The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index closed at 1,644.01 on Tuesday, up 5.28 points or 0.32 per cent. Transactions totalled 86.41 billion baht with an index high of 1,648.43 and a low of 1,639.08.
The index gained for the fourth day in a row after rising by 0.29 per cent on Monday, 0.09 per cent on Friday and 0.12 per cent on Thursday.
The 10 stocks with the highest trade value today were SCB, TRUE, KBANK, EA, PTT, ONEE, MEGA, KCE, CBG and BDMS.
Other Asian indices were mixed:
Japan’s Nikkei Index closed at 29,808.12, up 31.32 points or 0.11 per cent.
China’s Shanghai SE Composite closed at 3,521.79, down 11.52 points or 0.33 per cent, while the Shenzhen SE Component closed at 14,613.97, down 22.42 points or 0.15 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed at 25,713.78, up 322.87 points or 1.27 per cent.
South Korea’s KOSPI Index closed at 2,997.21, down 2.31 points or 0.077 per cent.
Taiwan’s TAIEX Index closed at 17,693.13, up 58.66 points or 0.33 per cent.
The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) and related operators on Monday tested the new dual-track rail service from Rayong’s Map Ta Phut station to Tha Na Laeng station in Laos.
The service will be officially launched on December 2.
Panya Paputsaro, managing director of Kaocharoen Train Transport, said this train will halve the two to three days it takes to get to Laos by road and significantly reduce the time it takes to get there by sea.
“Trains also help reduce emissions, cut down on road accidents as well as contain the spread of Covid-19,” he said.
Train from Map Ta Phut to Laos goes on test run
He said the next step will be to offer special tourism packages from Rayong to Laos and China.
“This will not only boost Rayong’s economy but will also help Thailand become an economic hub in Southeast Asia,” he said.
Train from Map Ta Phut to Laos goes on test run
Chaiyut Maneerat, assistant general manager of Indorama, said the company launched the railway project jointly with Kaocharoen Train Transport in 2016. Like Panya, he too agrees that trains will help cut down costs, greenhouse gas emissions and road accidents.
The Department of Trade Negotiations (DTN) is getting ready to hold Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forums next year now that Thailand has taken over as chairman.
Apec symposiums in 2022 will follow the theme “Open. Connect. Balance.”
DTN director-general Auramon Supthaweethum said the Apec Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting in May will focus on regional cooperation on several subjects, including boosting Asia-Pacific economies in the post-Covid era, working on the Free Trade Area of Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) and promoting the Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) economic model among businesses.
“We will hold up to 10 official-level meetings next year – four involving the Committee on Trade and Investment, three meetings with the Market Access Group and three with the Group on Services – to expand trade and investment, lift trade barriers and facilitate regional trade and investment,” she said.
DTN director-general Auramon Supthaweethum
She added that DTN also plans to hold two symposiums in May, one on how the FTAAP can be used to drive Asia-Pacific economic integration and another on exchanging knowledge to promote the BCG model.
“We believe comments and ideas from the two symposiums will benefit Thailand and Apec economic development,” she added.
In 2020, trade between Thailand and Apec stood at 9.8 trillion baht, with Thai exports accounting for 5.1 trillion baht and imports standing at 4.7 billion baht. Trade with Apec countries accounts for 71.9 per cent of Thailand’s overall trade.
In the first nine months of this year (January-September) trade with Apec countries stood at 8.8 trillion baht, up 23 per cent compared to the same period last year. Of that, exports accounted for 4.47 trillion baht and imports stood at 4.41 trillion baht.
The price of gold rose by THB50 in morning trade on Tuesday.
A9.27am report from the Gold Traders Association showed the buying price of gold bar at THB28,800 per baht weight and selling price at THB28,900, while the buying and selling price of gold ornaments is THB28,288.56 and THB29,400, respectively.
At close on Monday, the buying price of gold bar was THB28,750 per baht weight and selling price THB28,850, while gold ornaments were THB28,227.92 and THB29,350, respectively.
