Baht weakens against dollar on Friday but experts see upswing ahead
FRIDAY, JANUARY 06, 2023
The baht opened at 34.03 to the US dollar on Friday, weakening from Thursday’s close of 33.87.
The currency will likely move between 33.90 and 34.20 against the greenback during the day and between 34.00 and 34.25 in the short term, Krungthai market strategist Poon Panichpibool said.
He said the baht weakened due to the strengthening dollar and falling gold price. He added that the Thai currency could face further pressure from positive US economic data such as non-farm payrolls, wage growth and the Purchasing Managers’ Index.
However, he did not expect the baht to weaken further as exporters are waiting to sell dollars. Also, foreign investors expect the baht may strengthen.
Poon said the baht could rise to 33.50 to the dollar on the return of Chinese tourists and gold sales.
He also advised investors to use strategies to prevent risk from currency exchange volatility.
Kobsit Silpachai, Kasikornbank’s head of capital market research, expects the baht to strengthen in the first quarter as tourism recovers before weakening in the second quarter due to dividend payments and foreign fund outflows.
Koraphat Vorachet, director of investment research and investor services at Capital Nomura Securities, said stocks in airlines, power plants and industrial estates would benefit from the strengthening baht as a large proportion of their debt is in foreign currency.
Digital pharmacy platform ARINCARE unveils plan for IPO to list on SET by 2026
THURSDAY, JANUARY 05, 2023
Nongluck Ajanapanya
ARINCARE, a Thai startup that provides digital platforms to pharmacists and drug stores, has unveiled expansion strategies to meet the growing demand in Thailand. The startup aims to launch an initial public offering (IPO) and list on the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) by 2026.
The move to list on the SET follows the the company’s successful US$4-million Series B funding round with two new investors — Chularat Hospital Group (CHG), and PTG Energy Pcl, an energy provider and service station.
ARINCARE provides a pharmacy management platform for drugstores, medicine express for business-to-business supply chain service and telepharmacy service.
Teera Kanokkanjanarat, CEO and co-founder of ARINCARE, told a press conference on Thursday that with CHG coming on board as the lead investor in this round of funding, and PTG as a follow-on investor, the company would be able to nurture and enhance the Thai health tech ecosystem in accordance with the company’s road map.
He said the fund would be divided into three parts. The first component will be used to enhance supply chain infrastructure, the second part for technology development, and the last part for the preparation of its internal management so that ARINCARE can go public in the next three years.
ARINCARE would continue to expand its markets in a key cooperation with Chularat Hospital Group (CHG) in 2023, Teera said, adding this collaboration is focused on building a connected healthcare ecosystem between hospitals and local healthcare organisations.
They would be connecting Arincare’s network of over 3,000 drugstores and pharmacists with CHG’s medical team.
“This will build healthcare capabilities into the community with nationwide coverage,” Teera explained.
At the same time, the partnership with PTG’s MaxCard, a network with the greatest access to Thai consumers, will strengthen operation of local pharmacies by adding healthcare services to Thai consumers through the MaxCard privilege.
Meanwhile, ARINCARE remains on track to list on the SET and launch an IPO in 2026, he said.
Teera Kanokkanjanarat
Teera said he strongly believes that with this model, ARINCARE could better penetrate its target groups, resulting in over 100% growth and enabling pharmacies and drugstores to deliver the greatest benefit to consumers.
Teera pointed out that the combination of the Covid-19 pandemic and Thailand becoming an ageing society had led to many consumers paying more attention to their own and their families’ health. This trend has resulted in a promising growth of the healthcare market as well as rapidly rising demand for pharmacies and drugstores.
Along with this, he pointed out that government public health systems are insufficient to meet current demand, whereas private health services, such as clinics and hospitals, are concentrated in large cities or communities and charge high service fees.
“Community pharmacies and pharmacists are a gateway for people to better access health services, especially when connected to a healthcare ecosystem, on a platform dedicated to addressing inequalities, so that all Thai people have equal access to public health service systems through the medium of technology,” he said.
Thailand currently has approximately 20,000 pharmacy outlets around the country, 80% of them are small and medium enterprises and only 20% are franchisees or large operators, Teera said.
In 2022, the market was worth 40 billion baht, growing on average by 7% annually. This expansion is expected to continue at a rate of 13-17% per year, reaching 190 billion baht in 2025.
