Thailand’s six oil refineries have agreed on a new specification for base-grade petrol (G-Base), the Energy Ministry said on Monday.
The ministry’s Department of Energy Business will now discuss the new G-Base specifications with automotive industry operators and manufacturers, as part of a move to promote gasohol E20 as a base-grade petrol.
“If all parties agree, the department will issue a new draft specification for G-Base petrol quality around April 2021 for refineries to prepare for the adjustment to G-Base,” said department director-general Nanthika Tansupanich.
“About three months later, every filling station nationwide should be selling E20 as base fuel. This process will be completed around July-August 2021.”
Meanwhile the Energy Ministry is now rolling out the Thailand Integrated Energy Blueprint (TEIB) to combine all five energy plans into one plan. The blueprint will contain a new fuel plan that incorporates the affect of electric vehicles (EVs) on affect future fuel consumption.
The department has also prepared preliminary safety standards for EV charging stations in consultation with stakeholders, with implementation expected next year.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index rose by 16.74 points, or 1.13 per cent, to 1,503.05 in the morning session on Monday.
An analyst at Krungsri Securities expected the day’s index to hit 1,500 points before falling amid the Thai government’s zoning lockdown, window dressing and mass buy-ups of Super Savings Funds (SSFs) and Retirement Mutual Funds (RMFs) at the end of this year.
“However, the index would be under pressure from the rise in the number of domestic Covid-19 cases, tight SET valuation and the decline in foreign funds flow,” he said.
He recommended that investors buy:
▪︎ PTTEP, PTTGC, TOP and IVL, which benefit from rising oil price.
▪︎ 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.
Meanwhile, an analyst at Tisco Securities expected the day’s index to fluctuate due to investors’ short-term speculation, SET’s limited upside and domestic Covid-19 situation.
“However, we do not expect the SET to fall below 1,450 points as we believe that window dressing and mass buy-ups of SSFs and RMFs will help support the index,” he said.
He estimated the index’s support line at between 1,465 and 1,475 and resistance line between 1,495 and 1,500.
He advised investors to sell shares to take profits when the index hits 1,500 and buy back when the index faces volatility.
“Also, we advise investors to stop loss when the SET closes below 1,450 points,” he added.
The SET Index closed at 1,486.31 on Friday, up 34.79 points or 2.40 per cent. Total transactions amounted to Bt88.24 billion with an index high of 1,486.84 and a low of 1,462.77, on the back of news that the European Union and Britain had reached a deal on Brexit.
The price of gold surged by Bt250 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 Bt26,900 per baht weight and selling price Bt27,000, while gold ornaments were priced at Bt26,408.72 and Bt27,500, respectively.
At close on Saturday, the buying price of a gold bar was Bt26,650 per baht weight and selling price Bt26,750, while gold ornaments were Bt26,166.16 and Bt27,250, respectively.
Spot gold price moved to US$1,898 (Bt57,157) per ounce in the morning. However, some important gold markets worldwide were closed for Christmas holidays.
Hong Kong gold price rose by HK$60 to $17,440 (Bt67,750) per tael, the Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society reported.
Initial public offerings (IPO) will become more popular with investors next year, experts said recently.
Prasert Tantayawit, managing director of investment banking for Maybank Kim Eng Securities, said investors are paying attention to IPO shares as the stock market is moving into positive territory.
“Businesses related to aviation and retail have postponed plans to launch IPO shares owing to the Covid-19 impact, but we believe they will start raising funds once the pandemic is resolved,” he said.
“Meanwhile, businesses related to healthcare, construction and industrial estate which have been able to escape the Covid-19 fallout are ready to launch their IPO next year.”
He added that many leading Thai firms plan to expand into neighbouring countries next year.
“Recently, Maybank Kim Eng Securities became an adviser for SCG on the acquisition of a Vietnamese company,” he added.
SCB Securities’ director Veena Lertnimitr said companies aiming to launch an IPO next year will attract more investors to the stock market, especially if they are companies related to digital platforms, e-commerce or branding focused food businesses. She added that five such firms will be listed in the stock market next year.
