EconDec 09. 2020Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob
By The Nation
The Transport Ministry has reportedly asked the Office of Transport and Public Policy and Planning to study the plan to promote electric vehicles in public transport.
The plan will pilot the use of electric public buses in six provinces – Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Nakhon Ratchasima, Ayutthaya, Chonburi and Phuket.
Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob said he had received the EV subcommittee’s findings from its study of Thailand’s transition from fuel-based vehicles to EVs.
He added that it is expected to take 15 years to fully achieve the transition.
Gulf’s Sarath richest Thai stockholder for second year in a row
EconDec 09. 2020Sarath Ratanavadi, CEO of Gulf Energy Development Plc
By The Nation
Sarath Ratanavadi, CEO of Gulf Energy Development Plc, is the wealthiest Thai stockholder for the second consecutive year with Bt115.29 billion, according to rankings compiled by Money & Banking magazine and Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Commerce and Accountancy.
The rankings list major shareholders at close of trade on September 30 this year, after the SET fell to 1,237.04 from 1,637.22 last year.
The fall wiped Bt140.796 billion off the value of major investors’ stockholdings.
The worth of Sarat’s Gulf shares fell Bt5.67 billion from last year. Sarat is the company’s largest shareholder with 35.44 per cent.
Gulf shares were worth Bt160 last year when he topped the wealth list for the first time, up 109.84 per cent from the initial public offering price of Bt45 in 2018. They had fallen to Bt30.5 in September this year after the Thai economy and listed companies were hit by the Covid-19 fallout.
The second richest investor this year is Prasert Prasattong-Osoth, founder of Bangkok Airways and Bangkok Dusit Medical Services, with a total shareholding of over Bt50.079 billion – down by Bt16.031 billion from last year.
The third richest is Niti Osathanugrah with Bt48.181 billion, down Bt431.68 million. Niti is heir to the Osotspa beverage empire. His investment portfolio this year covers 12 companies.
The fourth richest is Vonnarat Tangkaravakoon, director of TOA Paints (Thailand), who moved up from sixth place last year. His overall stake in Stark Corporation and TOA Paints was worth Bt41.213 billion, up Bt157.85 million.
ThaiBev tycoon Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi was fifth with total holdings of Bt38.178 billion, richer by Bt27.848 billion following his listing of Asset World Corp on the SET last October.
Moving up one place to sixth and seventh were Daonapa Petampai and Chuchat Petaumpai, respectively, who own shares in Muangthai Capital Plc.
Daonapa’s holdings were worth Bt35.460 billion, down Bt5.580 billion, while those of Chuchat were Bt35.277 billion, down by Bt5.563 billion.
Somphote Ahunai, CEO of Energy Absolute, slid to eighth place from fifth last year with Bt34.412 billion, down Bt7.671 billion.
Khunying Wanna Sirivadhanabhakdi, wife of Charoen, is ranked ninth with holdings of Bt28.728 billion, Bt18.398 billion richer than last year.
Harald Link, chairman of B Grimm Power Plc, is 10th in this year’s rankings with shares worth Bt26.798 billion, down Bt632.63 million.
The Cabinet approved the second phase of the Khon La Khrueng (Let’s Go Halves) subsidised shopping scheme on Tuesday.
The co-payment stimulus scheme will be expanded to cover 15 million Thais from the original 10 million.
Until March 31, the government will pay 50 per cent of a participant’s bill for food, drink and general goods up to Bt150 per day. The cap on the total subsidy per person over the whole period has been raised from Bt,3000 to Bt3,500.
Original participants will not have to reregister.
Registration for new participants will open at 6am on December 16 at 6am.
The total budget for both phases of the scheme is Bt22.5 billion, aiming to generate spending of Bt45 billion.
Each phase is designed to increase GDP by 0.32 per cent by injecting up to Bt105 billion into the economy.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index closed at 1,478.92 on Tuesday, up 29.09 points or 2.01 per cent. Total transactions amounted to Bt123.46 billion with an index high of 1,484.73 and a low of 1,442.65.
In the morning session, an analyst at Krungsri Securities expected the day’s index to fluctuate between 1,440 and 1,460 points, buoyed by foreign fund inflows in response to positive news of a Covid-19 vaccine.
“However, we advise investors to speculate for short-term profits, as the falling oil price and tight valuation will pressure the index,” he said.
Also significant for the SET would be today’s Cabinet approval for the second phase of the “Khon La Khrueng” (Let’s Go Halves) scheme and the Bt3.4-billion extension of the MRT Pink Line, he added.
The 10 stocks with the highest trade value today were KBANK, PTT, SAK, DELTA, SCB, AOT, ADVANC, PTTGC, PTTEP and KCE.
As of 4.30pm, the price of oil rose by US$0.11 or 0.24 per cent to $45.87 per barrel, while gold rose by $1.70 or 0.09 per cent, to $1,867.70 per ounce.