Dr Kumpol Plussind, CHG’s chief executive officer, said that bringing technology to the ARINCARE platform, specifically its e-prescription system, would yield opportunities to combine both in-patient and out-patient treatments in a seamless upgraded service for good quality of life.
“This reduces the number of prescriptions that are missed, forged, or reused. This also allows for easy monitoring of patients’ medical treatment, medical adherence, and easy access to patient medication records without additional fees,” he noted.
Pitak Ratchakitprakarn
Meanwhile, Pitak Ratchakitprakarn, president and CEO of PTG, was pleased with their joint investment in ARINCARE. He said the move would assist PTG in improving its service stations to meet a variety of people’s needs, such as convenience stores and pharmacies. This would also expand PTG’s business opportunities, he said.
“It is part of PTG’s objective to increase the proportion of non-oil businesses to 60-70% by 2026, in line with the global trend to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. We are transitioning from the oil business to eight non-oil business sectors, including food and beverages, digital platforms, wellness and healthcare,” he stated.
Teera was confident that the major collaboration with CHG and PTG would come out with new lines of business, underlining ARINCARE’s mission of “Make Healthcare Affordable”.
Leasing and renewable energy firms launch JV to promote solar rooftops
THURSDAY, JANUARY 05, 2023
Nongluck Ajanapanya
Saksiam Leasing (SAK), a Thailand personal loan provider, has formed a joint venture with TC Renewable Energy to form with the goal of entering the solar rooftop system installation business and providing financing to Thai households nationwide.
The joint venture, Saksiam TC Energy Co Ltd, will have a registered capital of 50 million baht, with SAK and TC Renewable Energy Co Ltd holding 35% and 65%, respectively. This joint venture is scheduled to launch in January 2023.
Siwaphong Boonsalee, SAK’s managing director, said at a press conference on Thursday that the joint venture is a significant step in expanding the service of providing loans for the installation of solar rooftop systems at residential properties, and supporting the public’s access to solar power as a clean and widely available source of energy.
He said the decision was made after SAK saw the potential for growth of the solar rooftop installation business in the future because of the government’s policy to promote the use of clean energy in the business and household sectors.
Furthermore, as the system has already proved effective in lowering electricity bills, the demand for solar rooftop from households is increasing.
According to TTB Analytics, the solar rooftop market in Thailand is expected to grow at 22% per year, reaching 6.7 billion baht by 2025.
However, Siwaphong pointed out that one of the biggest challenges for installing solar rooftop panels right now is a lack of funds.
“The cost of installation is approximately 200 thousand baht, which is quite high. So, after partnering with TC Renewable Energy, SAK will provide an eight-year soft loan with a low interest rate for households, particularly upcountry, to have their own solar rooftop,” he said.
He explained that each household could repay the loan with money saved from their electricity bills.
In an era when utility prices, particularly for electricity, are rising, SAK is confident that loans for the installation of home solar rooftop systems will help reduce costs for the public, thereby strengthening household economies, he added.
SAK will be in charge of marketing and providing solar rooftop loan services to interested parties through more than 1,029 branches across the country by the first quarter of 2023. Saksiam Leasing’s loan portfolio promotes diversity and responsiveness to public needs.
Phurit Laocharoen, chief operating officer of TC Renewable Energy, noted that the company has more than 10 years experience in solar rooftop design and installation. This partnership is a significant step for the company in transferring that knowledge from the business sector to the residential sector.
He explained that currently there are two types of solar rooftop systems available, but the more popular option is the On Grid system, which must be connected to a local Electricity Authority’s power grid.
If the solar panels generate more electricity than is needed during the day, the meter owner may sell the excess to the government. The current purchase price is 2.20 baht per unit.
“On average, the installation of solar panels helps customers save electricity costs by at least 70% per billing cycle, or around 2,000 – 7,000 baht per monthly electricity bill,” said Phurit. “A single solar panel can last 30 years. So, using a solar rooftop will be beneficial in the long run.”
In addition, the company will provide maintenance and performance monitoring services for the duration of the system’s service life. Engineers will evaluate the system’s performance to ensure that solar energy generation is efficient and cost-effective in the long run, he added.
