.2 metres. The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation has also warned of high tides from October 5-10. In the East, water masses from Nakhon Nayok and Prachin Buri have begun to recede and are gradually flowing through Chachoengsao, while the Mae Klong river basin is starting to improve after discharges below the dam were cut to 1,023 cubic metres per second. In the South, heavy and continuous rain must be watched from October 10-13, especially in Chumphon, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Songkhla, Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, which face the risk of flash floods reaching urban areas. The FTI therefore stressed that factories in these areas must urgently inspect drainage systems and water pumps and prepare emergency response plans for immediate use, and advised the industrial sector to set clear Trigger-Action crisis points covering employee safety, protection of machinery, safe shutdown of operations, management of chemicals, wastewater and industrial waste, as well as transport backups, in order to minimise the impact on business.

Emera has raised its quarterly dividend to CA$0.74 per share, implying an annual payout of CA$2.96, a 1% increase from the previous CA$2.93 level. The move comes after a softer stretch for the share price, with a 90 day return down 7.98% and a 30 day return down 1.88%, though the 1 year total shareholder return of 6.77% and 3 year total shareholder return of 68.08% reflect longer-term momentum. The most followed valuation narrative pegs Emera's fair value at roughly CA$74.45 per share, above the recent CA$68.42 close, framing the higher dividend as an 8% undervalued case. That view rests on heavy investment in grid modernization, renewables including a $2+ billion solar expansion in Florida, and infrastructure resilience, but faces risks from refinancing needs and exposure to cyber incidents and extreme weather. On valuation, Emera trades at 21.8x earnings, above Canadian peers at 20.9x and the wider North American utilities group at 19.8x, while the fair ratio sits higher at 29x.

Ekniti Nitithanprapas, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, visited the water gate and semi-permanent pumping station at the mouth of Khlong Rangsit in Ban Mai subdistrict, Mueang district, Pathum Thani province, to monitor the water situation and the drainage of water from Khlong Rangsit Prayunsak into the Chao Phraya River. He was assigned by Anutin Charnvirakul, Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, to prepare for a new wave of rainfall. Ekniti stated that the main problem stems from the volume of water flowing in from Nakhon Nayok province, while the northern water situation remains stable and has not yet caused severe impact. The government has already procured additional water pumps for the area after Pathum Thani province previously requested small pumps or high-speed pumps, and he instructed the provincial governor to make the care of the public the top priority. Regarding the case of Ongkharak district and Khlong 12, where there is a proposal to divert some water to the Rangsit side, Ekniti said water must be managed in an integrated, system-wide manner, since the Rangsit area itself receives water from Ongkharak and Nakhon Nayok, while Bangkok also continues to face flooding problems. He therefore plans to convene a joint meeting of the three parties within one to two days to set a unified water management approach from upstream to downstream, including accelerating drainage in downstream areas such as Samut Prakan province. He also instructed coordination with the electricity authority to prepare backup generators, since power outages in the past have prevented pumps from operating at full efficiency.