“Most companies that aim to launch an IPO next year have authorised capital of over Bt300 million, while some may need to improve their business plan to deal with the post-Covid-19 era,” she said.
The Thai stock market is expected to face sell-offs in the final week of the year, as new cases of coronavirus infections soar, Anusorn Tamajai, former dean of Rangsit University’s Economics Faculty, has warned.
People who pay respects at the Hindu shrine outside Isetan department store in Bangkok have to stay in the marked space as a precaution against virus infection.
A new round of coronavirus infections globally and the threat of new virus variants may force many countries to impose ban on foreign arrivals, and such restrictions would disrupt recovery of the global economy, he said.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) may plunge below 1,400 from Friday’s close of 1,486.31, he predicted.
The SET’s new barrier may be at 1,380. The baht will not change much in the final week of the year but it could have a tendency to appreciate in the first quarter of next year due to large contraction in imports, he said.
Investors may shift their funds to more secure asset classes, such as gold and government bonds, as Thailand and other Asian countries are facing a new round of infections which threatens economic recovery. The threat of a US government shutdown could also make global stock markets jittery, as incumbent President Donald Trump has not yet signed the virus relief package into law. That would also adversely affect US stocks and the dollar, said Anusorn.
The Thai government reported 121 new Covid-10 cases on Sunday and authorised partial lockdowns in several provinces.
“The challenge for the government is how to prevent multiple clusters and superspreading events in the next two months,” he said.
If the government can do that, then the virus will be contained as it was in the first round of infection, therefore any large gathering of people must be avoided over the next two months, he noted.
He said the government’s budget of Bt6 billion to buy vaccines is not adequate. The Bt6 billion will buy just 26 million doses of vaccine and only 13 million people will get shots as everyone needs two shots.
Thailand needs to vaccinate at least 53 to 54 million people, including migrant workers, to control the virus and pave the way for reopening of the economy in the third quarter next year, he suggested.
So the government needs Bt18.69 billion more for vaccine sourcing, as the country needs to import at least 107 million vaccine doses, he said.
“If Thailand cannot reopen the economy in the third quarter of next year, more people will lose their jobs, more small businesses will go bankrupt and financial institutions will face serious trouble,” he warned.
The government has to go ahead with its plan to collect land and building tax in order to get more revenue from wealthy people who have the capacity to pay more taxes, he said.
He also urged the government to allow private hospitals to provide vaccinations to high-income groups in order to reduce government spending.
The Bank of Thailand on Wednesday cut its economic growth projection for next year to 3.2 per cent, down from the previous projection of 3.6 per cent, due to the impact of the new round of Covid infections worldwide.
The central bank, however, revised upward its forecast for this year’s growth, predicting a contraction of 6.6 per cent compared with the 7.8 per cent contraction predicted previously.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index closed at 1,486.31 on Friday, up 34.79 points or 2.40 per cent. Total transactions amounted to Bt88.24 billion with an index high of 1,486.84 and a low of 1,462.77. The SET rose more than 2 per cent for the second successive day after gaining more than 2.37 per cent on Thursday.
In the morning session, an analyst at Krungsri Securities expected the day’s index to fluctuate between 1,440 and 1,465 points amid news that the European Union and Britain had reached a deal on Brexit, and Thailand had escaped a nationwide lockdown after the latest Covid-19 outbreak.
However, the index would come under pressure from the decline in fund flows over the Christmas and New Year period, said the analyst.
The 10 stocks with the highest trade value today were DELTA, AEONTS, KEX, IVL, SA, IRPC, BANPU, SAWAD, PTTGC and MTC.
Other Asian indices were mixed:
Japan’s Nikkei Index closed at 26,656.61, down 11.74 points or 0.044 per cent.
China’s Shang Hai SE Composite Index closed at 3,396.56, up 33.45 points or 0.99 per cent, while Shenzhen SE Component Index closed at 14,017.06, up 101.48 points or 0.73 per cent.