Other Asian indices were mixed:
Japan’s Nikkei Index closed at 26,467.08, down 80.36 points or 0.30 per cent.
China’s Shang Hai SE Composite Index closed at 3,410.18, down 6.43 points or 0.19 per cent., while Shenzhen SE Component Index closed at 13,973.89, up 0.41 points or 0.0029 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed at 26,304.56, down 202.29 points or 0.76 per cent.
South Korea’s KOSPI Index closed at 2,700.93, down 44.51 points or 1.62 per cent.
Taiwan’s TAIEX Index closed at 14,360.40, up 103.80 points or 0.73 per cent.
The Thai National Shippers’ Council expects growth of 3 to 5 per cent in the export sector next year, the council’s chairperson Ghanyapad Tantipipatpong said.
The biggest contributor is expected to be the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) pact, which was signed in November.
RCEP marks Asean’s biggest free-trade pact to date, covering market of 2.2 billion people with a combined size of US$26.2 trillion or 30 per cent of global GDP.
The other factors are global progress in the development of the Covid-19 vaccine, which will benefit trade and tourism, especially the export of medical equipment and food from Thailand.
The council said it also expects exports this year to contract only 7 per cent from the previous forecast of 10 per cent, provided the monthly export in the last two months of the year reaches $19.3 billion.
Thai export fell 6.71 per cent in October to $19.38 billion, while imports contracted 14.32 per cent to $17.33 billion.
Exports in the first 10 months of 2020 dropped 7.26 per cent to $192.37 billion. The export of farm and industrial farm products dipped 8.8 per cent, while that of industrial goods fell 4.7 per cent.
The price of rubber rose as the worst flooding in 30 years in the South, where most of the rubber is grown, has had a direct impact on rubber supply in Thailand.
The price of Grade 3 ribbed smoked sheets and raw rubber sheets in Songkhla on December 4 stood at Bt70.74 and Bt67.49 per kilogramme respectively, which is double the price during the same period last year.
The Rubber Authority of Thailand expects rubber production in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Surat Thani and Songkhla to drop by 100,000 tonnes or 2 per cent of the country’s total yearly production.
Sri Trang Agro Industry (STA), which has devoted 45,000 rai to growing rubber, said the flooding has had an impact on its own productivity as well as that of its subsidiary Sri Trang Gloves Thailand (STGT) because raw materials cannot be delivered to the factories in time.
Thai Rubber Latex Group (TRUBB) has six concentrated latex factories in Thailand, three of which are located in the South, two in the East and one in the North. For now, the company is only getting fresh latex from its subsidiaries in the northern provinces of Chiang Rai, Nan, Phayao and Chai Nat.
North East Rubber (NER) is likely to suffer less of an impact because it purchases materials from farmers, middlemen and cooperatives in the Northeast.
An analyst at KTB Securities said he expects STA to be able to cope with the flooding as it has stocked raw materials for up to four months.
“However, we expect NER to benefit the most from rising rubber prices as its factories and raw material sources are in the Northeast,” he said.
He expects STA to make Bt4.6 billion in profits this year and Bt4.8 billion next year, while NER’s profits are expected to stand at Bt853 million this year and Bt1.08 billion next year.
“We advise buying both STA and NER shares,” he added.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index fell by 1.83 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 1,448 in the morning session on Tuesday.
An analyst at Krungsri Securities expected the index during the day to fluctuate between 1,440 and 1,460 points amid foreign funds inflows in response to positive news of a Covid-19 vaccine.
“However, we advise investors to speculate short-term profit, as falling oil price and tight valuation would pressure the index,” he said.
He also expected the Cabinet to approve the second phase of the “Khon La Khrueng” (Let’s Go Halves) scheme and the extension of the MRT Pink Line at a cost of Bt3.4 billion at the meeting today.
He recommended that investors buy:
▪︎ ICHI, TKN, CBG and TNP that benefit from “Khon La Khrueng” (Let’s Go Halves) scheme.
▪︎ MINT, CENTEL and AOT that benefit from positive news of Covid-19 vaccine.
The SET Index closed at 1,449.83 on Friday, up 11.51 points or 0.80 per cent. Total transactions amounted to Bt82.7 billion with an index high of 1,454.94 and a low of 1,439.14.
The price of gold surged by Bt350 per baht weight in morning trade on Tuesday after falling by Bt50 per baht weight at close on Monday, the Gold Traders Association reported.
As of 9.21am, the buying price of a gold bar was Bt26,500 per baht weight and selling price Bt26,600 while gold ornaments were priced at Bt26,029.72 and Bt27,100, respectively.
At close on Monday, the buying price of a gold bar was Bt26,150 per baht weight and selling price Bt26,250, while gold ornaments were Bt25,681.04 and Bt26,750, respectively.
Comex gold to be delivered in February next year rose by US$26, or 1.41 per cent, closing at $1,866 (Bt56,226) per ounce on Monday from hopes of fresh US economic stimulus measures.
