The Finance Ministry will revise its economic forecast for this year and next year in January, according to the Fiscal Policy Office on Monday.
Whether that revision is up or down will depend on the impact of the fresh Covid-19 outbreak in Thailand, it added.
However, the office said it believes the impact will be lower than the previous phase of contagion, since all parties are well-prepared to deal with the fallout.
Deputy Prime Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow last week maintained his forecast of growth above 4 per cent for Thailand’s economy next year, citing the availability of Covid-19 vaccines.
He also maintained his forecast of 6 per cent contraction for the Thai economy this year, in line with the National Economic and Social Development Council’s projection.
There were 144 new Covid-19 infections, including 115 cases of domestic transmission, confirmed over a 24-hour period on Monday, the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) said.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index rose by 9.78 points, or 0.67 per cent, to 1,462.45 in the morning session on Tuesday.
An analyst at Krungsri Securities expected the day’s index to fluctuate between 1,440 and 1,470 amid news that US President Donald Trump had signed an economic stimulus package and mass buy-ups of Super Savings Funds and Retirement Mutual Funds at the end of the year.
“However, the slowdown of foreign funds flows and uncertainty over the surge of domestic Covid-19 cases would pressure the index,” he said.
He recommended that investors buy:
▪︎ PTTEP, PTTGC, TOP and IVL, which benefit from rising oil price, and their fourth-quarter performance is expected to improve too.
▪︎ PSL, TTA and RCL, which would benefit from the rise in the Baltic Dry Index.
▪︎ TQM, BLA, STGT, AJ, PTL, SYNEX and COM7, which benefit from the Covid-19 outbreak.
The SET Index closed at 1,452.67 on Monday, down 33.64 points or 2.26 per cent. Total transactions amounted to Bt103.63 billion with an index high of 1,512.99 and a low of 1,452.48.
The price of gold dropped by Bt150 per baht weight in morning trade on Tuesday after rising by Bt150 per baht weight at close on Monday, the Gold Traders Association reported.
As of 9.27am, the buying price of a gold bar was Bt26,650 per baht weight and selling price Bt27,750, while gold ornaments were priced at Bt26,166.16 and Bt27,250, respectively.
At close on Monday, the buying price of a gold bar was Bt26,800 per baht weight and selling price Bt26,900 while gold ornaments were Bt26,317.76 and Bt27,400, respectively.
Spot gold price moved to US$1,878 (Bt56,494) per ounce in the morning, while Comex (Commodity Exchange) gold price to be delivered in February dropped by $2.8 to $1,880.4 per ounce on Monday after the US Dow Jones Index hit a new high, resulting in mass sell-offs of safe-haven assets.
Hong Kong gold price dropped by HK$50 to $17,370 (Bt67,364) per tael, the Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society reported.
By Syndication Washington Post, Bloomberg · Vildana Hajric
U.S. equities rallied to records after President Donald Trump backed away from earlier threats and signed a coronavirus aid package.
The S&P 500 Index, Dow Jones industrial average and Nasdaq Composite closed at all-time highs following Trump’s surprise approval of the combined $2.3 trillion covid-19 relief and government funding package. Germany’s DAX Index also rose to a record. Treasuries dipped and the dollar strengthened.
Bitcoin retreated after a rally over the holiday pushed it past $28,000 for the first time.
U.S. investors cheered the U.S. aid package, restoring some of the optimism that drove global stocks to a record this month even as the pandemic escalated. In approving the bill, Trump also demanded a vote in Congress to replace the $600 in direct stimulus payments with $2,000 — a nonbinding request that is unlikely to pass both chambers. Still, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. upgraded its first-quarter U.S. economic growth forecast because of the measure.
“The new law is large enough to make a significant difference for individuals,” Dennis DeBusschere, head of portfolio strategy at Evercore ISI, said in a note to clients. “Ignore the noise about the ‘disappointing’ checks and focus on the setup for a robust economic recovery in 2021, particularly in the services sector.”
