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Vietjet makes $3 million in profits despite Covid

EconFeb 02. 2021

By The Nation

Vietjet Aviation has reported 4.43 trillion dong or US$192 million in consolidated revenue in the fourth quarter of last year and a total of 18.21 trillion dong or $790 million in revenue for the entire 2020.

In 2020, Vietjet recorded a consolidated after-tax profit of 70 billion dong or $3 million, making it one of the few airlines in the world to turn a profit without having to lay off staff.

The statement said revenue from supplementary ventures accounted for 50 per cent of the airline’s total revenue.

Vietjet’s total assets reached 47.04 trillion dong or about $2 billion, while its owner equity stood at 17.33 trillion dong or about $746.2 million, including treasury shares. Its debt-to-equity ratio stayed at as low as 0.66 while the liquidity ratio remained at 1.2, which is good given the current situation of the aviation industry.

Vietjet last year configured some of its passenger aircraft for freight transportation purposes while applying new operational methods to strengthen its cargo service capacity. The airline was the first airline in Vietnam to be allowed to deploy cargo operations in the passenger cabin (CIPC). It has since delivered more than 60,000 tonnes of cargo internationally, seeing its freight revenue leaping by 75 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year.

Vietjet also won “Belly Carrier of the Year” and “Low-cost Carrier of the Year” awards from cargo magazine, Payload Asia.

In 2020, Vietjet also launched the Vietjet Ground Services Center (VJGS) at Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport, which helped the airline better manage its operating costs.

The airline has also introduced a series of new products and services, like the unlimited Power Pass, the upgraded Power Pass Skyboss or SkyBoss and Deluxe classes with better flying privileges.

Vietjet has also managed to drastically cut its operating expenses by optimizing fleet operations for 10 per cent less, negotiating 20 to 25 per cent discounts from suppliers and bringing down daily operating costs by at least 10 per cent. The airline also successfully hedged jet fuel in May 2020 and saved 25 per cent in fuel costs.

Vietjet has so far resumed its entire domestic network of more than 47 routes. The airline is also getting government support in the form of tax benefits, tax-payment extensions and reduction in landing/take-off fees, ground service fees and air-control fees.

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Online traders power up silver as GameStop retreats

EconFeb 02. 2021

By The Washington Post · Hamza Shaban

Silver futures surged more than 9 percent Monday as online investor communities adapted their GameStop playbook to the precious metal markets, a strategy that sent shorted companies soaring last week and battered the Wall Street hedge funds that had bet against those stocks.

GameStop shares sank about 1 percent in premarket trading even as the broader market was poised to advance. The video game retailer’s stock soared 400 percent last week and has seen an 18-fold surge since December. Other shorted stocks that have attracted intense interest, including AMC Entertainment and BlackBerry, were up 17 percent and 3 percent, respectively, in premarket trading.

Wall Street appeared ready to rebound from last week’s losses amid anxiety over the chaos fueled by the speculative trading frenzy cheered on by the Reddit forum WallStreetBets and other online communities.

The Dow Jones industrial average is poised to jump more than 230 points, or 0.8 percent, at the open, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are signaling advances of 1 percent or more.

As of early Monday morning, the popular trading platform Robinhood still maintained buying restriction on eight stocks. Customers are limited to 700 shares in BlackBerry, 10 shares of AMC, and 1 share of GameStop, according to the company’s investing webpage. The popular trading app took heat last week for efforts to rein in dozens of stocks caught up in the trading chaos.

The stock frenzy has attracted so much media attention that talks are already underway to turn the Wall Street mania into a Hollywood drama. MGM has purchased the rights of a book proposal dubbed “The Antisocial Network” from best-selling author Ben Mezrich, Deadline reported Sunday. Mezrich’s 2009 book, The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding Of Facebook, a Tale Of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal, was adapted into the movie The Social Network.

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Thai stock market up 0.75%

EconFeb 01. 2021

By The Nation

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index closed at 1,478.05 on Monday, up 11.07 points or 0.75 per cent. Total transactions amounted to Bt77.81 billion with an index high of 1,481.66 and a low of 1,456.45.

In the morning session, an analyst at Krungsri Securities expected the day’s index to fall to 1,450-1,455 points after the US stock market dropped amid speculation in GameStop shares.