Taiwan’s TAIEX Index closed at 14,331.42, up 51.14 points or 0.36 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index and South Korea’s KOSPI Index were closed for Christmas Day.
Banks are preparing cash reserves to accommodate withdrawals during the New Year holidays.
Kasikornbank is planning to allocate Bt36.8 billion for its KBank branches and ATMs from December 28 to January 1.
Of that, Bt10.5 billion will be distributed among KBank’s 860 branches nationwide, with Bangkok getting Bt4.5 billion. Another Bt26.3 billion will be loaded into 8,200 KBank ATMs nationwide, with a whopping Bt14 billion allocated to Bangkok ATMs to support revelry.
Meanwhile, Krungsri will allocate cash reserves of Bt15.24 billion for its nationwide branches and ATMs from December 28 to January 3.
Of the total, Bt11.052 billion will be allocated to its ATMs and Bt4.19 billion to branches. Krungsri had around 632 branches and around 6,121 ATMs as of November.
The Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) is preparing a cash reserve of Bt63 billion, Bt45 billion of which will be for ATMs and Bt18 billion for branches. The bank had 860 branches and 11,926 ATMs nationwide as of November.
Bangkok Bank is preparing cash reserves of Bt50 billion for all its service channels, including ATMs, to cater to spending during December 31 to January 3.
The share price of Delta Electronics (DELTA) has continued to soar since the beginning of this year.
In the morning session on Friday, DELTA’s share price opened at Bt638 per share, up Bt102, or 19 per cent.
The price of DELTA shares rose from Bt53.50 per share at the beginning of this year amid the Covid-19 crisis, as its performance surpassed the market’s expectation.
DELTA’s second-quarter net profit was Bt2.02 billion, up 132 per cent year on year, while its third-quarter net profit was Bt2.64 billion, up 327 per cent year on year.
With the growth in performance and market capitalisation, DELTA was listed in MSCI Global Standard, FTSE SET Large-Cap Index, SET50 and SET100
As of December 24, DELTA’s market capitalisation was Bt668.59 billion, up Bt604.04 billion compared to 64.55 billion at the beginning of this year.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index surged by 30.20 points, or 2.08 per cent, to 1,481.72 in the morning session on Friday.
However, an analyst at Krungsri Securities expected the day’s index to fluctuate between 1,440 and 1,465 points amid positive news that the European Union and Britain had reached an agreement on Brexit, while the Thai government had not imposed a nationwide lockdown in response to the latest virus outbreak.
“The index would be under pressure due to the decline in funds flow during the Christmas and New Year festivals,” he said.
He recommended that investors buy:
▪︎ TQM, BLA, STGT, AJ, PTL, SYNEX and COM7, which benefit from the Covid-19 outbreak.
▪︎ PTTEP, PTTGC, TOP and IVL which benefit from rising oil price, while their fourth-quarter performance is expected to improve.
The SET Index closed at 1,451.52 on Thursday, up 35.50 points or 2.51 per cent. Total transactions amounted to Bt103.03 billion with an index high of 1,453.87 and a low of 1,409.75, boosted by mass buy-ups of energy, bank, financial and electronic shares in response to the Brexit and lockdown news.
The price of gold was unchanged in morning trade on Friday, the Gold Traders Association reported.
As of 9.17am, the buying price of a gold bar was Bt26,650 per baht weight and selling price Bt26,750, while gold ornaments cost Bt26,166.16 and Bt27,250, respectively.
Spot gold price moved to US$1,879 (Bt56,541) per ounce in the morning, while Comex (Commodity Exchange) gold price to be delivered in February next year rose by $5.1 to $1,883.2 per ounce on Thursday.
However, gold is expected to move in a narrow range on Friday as many important gold markets worldwide were closed for Christmas Day.
Meanwhile, gold price was pressured by uncertainty over a delay in the rollout of US economic stimulus package after President Donald Trump said he would not sign the measures.
Anusorn Tamajai
SootinClaimon.Com 