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. tumbled in Hong Kong despite boosting its share buyback program to $10 billion, amid ongoing concern over China’s inquiry into alleged monopolistic practices. Regulators over the weekend ordered affiliate Ant Group Co. to return to its roots as a provider of payments services, a development that threatens to clip its growth.
On the coronavirus front, more restrictions are being imposed to fight the spread of the new, more infectious strain. Indonesia imposed a temporary ban on all foreigners from visiting the country, while Taiwan will increase the quarantine period for flight crews to seven days. Meanwhile, the European Union kicked off a continentwide vaccination campaign less than a week after clearing a shot developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE.
Elsewhere, the pound weakened after the U.K. last week clinched a historic Brexit trade deal with the European Union.
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
– The S&P 500 Index rose 0.9% as of 4 p.m. EST.
– The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.7%.
– The MSCI Asia Pacific Index gained 0.1%.
– The MSCI Emerging Market Index slipped 0.2%.
Currencies
– The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1%.
– The euro rose 0.1% to $1.2208.
– The British pound decreased 0.8% to $1.3449.
– The Japanese yen weakened 0.4% to 103.86 per dollar.
Bonds
– The yield on 10-year Treasuries increased less than one basis point to 0.93%.
– Germany’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to -0.57%.
– Britain’s 10-year yield was unchanged at 0.25%.
Commodities
– West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.2% to $47.66 a barrel.
The Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) will conduct a new round of evaluation of clients dealing with the impact of the fresh Covid-19 outbreak, said senior executive vice president Kasarb Ngernruang.
Prior to the new outbreak, the bank evaluated 87 per cent of its total 7.5 million customers. It found 23 per cent were able to repay debts as usual, 61 per cent had been unable to make payments for the past 15 months, while debts of the remaining 16 per cent had been written off by the bank.
Kasarb added that the outbreak in Samut Sakhon would only have a small impact on the BAAC since the bank has few customers in the province.
The Office of Small and Medium Enterprise Promotion (OSMEP) will push for SMEs nationwide to get Bt400 billion of the total Bt1.3 trillion annual state spending on procurement of products and services next year.
The office board approved the target on Monday, said OSMEP director-general Veerapong Malai.
The state agency will also urge at least 100,000 SMEs to register with the Comptroller General’s Department, up from its current of around 1,000.
Revenue of SMEs currently accounts for 35 per cent of GDP – close to the pre-pandemic level.
The Transport Ministry will focus on implementing seven new mega-projects next year, including the “southern land bridge” linking the Gulf of Thailand and Andaman Sea, minister Saksayam Chidchob said as he outlined the ministry’s plan for 2021 on Monday.
The Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning has drawn up the terms of reference to hire a private firm to study the feasibility of the project and come up with a suitable design.
Another mega-project is Phase 2 of the double railway track being built by the State Railway of Thailand (SRT).
Saksayam said he has given SRT the job of studying the project, which will be developed on a public-private partnership. Given that the state agency has a huge debt and limited budget, getting the private sector to jointly develop the project is one of the options to help the project take off.
He said work on the double track Denchai-Chiang Rai-Chiang Khong and Ban Pai-Nakon Phanom railway will start next year.
Economic recovery accelerated in November, says Finance Ministry
EconDec 29. 2020Pisit Puapan, left, executive director of the macroeconomic policy bureau at the Fiscal Policy Office (FPO), and Wuttiong Jittungsakul, fiscal policy adviser, report on the state of the economy in November on Monday.
By The Nation
Economic indicators for November suggest Thailand’s recovery from Covid-19 is gathering pace, Wuttipong Jittungsakul, fiscal policy adviser to the Fiscal Policy Office, said on Monday.
Collection of VAT, an indicator of private consumption, rose 2.5 per cent from the previous month while contracting 6.5 per cent year on year (YoY) – a big improvement on the 9.4 per cent contraction in October.
Auto sales in November increased 8.7 per cent from October and contracted 7.2 per cent year on year, significantly improving from the 25.9 per cent YoY contraction in October, he said.