He said foreign funds are likely to continue flowing out of the SET due to the economic impact of the fresh Covid-19 outbreak.

“However, the index will rebound from mass buy-ups of shares of companies whose fourth-quarter turnover is expected to improve,” he said.

The 10 stocks with the highest trade value today were PTT, KBANK, IVL, CBG, EA, PTTEP, BBL, BANPU, SCB and IRPC.

As of 4.30pm, the price of oil rose by US$0.36 or 0.69 per cent to $52.56 per barrel, while gold rose by $16.80 or 0.91 per cent to $1,867.10 per ounce.

Other Asian indices were on the rise:

Japan’s Nikkei Index closed at 28,091.05, up 427.66 points or 1.55 per cent.

China’s Shang Hai SE Composite Index closed at 3,505.28, up 22.21 points or 0.64 per cent, while Shenzhen SE Component Index closed at 15,024.24, up 202.25 points or 1.36 per cent.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed at 28,892.86, up 609.15 points or 2.15 per cent.

South Korea’s KOSPI Index closed at 3,056.53, up 80.32 points or 2.70 per cent.

Taiwan’s TAIEX Index closed at 15,410.09, up 271.78 points or 1.80 per cent.

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SET falls amid worries over economic fallout of Covid-19 second wave

EconFeb 01. 2021

By The Nation

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index fell by 1.84 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 1,465.14 in the morning session on Monday.

The SET is predicted to fall to between 1,450 and 1,455 points in line with the fall in the US stock market due to uncertainty over the speculation in GameStop shares, said Krungsri Securities analyst.

He said foreign funds are likely to flow out of the Thai stock market due to the impact of Covid-19 on the economy.

“However, the index would rebound from mass buy-ups of shares of companies whose fourth-quarter turnover is expected to improve,” he said.

He recommended that investors buy:

▪︎ PTTGC, TOP, IVL, EPG, VNT, CBG, ROJNA, TVO, STGT, CPF, RCL, SYNEX, COM7, XO, WICE, JMT, MTC, SAWAD and KCE whose fourth-quarter earnings are expected to improve.

▪︎ CBG, ICHI, OSP, SAPPE, RBF and DOD, which benefit from news related to hemp.

The SET Index closed at 1,466.98 on Friday, down 1.53 points or 0.10 per cent. The volume of total transactions was Bt95.78 billion with an index high of 1,480.44 and a low of 1,455.55.

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Gold sees slight rally after last week’s slide

EconFeb 01. 2021

By The Nation

The price of gold rose by Bt50 per baht weight in morning trade on Monday, the Gold Traders Association reported.

As of 9.27am, the buying price of a gold bar was Bt26,150 per baht weight and selling price Bt26,250, while gold ornaments were priced at Bt25,681.04 and Bt26,750, respectively.

At close on Saturday, the buying price of a gold bar was Bt26,100 per baht weight and selling price Bt26,200, while gold ornaments were Bt25,635.56 and Bt26,700 respectively. The price had dropped by Bt150 per baht weight last week.

Spot gold moved to US$1,855 (Bt55,459) per ounce in the morning, while Comex (Commodity Exchange) gold rose by $9.1 to $1,850.3 per ounce on Friday, thanks to mass buy-ups of safe-haven assets after the sharp fall in US stock market due to uncertainty over speculation on GameStop shares.

Meanwhile, gold gained positive sentiment from the delay in delivery of Covid-19 vaccine, which affects economic recovery.

Hong Kong gold price rose by HK$70 to $17,140 (Bt66,093) per tael, the Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society reported.

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Thai stock exchange ‘vulnerable to speculative machinations’

EconJan 31. 2021

By The Nation

The GameStop share drama that has rocked Wall Street could happen in the Thai stock market too, due to globalisation of data and the IT revolution, an economist has warned.

Meanwhile, Kasikorn Research Centre has predicted that the Thai central bank will leave the key interest rate unchanged when the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meets on February 3.

Anusorn Tamajai, former dean of the Rangsit University’s Faculty of Economics, has warned local investors that shares of some companies could be targets for speculative trading in the same manner as the shares of GameStop, a VDO games retailer in the United States.