The goal of the collaboration between SAK and TC Renewable Energy is to instal solar rooftops covering at least 100,000 households within the next three years. Besides, this joint venture will be able to generate approximately 500 megawatts of electricity from solar power, with a revenue of around 1 billion baht.
McCarthy fails for third day to win US House speaker vote
FRIDAY, JANUARY 06, 2023
Hardline Republicans in the US House of Representatives rejected Kevin McCarthy’s speakership bid for an 11th time on Thursday, while his supporters worked behind closed doors in hopes of cementing a deal that could bring success.
The voting propelled the House to a level of dysfunction not seen since the turbulent era just before the Civil War, even after McCarthy offered to curb his own clout, raising questions about the party’s ability to wield power.
After the 11th ballot, the House adjourned for the third time this week without electing a speaker.
Lawmakers will reconvene at noon (1700 GMT) on Friday.
McCarthy’s opponents say they do not trust him to fight for the deep spending cuts and other restrictions they want to impose on President Joe Biden and the Democratic-controlled Senate.
But some Republicans held out hope of an agreement between the California Republican and at least some of the 20 hardline conservatives who have opposed his candidacy ballot after ballot.
Because of its inability to choose a leader, the 435-seat House has been rendered impotent – unable even to formally swear in newly elected members let alone hold hearings, consider legislation or scrutinize Biden and his administration.
McCarthy, who was backed by former President Donald Trump for the post, offered the holdouts a range of concessions that would weaken the speaker’s role, which political allies warned would make the job even harder if he got it.
At least 200 Republicans have backed McCarthy in each of the votes this week.
Fewer than 10% of Republican lawmakers have voted against him but they are enough to deny him the 218 votes needed to succeed Democrat Nancy Pelosi as speaker.
The inability to agree on a leader also raises questions about whether Republicans will force a government shutdown or risk default later this year in a bid to extract steep spending cuts.
Some of the holdouts say they expect McCarthy or any other Republican leader to take that approach.
If McCarthy ultimately fails to unite Republicans, they would have to search for an alternative.
Possibilities include No. 2 House Republican Steve Scalise and Representative Jim Jordan, who have both backed McCarthy.
Jordan received 20 votes when nominated by the holdouts on Tuesday.
“We’ve gone full colour”: BMW wows CES with new chameleon car in 32 shades
FRIDAY, JANUARY 06, 2023
BMW is making waves at CES once again, with a new colour-changing car that morphs like a chameleon into different colours to suit the driver’s mood.
The German luxury automaker first unveiled its colour-changingE Ink technology at CES last year, but the colour range was limited to black, white and grey. For this year’s show, the engineers at BMW have gone “full colour,” showing off their i Vision Dee prototype car that can morph into 32 colours and form striking patterns.
“We’ve gone full colour. So, from black and white, now we have again a world first, but this time full colour changing car. And it is E ink. So, it still has the advantages of being true colour and thus it looks great in sunlight,” explained Stella Clarke, an engineer and BMW’s E Ink project leader.
The i Vision Dee car has 240 separate colour cells that can change individually. In one moment, the prototype can go from a light green shade, then dark purple, then red with white racing stripes.
To do this, BMW is using E ink technology, which is normally found in e-readers. When stimulated by electrical signals, the material brings different pigments to the surface, causing the car to take on a different colour or design, such as racing stripes.
And BMW’s latest colour-changing has been a hit with visitors at CES.
“I’ve seen it on TV and I didn’t believe it’s true until you kind of see it in person. It’s something that I don’t even know. It’s kind of impressive that the… You know, last year it was just two colours, and now you can see it in a variety of colours. And it’s something I’d drive, for sure,” said Arlington Brewbaker, a tech enthusiast from New Mexico.
“Yeah. Super exciting. Looks fantastic. Love it. I was here last year and saw the original colour-changing car, it was just black and white. This one looks a lot better and I’d definitely get one,” added James Wagoner, a CES visitor from Seattle.
No energy is needed to maintain the colour the driver selects, according to BMW.
It’s a bountiful bunny world in Year of the Rabbit
FRIDAY, JANUARY 06, 2023
Now that 2023, the Year of the Rabbit in the Chinese zodiac, has kicked off, goods featuring bunny characters and places related to the lucky animal are drawing even more attention. Many rabbit lovers are eagerly working to make the new year a time of leaps and bounds.