As for private spending, commercial vehicle sales rose 8.2 per cent year on year, for a third consecutive month in growth. However, the growth rate decelerated from 10.4 per cent and 13.5 per cent in October and September respectively.
Imports of capital goods expanded 6.2 per cent month on month, but contracted 3.2 per cent YoY, compared with 17 per cent yearly contraction in October.
Cement sales grew 10.8 per cent from the month before but contracted 1.5 per cent YoY – better than the 9.1 per cent contraction in October.
Government spending, which is a key driver of the economy, increased 100.6 per cent year on year to Bt363.8 billion.
Consumer confidence also grew in November, with the spending sentiment index up 52.4 to reach its highest level in nine months after the second consecutive monthly increase.
Farmers’ real income rose 13.6 per cent, boosting their purchasing power. Covid relief packages have driven rising consumer sentiment and farmer’s income, said Wuttipong.
Meanwhile, Pisit Puapan, executive director of the macroeconomic policy bureau, said most on Thailand’s regional economies also expanded in November on the month before.
The economic situation in the Northeast, Central Region, Greater Bangkok, East and South improved from October. However, economic conditions in the West and North stayed flat in November compared with October.
Energy plan for 2021 targets more than Bt127bn in private investment
EconDec 28. 2020Energy Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow, centre, outlines policies for 2021.
By The Nation
The Energy Ministry on Monday outlined its 2021 mission to strengthen Thailand’s energy sector.
Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow said the ministry would ask the Cabinet to approve a national energy plan that sets clear directions for private investment.
The ministry will also set a clear policy to reduce the electricity reserve, as well as further liberalising the natural gas and power sectors.
It will also promote more investment in electric vehicles and prepare a new bidding round for petroleum exploration concessions.
The ministry will stimulate sales of B10 diesel and set E20 gasohol as base-grade fuel.
The plan will also hasten establishment of community power plants with capacity totalling 150 megawatts.
The minister added that energy policies next year are expected to generate investment of Bt127.932 billion.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index closed at 1,452.67 on Monday, down 33.64 points or 2.26 per cent. Total transactions amounted to Bt103.63 billion with an index high of 1,512.99 and a low of 1,452.48.
In the morning session, an analyst at Krungsri Securities expected the day’s index to hit 1,500 points before falling amid the Thai government’s zoning lockdown, and mass buy-ups of Super Savings Funds (SSFs) and Retirement Mutual Funds (RMFs) as part of year-end window dressing by fund managers.
“However, the index will be under pressure from the rise in domestic Covid-19 cases, the tight SET valuation and the decline in foreign fund flows,” he said.
The 10 stocks with the highest trade value today were DELTA, GPSC, AEONTS, IVL, PTT, BAY, KEX, EA, CPALL and KBANK.
As of 4.30pm, the price of oil rose by US$0.40 or 0.83 per cent to $48.63 per barrel, while gold rose by $3.90 or 0.21 per cent, to $1,887.10 per ounce.
Other Asian indices were mixed:
Japan’s Nikkei Index closed at 26,854.03, up 197.42 points or 0.74 per cent.
China’s Shang Hai SE Composite Index closed at 3,397.29, up 0.72 points or 0.021 per cent, while Shenzhen SE Component Index closed at 14,044.10, up 27.04 points or 0.19 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed at 26,314.63, down 71.93 points or 0.27 per cent.
South Korea’s KOSPI Index closed at 2,808.60, up 1.74 points or 0.062 per cent.
Taiwan’s TAIEX Index closed at 14,483.07, up 151.65 points or 1.06 per cent.
Saksayam Chidchob
Pisit Puapan, left, executive director of the macroeconomic policy bureau at the Fiscal Policy Office (FPO), and Wuttiong Jittungsakul, fiscal policy adviser, report on the state of the economy in November on Monday.
Energy Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow, centre, outlines policies for 2021.
SootinClaimon.Com 