The skyrocketing price of GameStop has been the talk of the town after some Wall Street heavyweights faced huge financial losses on their bet against GameStop shares, while amateur investors defeated their plans with frenzied buying of the company’s shares that sent its price soaring. Critics blame social media platforms such as Reddit and new applications that facilitate amateurs to jump into the stock market where they could lose their money in speculative trading.

The IT technology that led to globalisation of information could change world capital markets and cause some countries to lose control over their economic management and tax revenue. It could also lead to a financial bubble that could go bust in case share prices are not backed by economic fundamentals, said Anusorn.

Thai investors could use an application or the investment room chat at pantip.com to speculate on shares, as the amateur investors in the US did on GameStop, he warned.

The speculative trading has expanded to other shares trading on Wall Street, including movie theatre AMC, retail business Bed, Bath & Beyond, and mobile phone brand Blackberry, said Anusorn.

On the positive side, IT technology could lead to democratisation of capital as proposed by the economist John Kenneth Galbraith. A new wave of investors could create a countervailing power against the establishment force that has long monopolised the market and economy.

Blockchain technology and the upcoming ‘quantum computing,’ superfast computing calculation, is expected to dramatically change the landscape of global financial markets, the economy and the manufacturing sector, he predicted.

IT and Blockchain technologies have made cryptocurrencies and digital money widely available and it is difficult for regulators, such as the central banks around the world, to control the use of cryptocurrencies, said Anusorn.

He revealed that there were only two Thai companies that were seriously studying how to apply quantum computing technology to their businesses, while governments in the US, Europe, China, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore have supported private companies to make use of quantum computing, he said, urging the Thai government to do the same.

Meanwhile, Kasikorn Securities forecast that the Stock Exchange of Thailand Index is expected to move between 1,425 to 1,500 next week (February 1 to 5) after the index dropped 2.06 per cent from last week to close at 1,466.98 on Friday. Investors will monitor the outcome of Bank of Thailand (BOT)’s MPC meeting on the policy rate on February 3, the latest developments in the Covid-19 infection and fourth-quarter performance of listed firms and the consumer price index in January.

Kasikorn Research Centre expects the BOT to maintain the policy rate at 0.5 per cent, as the government has launched the latest virus relief package equivalent to 1.4 per cent of GDP. Policymakers also feel comfortable with the deceleration in the baht’s appreciation because the weaker baht would not disrupt economic recovery, according to the research house.

Investors will also keep an eye on the US stimulus package, US economic indicators including purchasing managers index (PMI) in both manufacturing and service sectors, non-farm employment and unemployment rate in January. Other key economic indicators include the euro-zone’s gross domestic product in the fourth quarter of last year and January’s PMI composite in the euro-zone, China and Japan, Kasikorn Research Centre said.

The centre also expected the baht to move between Bt29.80 to Bt30.20 a dollar next week (February 1 to 5). The baht closed at Bt29.92 a dollar on Friday, slightly up from Bt29.99 against the dollar on January 22. This week, the baht moved in narrow range against the US dollar in the early days of the week but rose in line with the yuan and regional currencies later in the week.

Factors that will affect the baht next week are the outcome of the MPC meeting, latest developments in the virus infection, progress of the US stimulus package and key US economic data.

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Thai stocks least affected as Asian markets fall

EconJan 29. 2021

By The Nation

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index closed at 1,466.98 on Friday, down 1.53 points or 0.10 per cent. The volume of total transactions was Bt95.78 billion with an index high of 1,480.44 and a low of 1,455.55.

In the morning session, an analyst at Krungsri Securities expected the day’s index to fluctuate between 1,460 and 1,490 following a fall in the number of US jobless claims and mass buy-up of shares whose 2020 fourth-quarter results are expected to improve.

However, foreign investors’ net sales of about Bt10 billion over the past week would pressure the index, he said.

The 10 stocks with the highest trade value today were KBANK, PTT, EA, PTTEP, BBL, GPSC, SCB, CPALL, IRPC and IVL.

As of 4.30pm, the price of oil dropped by US$0.02 or 0.04 per cent to $52.32 per barrel, while gold rose by $11.40 or 0.62 per cent to $1,852.60 per ounce.

Other major Asian indices all saw bigger falls than the SET:

Japan’s Nikkei Index closed at 27,663.39, down 534.03 points or 1.89 per cent.