The baht opened at 32.76 to the US dollar on Tuesday, weakening from Monday’s closing of 32.73.
The Thai currency is likely to move between 32.70 and 32.85 to the greenback during the day, Krungthai Bank market strategist Poon Panichpibool predicted.
Poon added that the baht is likely to swing sideways despite pressure from a strengthening dollar if the US retail report is better than expected. The baht is supported by gold sell-offs and foreign investors’ interest in short-term bonds.
However, the increasing number of new Covid-19 patients in Europe and China might cause the dollar to strengthen or stay at the same level.
Meanwhile, exporters might sell the dollar while foreign investors might invest in baht if the baht weakens from 32.90 to 33 to the dollar. Foreign analytics changed their opinions that the baht might strengthen to 32.50 baht to the dollar while importers are waiting to buy the dollar if the baht reached 32.60 to the dollar.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index rose by 1.43 points or 0.09 per cent to 1,640.16 on Tuesday morning.
The volume of total transactions was 5.4 billion baht with an index high of 1,643.10 and a low of 1,640.16 in opening trade.
The 10 stocks with the highest trade value were TRUE, KBANK, MEGA, SCB, PIN, KCE, CPF, CPALL, SCC and DTAC.
The SET Index closed at 1,638.73 on Monday, up 4.79 points or 0.29 per cent. Transactions totalled 69.46 billion baht with an index high of 1,642.60 and a low of 1,635.22.
Thailand’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022 could expand to 3.5 to 4.5 per cent thanks to the improving Covid-19 situation and gradual recovery of tourism and exports, said the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) on Monday.
“The GDP in third quarter of this year has contracted 0.3 per cent, comparing to the 7.6 per cent expansion in same period of the previous year,” said NESDC secretary-general Danucha Pichayanan. “After seasonal adjustment, the GDP in third quarter of 2021 has contracted from the second quarter by 1.1 per cent.”
Thailand’s economy in nine months of 2021 has expanded at 1.3 per cent, he added.
“We estimated that overall GDP of 2021 will expand by 1.2 per cent comparing to 6.1 per cent contraction in 2020,” said Danucha. “The inflation rate will be at 1.2 per cent while current account deficit will be at 2.5 per cent of GDP, comparing to 4 per cent of GDP in the previous year.”
The NESDC forecast five factors that will drive 2022 GDP to expand at 3.5 to 4.5 per cent. They are:
Increasing domestic demand and manufacturing capacity following the improving Covid-19 situation and increasing vaccination rate.
Slow but gradual recovery of international tourism following the government’s country reopening scheme.
Expansion of exports.
Disbursement of government’s budget to various projects.
Low level base of expansion.
“Exports in 2022 are estimated to expand by 4.9 per cent while the domestic consumption and private investment will expand by 4.3 and 4.2 per cent respectively,” added Danucha. “Next year’s inflation rate is estimated at around 0.9 to 1.9 per cent, while current account will be at 1 per cent surplus of GDP.”
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde doubled down on her assessment that euro-area inflation will ease as economies rebound, falling back below the 2% target in the medium term.
“As the recovery continues and supply bottlenecks unwind, we can expect the price pressure on goods and services to normalize,” Lagarde told European Parliament lawmakers Monday. “We do see wage growth next year potentially rising somewhat more than this year, but the risk of second-round effects remains limited.”
Inflation in the currency bloc is the fastest since 2008, fueled by higher energy prices, supply-chain disruptions and other pandemic-related effects. While many economists agree it will fall back below target in 2023, there’s consternation in some corners of the region about surging prices.
Lagarde said ECB action now to curb price gains wouldn’t be the appropriate response, citing the “time horizon within which monetary policy is potent.”
“If we were to have any kind of tightening approach to the current situation, it would actually do more harm than good,” she said. “It would begin having an impact at a time when inflation is actually returning to lower levels.”
The ECB is set to decide on the future of its monetary stimulus at a meeting next month, when it also gets new economic projections. Its $2.1 trillion (1.85 trillion-euro) pandemic bond-buying program is due to end in March, and a boost to regular asset purchases is being debated.
