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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/economy/40024095

1,500 jobs up for grabs for Thais on three US cruise ships

TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2023

Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin on Tuesday urged Thais who can communicate in English to apply for 1,500 jobs available on three US cruise ships, which could pay up to around 87,000 baht a month.

Suchart said CTI Group Worldwide Services Inc has 1,500 job vacancies in 37 positions for Thais who are at least 21 years old.

The vacant posts include chefs, waiters and waitresses, beverage staff, electricians, maids and garbage collectors.

Suchart said successful applicants would work on one of three cruise ships for six to nine consecutive months and would be paid between 19,618 to 87,176 baht per month, plus tips. They also will get free accommodation and food.

Applications can be submitted from January 18 to February 16, the minister added.

“Thai workers are naturally pleasant-mannered and polite and have a smiling face at all times, so they are in high demand by foreign employers,” Suchart said.

“Working abroad will widen your vision and provide you working experience while helping earn foreign currency for the country,” he said.

Pairoj Chotikasathien, director-general of the Employment Department, said the CTI Seafarer Recruitment (Thailand) Co Ltd has submitted an agreement for recruiting services and a letter from CTI Group to the department, stating the need for 1,500 staff.

Pairoj said applicants must have at least six months of experience in the positions they apply for and must have good command over English.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/economy/40024089

Cabinet extends diesel excise cut for four more months to control cost of living

TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2023

The Cabinet on Tuesday extended the diesel excise relief of 5 baht per litre for four more months, Deputy Finance Minister Santi Promphat said.

Speaking to reporters after the weekly Cabinet meeting, Santi said the Cabinet reached the resolution to extend the cut from January for four more months to help reduce the cost of living and to prevent consumer product prices from rising.

The latest round of diesel excise cut would cost the Excise Department around 40 billion baht in lost revenue, or about 10 billion baht a month.

The latest round is the sixth one since February last year. Combined with revenue loss in the latest round, the government would lose about 140 billion to 150 billion baht in diesel excise revenue.

Santi said the cut would not affect the financial situation of the government as it had received an extra 33 billion baht income from the auction of mobile phone and radio bandwidths as well as tax fines on imported goods following court rulings. He did not elaborate.

Santi added that revenue received by the Finance Ministry during the first two months of fiscal 2023 was 55 billion baht higher than the target and the ministry was confident of receiving 2.6 trillion baht in revenue at the end of the fiscal year in September.

“For fiscal 2023, the government would borrow about 695 billion baht to offset the budget deficit while the projected spending would be 3.1 trillion. It is expected that at the end of the fiscal year, there would be a cash balance of 710 billion baht with the treasury,” Santi said.

“So, the government’s financial status is stable and it would not be affected by the excise cut,” he reiterated.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/economy/40024084

JP Morgan upgrades Thai equities on rebound in Chinese tourism

TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2023

Visitors to Thailand from China could rebound to two-thirds of pre-pandemic levels and contribute to tourism receipts worth 6 % of Thai GDP in 2023, the bank says

J.P. Morgan has upgraded its rating of Thailand’s stock markets to “overweight” from “neutral” on the prospect of a return of Chinese visitors to the country, the firm said on the sidelines of the annual J.P. Morgan Thailand Conference held in Bangkok this week.

According to the bank, a recovery in Chinese tourism for Thailand – which was the most popular destination for Chinese outbound travellers after Hong Kong and Macau in 2019 – will have a positive impact on local business sentiment and consumer confidence, as well as offset the effects of a global economic slowdown.

“China’s earlier-than-expected reopening is a key catalyst to our bull-case scenario for Thailand equities,” said Marco Sucharitkul, Senior Country Officer of J.P. Morgan Thailand. “With about 11 million tourists in 2019, China accounted for around 29 % of Thailand’s incoming visitors before the pandemic. We now forecast up to 26 million Chinese tourists arriving in Thailand in 2023, which is 65 % of 2019 levels and slightly higher than the government projection of 25 million.”

“This would translate into US$ 39 billion worth of tourism receipts this year, doubling the amount in 2022 and equivalent to 6 % of the country’s GDP,” Sucharitkul added.

The pickup in non-resident spending will in turn boost consumer confidence, which remains at “way below” the long-term average levels, the bank says. “In addition, the government recently approved the ‘Shop Dee Mee Khuen’ tax rebate scheme – which offers up to 40,000 baht in tax deductions for goods and services purchased between Jan 1 and Feb 15, 2023 – will further boost spending in the short term,” said Kae Pornpunnarath, head of Thai equity research for J.P. Morgan.

J.P Morgan has a base target of 590 for MSCI Thailand and a 1,800 target for the SET (Stock Exchange of Thailand) in 2023. In terms of sectors, the bank remains overweight on Thai consumer staples, consumer discretionary, and healthcare.

“We think there is significant pent-up demand for outbound travel from the Chinese population,” said Sucharitkul. “Our baseline forecast expects the resumption of cross-border travel with the rest of the world to start by the late first quarter, and resumption of large-scale international travel to start around mid-year and international flights steadily recovering to 50 % of the pre-pandemic level going through the second half of 2023.”

Cooling inflation, baht and elections boost

Aside from a boon provided by Chinese tourists, J.P. Morgan expects other factors to bolster Thai stock markets’ performance in 2023, including slowing inflation due to lower energy prices and tame wage growth that could improve profit margins for Thai corporates.

To head off rising inflation, the Bank of Thailand has raised interest rates by 75 basis points since August 2022, bringing the benchmark rate to 1.25 %. J.P. Morgan expects two more 25 basis-point hikes this quarter, bringing the terminal rate to 1.75 %.  

As result, inflation has begun to cool, with J.P. Morgan expecting the headline consumer price index to fall to 3.3 % by the end of 2023 from 6.3 % in 2022. “The falling input costs are expected to particularly help Thailand’s food and beverage producers and utility companies, which had limited avenues in 2022 to pass through rising costs,” said Sucharitkul.

Meanwhile, the strength in the Thai baht – supported by an improvement in tourism receipts and reduced freight costs that helped Thailand’s current account move into surplus last year – is expected to continue in tandem with a recovery in tourism. “Our view is that strong currency should enhance returns for equity investors,” said Pornpunnarath.

According to J.P. Morgan, Thailand’s general elections in May could provide a short-term boost to the stock markets. Based on the bank’s historical analysis, median returns for Thai equities in the three-month run-up during the past 12 Thai elections were approximately 5 %, with the electronics, energy, food & beverage and commerce sectors tending to outperform the broader market.  However, the gains have tended to normalize in the medium term.