On July 8, Danucha Pichayanan, secretary-general of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC), revealed after a meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Porkorn Nilprapanh that the committee has made significant decisions to reform renewable energy power purchase guidelines from the private sector, ensuring fairness to consumers and reflecting true costs in line with government policy.

The committee identified the core problem: perpetual power purchase agreements for small and very small renewable energy plants (SPP/VSPP)—both solar and wind—signed between the government and private sector in the past feature automatic renewal upon contract expiration. Additionally, the original buyback rates reference wholesale prices plus fuel adjustment charges (FT) exceeding 3 baht per unit, despite these plants having no actual fuel costs since they generate electricity from renewable sources like wind and solar.

The committee has adjusted the new buyback rate to align with current, cheaper technology, using the community solar project rate of 2.16 baht per unit. This will initially apply to solar cell plants, which have clear benchmark pricing, while wind power plants will receive a separately determined rate.

Danucha outlined the committee's approach, divided into two groups:

1. Plants completing their 25-year contracts (approximately 515 contracts totaling roughly 2,400 megawatts): These currently have automatic 3-5 year renewals. The new resolution eliminates automatic renewal, allowing only one additional extension matching the original contract term (3 or 5 years) at 2.16 baht per unit. Upon expiration, contracts terminate immediately.

2. Plants that have received subsidies (Adder) for 10 years but have not reached 25-year expiration (approximately 46 contracts with around 1,478 megawatts already operational): These are considered cost-recovered from the subsidy period, so remaining contract years will be adjusted to 2.16 baht per unit.

For non-operational plants (4 contracts, 67 megawatts total) exceeding their commercial operation date by 2 years with no progress, contract cancellation will be considered case-by-case.

When asked about electricity rate reductions, Danucha stated no precise figures are yet available, but reducing FT to reflect true costs will benefit overall public electricity rates. The new price structure removes the FT component to reflect current actual costs, as renewable technology prices have dropped significantly.

The Office of Energy Policy and Planning (OEPP) and the Energy Regulatory Commission are calculating the exact electricity rate reduction resulting from the contract revisions, with baseline rate reductions possibly not occurring immediately.

Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Supachee Pasmapunpipat has revealed the results of a recent field visit to Ratchaburi province, where she observed the high-value aromatic coconut development model of Aromatic Farm, an example of elevating Thai agriculture from volume-based to premium products. The Commerce Ministry is promoting the Harmony Model as a blueprint for upgrading the country's agricultural industry across the entire supply chain by encouraging farmers to produce appropriate crops, find market buyers, and ensure products meet food security needs.

Under this model, farmers will be incentivized to produce according to market demand while meeting quality standards and quantity targets. Standards may include Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) for community-certified organic farming, Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), organic certification, or geographic indication (GI) registration. Once farmers produce the right products and secure markets, they must expand membership while motivating participants with incentives to maintain quality standards and continuously seek new markets to address the typical blind spot where farmers focus only on production.

Regarding Aromatic Farm, which serves as a prototype for the Harmony Model concept, Supachee noted discussions with founder Nuallaew Thedkiatkul revealed that the farm receives year-round orders from prestigious national companies, hotels, and organizations with strong business growth. The farmer network operates cohesively and has added value through circular economy initiatives and valued waste concepts to create price stability and sustainable income. Most notably, it has partnered with government agencies to pursue carbon credit opportunities.

The operation has also established farmer networks with training programs aligned toward the shared goal of producing quality goods in agreed quantities. A central platform provides knowledge to members from upstream (cultivation and care), midstream (water-splitting techniques, meat extraction, product processing including gelatin, yogurt, and ice cream), with follow-up monitoring before new members join Aromatic Farm. Simultaneously, price stability and sustainable farmer income are achieved through circular economy promotion, emphasizing valued waste by repurposing coconut shells, husks, and residual materials into biochar and value-added products like packaging materials, fuel, eco-friendly products, and alternative energy in collaboration with the National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) and the National Metal and Materials Technology Center (MTEC), while facilitating access to funding through the Thai SME Development Bank.

Gold prices continued their downward trend on July 8, 2569, as announced by the Thai Gold Association. Ornamental gold prices fell 150 baht compared to July 7, settling at 65,800 baht per baht for selling. According to the latest announcement from the Gold Association at 09:01 AM, gold bars are being bought at 64,800 baht and sold at 65,000 baht per baht. Ornamental gold of 96.5% purity is being bought at 63,505.24 baht and sold at 65,800 baht per baht. Meanwhile, global gold spot prices remain at $4,111.00 per ounce. Gold traders predict that prices could surge by 1,000-2,000 baht per baht tomorrow, potentially breaking through the 80,000 baht mark. Leading gold merchants recommend careful timing when purchasing gold.

The Egyptian Football Association announced it has filed a formal complaint with FIFA regarding French referee François Letexier's officiating in Egypt's 2-3 loss to Argentina in the Round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup.

Letexier and his French refereeing team officiated the match on July 7, during which Egypt lost 2-3 to Argentina.

The match featured several controversial moments. Seko scored to put Egypt up 2-0 in the 58th minute, but VAR ruled it out for a foul by Lisandro Martínez, resulting in the goal being disallowed. Additionally, Mohamed Salah was fouled and fell in Argentina's penalty area, but no penalty was awarded. Argentina then mounted a comeback, securing a 3-2 victory with a goal from Enzo Fernández in the 90+2nd minute.

Following the match, the Egyptian Football Association, led by Hani Abu Rida, announced it had submitted a formal complaint to FIFA requesting an investigation into the French referee, emphasizing that he made serious errors during the match and applied inconsistent standards in his decisions.

Abu Rida also called for an investigation into the entire refereeing team, including the VAR official, due to what he described as flagrant mistakes and a refusal to review certain footage that the Egyptian Football Association believed should have resulted in a goal and a penalty.

The statement further called for the referee and his team to be banned from the remaining matches of the World Cup.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced it is conducting a thorough investigation into stock acquisition and disposal reports filed by Supaporn Phimngam. The SEC confirmed Supaporn submitted the Form 246-2 filings, but found numerous inconsistencies in the reported data.

Seven reports covering six securities were entered into the system on June 30 and July 2, 2569, reporting acquisitions spanning from 2564 onwards that were only recently reported. The filings showed only acquisitions with no corresponding sales, and verification of five securities found Supaporn's name absent from shareholder registries following the acquisition dates. Additionally, some reported securities do not appear to exist, and shareholding proportions do not match company disclosures.

The SEC also discovered Supaporn filed reports under Section 59 despite not being a required filer—she is not a director, executive, or person legally obligated to report. These filings have been removed from the system. The SEC has flagged all remaining Form 246-2 reports with a notice stating they are "under verification" to alert investors.

The SEC warned that if false or misleading reports are confirmed, penalties will follow. Unauthorized filers who knowingly submit false statements, misleading information, or conceal facts face up to one year imprisonment and fines up to 100,000 baht under Section 302/1. The SEC may also pursue charges under computer crime laws. The Form 246-2 system allows self-declared reporting by authorized parties to disclose changes in control or shareholding changes relevant to investor decisions. However, when discrepancies are detected, the SEC conducts verification and alerts investors accordingly.