“Even after the expected end of the pandemic emergency, it will still be important that monetary policy — including the appropriate calibration of asset purchases — supports the recovery throughout the euro area and the sustainable return of inflation to our target,” Lagarde said.
She reiterated that any interest-rate increase next year, as implied by recent financial-market trading, is “very unlikely.”
“I don’t think I will venture into 2023, but for 2022 I repeat that point that I made at the time,” she said, referring to a speech earlier this month in Lisbon.
In a sign of how the inflation debate is heating up, Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing urged the ECB to act against price pressures, saying his economists don’t agree that the issue is temporary.
“The supposed panacea of recent years — low interest rates and seemingly stable prices — has lost its effect,” Sewing told a conference Monday. “Now we’re fighting the side effects.”
At the same event, DZ Bank co-chief Cornelius Riese advised the central bank to behave less like Icarus, the figure from Greek mythology who flew too close to the sun.
Complicating the math for policy makers is a fresh spike in Covid-19 infections that may lead to new restrictions on economic activity. Austria has already imposed a lockdown for those who haven’t been vaccinated. German parties that are currently negotiating a coalition agreement are also considering tighter measures.
These risks, combined with drawn-out supply interruptions, will probably lead the ECB to maintain its loose monetary policy next month, with an interest-rate increase possibly still a long way off, HSBC economist Simon Wells said Monday in a report to clients.
“The challenge is not over yet,” Lagarde said. “Not only the course of the pandemic, but also the decisions taken by policy makers will continue to determine the strength of the recovery.”
Oil fell as U.S. President Joe Biden faced more calls from members of his own party to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to curb surging gasoline prices.
Futures in New York sank as much as 1.8% Monday. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer urged Biden over the weekend to release oil from the nation’s emergency reserves, saying consumers needed immediate relief at the gas pump. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told CNN that the President is evaluating the tools he has available, including a release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
However, a release from the strategic reserves would only be a short-term solution and possibly worsen the problem, said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at Price Futures Group.
“When you release oil to lower prices, it doesn’t solve the underlying problem, which is demand is growing faster than supply,” said Flynn.
As the U.S. mulls a crude-supply release, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates signaled that OPEC+ will continue to be cautious in its plans to raise output. The group has been adding 400,000 barrels a day of production each month on paper, although its members have failed to pump that much in practice so far. The modest release comes as oil has surged to multi-year highs as economic recovery and a global energy crisis have fueled demand.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies are particularly wary about the stability of demand in the coming months. Already in Europe, a handful of smaller consuming nations have reimposed restrictions as a result of Covid-19 cases. President Biden will also meet virtually with China’s President Xi, the world’s largest oil importer, later on Monday.
The Biden Administration’s deliberations to release oil from the SPR comes as gasoline prices have hit a seven-year high, a political problem for Democrats who are experiencing sinking approval ratings. Even climate conscious democratic senators urged the President to act quickly to dampen prices by either tapping SPR or banning U.S. crude exports. Similarly to an SPR release, a U.S. oil export could do little to provide relief to American drivers while upending global markets.
All the while, Italy’s Eni said oil may hit $100 a barrel due to a lack of investment from energy companies.
“Maybe it can reach that,” CEO Claudio Descalzi told Bloomberg Television. “But not for a long time.”
Thailand has collected 686 million baht in tax from online service providers since the e-Service Tax was launched in October.
Deputy government spokesperson Ratchada Thanadirek said on Monday that the tax was collected from 106 registered international platforms providing services worth 9.8 billion baht. She added that the collections were far higher than the projected target of 65 per cent.
The top three contributors were online advertisers, who paid 424 million baht in tax, followed by 209 million baht from e-vendors and 46 million baht from platforms offering membership services for music, films, games, etc.
Train from Map Ta Phut to Laos goes on test run
Train from Map Ta Phut to Laos goes on test run
Train from Map Ta Phut to Laos goes on test run
DTN director-general Auramon Supthaweethum
SootinClaimon.Com 