China’s Shang Hai SE Composite Index closed at 3,483.07, down 22.11 points or 0.63 per cent, while Shenzhen SE Component Index closed at 14,821.99, down 91.21 points or 0.61 per cent.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed at 28,283.71, down 267.06 points or 0.94 per cent.

South Korea’s KOSPI Index closed at 2,976.21, down 92.84 points or 3.03 per cent.

Taiwan’s TAIEX Index closed at 15,138.31, down 277.57 points or 1.80 per cent.

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BOT warns uneven recovery shaken further by new virus wave

EconJan 29. 2021

By The Nation

Economic recovery continued in the fourth quarter of 2020, but remained uneven, said the Bank of Thailand on Friday.

Indicators of private consumption rose due to gradual recovery in household purchasing power, support from government stimulus measures, and the addition of long holidays.  However, despite improvement in overall private consumption, household purchasing power remained vulnerable and uneven across income groups and geographical areas. 

The value of goods exports contracted at a softer pace, following recovery in demand from trade partners. 

Private investment indicators showed expansion, in line with improvement in demand and business sentiment. 

Recovery in domestic and external demand also spurred a softer contraction of manufacturing production. 

Public spending rose from capital expenditures, partly due to the low base effect of the delayed enactment of the 2020 budget last year. However, the tourism sector continued to contract severely due to travel restrictions on foreign tourist arrivals. 

On the stability front, headline inflation was less negative due to price increases for energy and fresh food. Meanwhile, 

core inflation decreased. 

The labour market improved in line with the economic recovery, but remained vulnerable and uneven. 

The current account registered a deficit after a surplus in the previous quarter, as the trade balance recorded a smaller surplus due to gold imports.

Economic recovery continued in December but remained uneven, said the central bank. It added that the new wave of Covid-19 that emerged mid-month had begun to affect some economic activities.

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SET Index expected to fluctuate amid mixed signals

EconJan 29. 2021

By The Nation

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index fell by 3.72 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 1,464.79 in the morning session on Friday.

The SET is expected to fluctuate between 1,460 and 1,490 amid the decline in number of US initial jobless claims and mass buy-up of shares whose fourth-quarter results are expected to improve, said a Krungsri Securities analyst.

However, foreign investors’ net sales over the past five days worth approximately Bt10 billion would pressure the index, he said.

He recommended that investors buy:

▪︎ PTTGC, TOP, IVL, EPG, VNT, CBG, ROJNA, TVO, STGT, CPF, SYNEX, COM7, XO, WICE, JMT, MTC, SAWAD and KCE, whose fourth-quarter results are expected to show improvement.

▪︎ CBG, ICHI, OSP, SAPPE, RBF and DOD, which benefit from news related to hemp.

The SET Index closed at 1,468.51 on Thursday, down 29.62 points or 1.98 per cent. Total transactions amounted to Bt92 billion after the US Federal Reserve decided against launching more measures to tackle the economic impact of Covid-19.

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Baht appreciates against dollar but market turbulence predicted

EconJan 29. 2021

By The Nation

The baht opened at 29.98 to the US dollar on Friday, strengthening from Thursday’s close of 30.01.

The Thai currency is likely to move between 29.95 and 30.05 and in line with the dollar, Krungthai market strategist Poon Panichpibool said.

On Thursday night, financial markets were in a risk-on state in response to the rise in listed companies’ turnover and strong US economic data despite the Covid-19 impact.

The abovementioned factors helped stock markets to rebound after falling the previous day. The S&P 500 and Stoxx 50 indexes rose by 0.9 and 0.6 per cent respectively, while the US Ten-Year Treasury yield increased by over 3 basis points to nearly 1.05 per cent as investors reduced their holdings in safe-haven assets.

The US dollar index fell by 0.12 per cent to 90.54 points, causing market-sensitive currencies to rise. Meanwhile, alternative assets such as bitcoin jumped by 6.2 per cent to $32,912.

Poon noted that the market would continue monitoring global economic data and listed companies’ performance as the financial market is likely to face high volatility due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the delay in Covid-19 vaccine delivery, together with uncertainty over the rollout of economic stimulus measures and the central bank’s monetary policy easing.

He also mentioned that the dollar tended to strengthen amid a demand for safe-haven assets and market fluctuations.