“For rabbit lovers, this is a special year that comes only once every 12 years,” said Asana Takahashi excitedly about her expectations for the New Year.
Takahashi, 43, lives with her two pet rabbits and runs a store specializing in rabbit-themed goods in Osaka Prefecture. In November, she had already begun stocking up on merchandise related to the Year of the Rabbit, such as mini-envelopes in which New Year’s gift money is placed.
According to Takahashi, rabbit lovers use the term “usanzai” to describe splurging on items related to the animal, an expression that plays on the Japanese words for “rabbit” and “splurge.”
“To me, 2023 is the year of usanzai. I’m so ready for it,” she said.
Takahashi organizes “My Sweet Rabbit,” an event that runs through Jan. 10 at the Hankyu Department StoreUmeda Main Store in Osaka. Cookies and handmade goods are sold at the event and lectures are given by a photographer specializing in rabbits.
“Many rabbit lovers are likely to flock to the event, which will mark the beginning of the Year of the Rabbit,” Takahashi said.
Admission to the event is limited during certain hours.
According to a person in the department store industry, many companies sell goods depicting the 12 Chinese zodiac signs according to the year, but items for the Year of the Rabbit sell particularly well. The popular bunny character Miffy is also a big feature this year.
Mataro Doll Ltd., a Tokyo-based maker founded in 1919, sells a Miffy doll crafted using a traditional technique for ¥15,400 ( 3,922 baht ). A skilled artisan created the Edo kimekomi doll by covering with cloth a Miffy-shaped doll made out of clay.
US apparel brand Tommy Hilfiger has put out a denim jacket with a Miffy emblem on it for ¥22,000 ( 5,600 baht ).
A variety of rabbit-shaped cookies are displayed at 3:biscuit confectionery in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, which are also participating in the “My Sweet Rabbit” event in Osaka. The Yomiuri Shimbun
According to Mizuki Murakami, an expert on the history of ancient Oriental thought, house divination and feng shui, the origin of goods featuring the 12 Chinese zodiac signs dates back to the Edo period (1603-1867) when unglazed clay dolls were popular with townspeople. Featuring dogs and daruma dolls among other shapes, they were sold at New Year’s as good luck charms.
In the modern era, more ornaments and knickknacks began to be made, which contributed to the widespread belief that items featuring the 12 zodiac motifs bring good luck, according to Murakami.
“It may only be a superstition, but what matters is that it makes you feel more enriched spiritually,” Murakami said. “You might tidy up the entrance to your home because you believe in visits by the deity of the incoming year drawn to the decorations of the 12 signs. The act of cleaning can serve as a stimulus for becoming invigorated.”
But it’s not just knickknacks that are believed to beckon the deity of the incoming year. Places summon deities, too.
Tottori City is home to a beach and a shrine named after a white rabbit, Hakuto Beach and Hakuto Shrine because the area is said to be the setting of a mythological Japanese tale featuring the animal. The Tottori city government is eager to attract tourists by promoting its connection with the animal and good fortune.
The Tottori city government offers special round-trip bus tickets for ¥1,220 ( 310 baht ) between Tottori Station and the shrine. Sold in a limited number, the ticket comes with a ¥500 ( 127 baht ) coupon that can be used in a local Michi no Eki roadside rest area. The ticket can be purchased in the city, with the coupon valid through Feb. 28.
“Hakuto Shrine is a perfect place to visit in the Year of the Rabbit,” said a city official. “It’s a bit far from the train station, so the special bus ticket is useful.”
‘Is this a leadership problem?’ asks investor as Amazon says it will lay off 18,000 workers
FRIDAY, JANUARY 06, 2023
Amazon.com Inc’s layoffs will now include more than 18,000 roles as part of a workforce reduction it previously disclosed, Chief Executive Andy Jassy said in a public staff note on Wednesday. The layoff decisions, which Amazon will communicate starting Jan. 18, will largely impact the company’s e-commerce and human resources organizations.
The massive job cuts by Amazon, one of the biggest private employers in the United States, show the wave of layoffs sweeping through the tech sector could stretch into 2023 as companies rush to cut costs, analysts said on Thursday.
As a demand boom during the pandemic rapidly turns into a bust, tech companies shed more than 150,000 workers in 2022, according to tracking site Layoffs.fyi, a number that is growing as growth in the world’s biggest economies starts to slow.
The layoffs brought back memories of the dot-com bubble at the start of the century and the 2008 financial crisis when tech companies cut jobs in thousands to reduce spending.
During the global pandemic, companies ramped up hiring only to reverse course in 2022, with the tech sector leading the job cuts, which according to executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc, surged 649% from 2021.
The drop in demand amid a steep rise in borrowing costs has led several executives from the sector to admit they hired in excess during the Covid-19 crisis.
Meta Platforms axed 11,000 jobs last year, with Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg saying he had wrongly expected that the pandemic boom would keep on going.
Tech giants Microsoft and Google-parent Alphabet have already hinted at cost cuts, including layoffs.
Salesforce top boss Marc Benioff said on Wednesday the enterprise software company had hired “too many people” as he announced plans to cut 10% of the jobs.
“Is this a leadership problem,’ said Jeff Tomasulo, CEO and founder of Vespula Capital and Tactical Income, who has positions in Amazon, Meta, and Salesforce. “We are seeing some of these leaders do a really poor job at anticipating the downturn that we’re going into.”
For Amazon, growth in its cloud unit that brings most of its profit has slowed as businesses cut back spending, while its online retail unit is reeling from strained consumer budgets due to rising prices.
Putin orders ceasefire in Ukraine over Orthodox Christmas – Kremlin
FRIDAY, JANUARY 06, 2023
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday (05 January) ordered a 36-hour ceasefire in Ukraine over Orthodox Christmas, the first major truce of the more than 10-month-long war that has killed tens of thousands and devastated swathes of Ukraine.
Putin ordered the ceasefire to begin on Jan. 6, the Kremlin said. Many Orthodox Christians, including those living in Russia and Ukraine, celebrate Christmas on Jan. 6-7.
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow called earlier on Thursday for both sides of the war in Ukraine to observe a Christmas truce.
“Taking into account the appeal of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, I instruct the Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation to introduce a ceasefire regime along the entire line of contact of the parties in Ukraine from 12.00 on January 6, 2023 to 24.00 on January 7, 2023,” Putin said in the order.
Ukraine spurned Putin’s offer for a 36-hour ceasefire over Orthodox Christmas, saying there would be no truce until Russia withdraws its invading forces from occupied land.
Russia’s Orthodox Church observes Christmas on January 7. Ukraine’s main Orthodox Church has rejected the authority of the Moscow patriarch, and many Ukrainian believers have shifted their calendar, celebrating Christmas on December 25 as in the West.
Mexico arrests Ovidio Guzman, son of ‘El Chapo,’ city engulfed by violence
FRIDAY, JANUARY 06, 2023
Mexican drug cartel leader Ovidio Guzman, a son of jailed kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, was arrested, unleashing a violent backlash by gang gunmen on Thursday that shut the airport in the city of Culiacan as authorities told residents to stay indoors.
Burned vehicles were scattered on the streets, blocking roads while heavily armed law enforcement patrolled in pickup trucks.
Defence Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval told a news conference that security forces had captured the 32-year-old senior member of the Sinaloa Cartel. The arrest comes three years after an attempt to detain him ended in humiliation for the government.
Ovidio was now being held in the capital Mexico City, Sandoval said.
Ovidio, who has become a key figure in the cartel since the arrest of his father, was briefly detained in 2019 but was quickly released to end violent retribution in Culiacan from his gang. The incident was an embarrassing setback for the government of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
His latest capture comes before a North American leaders’ summit in Mexico City next week, which U.S. President Joe Biden will attend and at which security issues are on the agenda.
The United States had offered a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Ovidio.
It is not yet clear whether Ovidio will be extradited to the United States like his father, who is serving a life sentence at Colorado’s Supermax, the most secure U.S. federal prison.
Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, 65, was convicted in New York in 2019 of trafficking billions of dollars of drugs to the United States and conspiring to murder enemies.
Teera Kanokkanjanarat
Pitak Ratchakitprakarn
In addition, the company will provide maintenance and performance monitoring services for the duration of the system’s service life. Engineers will evaluate the system’s performance to ensure that solar energy generation is efficient and cost-effective in the long run, he added.
A variety of rabbit-shaped cookies are displayed at 3:biscuit confectionery in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, which are also participating in the “My Sweet Rabbit” event in Osaka. The Yomiuri Shimbun
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