Hong Kong gold price rose by HK$270 to $17,230 (Bt66,981) per tael, the Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society reported.
By Syndication Washington Post, Bloomberg · Rita Nazareth, Claire Ballentine
Stocks fell as coronavirus infections swept across U.S. states, triggering fears of more restrictions. The pound pared losses as the U.K. agreed on further talks with the European Commission to address the impasse over a trade deal.
The S&P 500 dropped from an all-time high, led by energy, real estate and financial companies. Intel Corp. tumbled on news that Apple Inc. is planning a series of new Mac processors for introduction as early as 2021. Interactive Brokers Group Inc. sank after saying it was experiencing “a significant failure” across multiple parts of its data-storage system. The Nasdaq 100 rose for a ninth straight day — its longest winning streak in almost a year. Boeing Co. jumped as UBS Group AG recommended buying shares of the plane maker. Airbnb Inc. boosted the price range of its initial public offering.
The U.S. is now averaging about as many deaths per day from covid-19 as it was in April, and several large states — including California, New York and Pennsylvania — are facing alarming upward momentum in hospitalizations. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious-disease expert, warned that the Christmas season could be worse than Thanksgiving for fueling the spread of disease. Meanwhile, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said indoor dining in New York City — the early epicenter of the pandemic — will close if the regional hospitalization rate hasn’t stabilized after five days.
As coronavirus cases surge, markets are increasingly expecting a stimulus deal to be done — especially after last week’s disappointing jobless data. With Republican and Democratic negotiators struggling to reach an agreement on both a mammoth government spending bill and covid-19 relief, lawmakers are set to postpone what had been a Friday night deadline for passing a bill. Talks over a $908 billion pandemic relief plan have slowed, with negotiators unable as yet to resolve key details on state and local aid as well as liability protections for businesses.
“The market is basically assuming that it gets done,” said Bryce Doty, portfolio manager at Sit Fixed Income Advisors. “Now any setback makes the market vulnerable, because it’s built in that they will pass it.”
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will travel to Brussels for crisis talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as they try to break the deadlocked negotiations over a post-Brexit trade deal. The two spoke on Monday evening amid warnings from British officials the talks could collapse unless negotiators make a rapid breakthrough.
A record close for the S&P 500 last week did little to move the needle on valuations from a recent tight range. Still, multiples are tracking higher and well above the long-term average.
“On a classic valuation metric, the market looks very expensive. But on a price-to-cash return basis, it actually doesn’t look that expensive,” Dennis DeBusschere, head of portfolio strategy at Evercore ISI, said in a Bloomberg Television interview.
These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
– The S&P 500 fell 0.2% at 4 p.m. EST.
– The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.3%.
– The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.2%.
Currencies
– The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index increased 0.1%.
– The euro fell 0.1% to $1.2109.
– The Japanese yen strengthened 0.1% to 104.05 per dollar.
Bonds
– The yield on 10-year Treasuries decreased three basis points to 0.93%.
– Germany’s 10-year yield decreased three basis points to -0.58%.
– Britain’s 10-year yield decreased seven basis points to 0.283%.
Commodities
– The Bloomberg Commodity Index fell 0.5%.
– West Texas Intermediate crude decreased 1.1% to $45.74 a barrel.
In a bid to help businesses affected by the Covid-19 outbreak, Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) and Kasikorn Bank (KBank) have separately come up with food delivery platforms
.SCB’s “Robinhood” app, which aims to help community level eateries by waiving application fees and gross profit fees, expects some 50,000 members when it is officially launched next year.
Meanwhile, KBank subsidiary KBTG’s “Eatable” a platform serves as a “helper” for restaurants by allowing customers to book tables or order in advance.
In the “new normal”, the food delivery business has grown exponentially, especially since the need for social-distancing to curb Covid-19 infections has taken the joy out of going to restaurants.
Kasikorn Research Centre found that since the arrival of Covid-19, the food-delivery industry has become very competitive, with as many as 20,000 small to medium-sized eateries signing up to delivery apps every week. In the first half of this year, the food-delivery sector grown by about 150 per cent compared to the same period last year.
It is believed that up to 68 million food deliveries will have been made in Thailand by year end.
Meanwhile, Srihanath Lamsam, managing director of Purple Ventures which created SCB’s Robinhood app, said the aim of the platform is to help society and small merchants by waiving gross profit fees. Most food delivery apps charge up to 35 per cent.
He said by using the Robinhood app, restaurants can save money and focus on boosting the quality of their products.
Under Robinhood, the delivery person also gets paid delivery charges in full without any deductions.
The Robinhood platform, which was introduced in October, will be officially launched early next year.
Even before its official launch, this platform is proving to be very popular, with 300,000 transactions taking place over the last few months with nearly 30,000 restaurants participating. There are more than 10,000 drivers looking after the delivery side of things.
Meanwhile, KBank’s “Eatable” platform is not a food-delivery app but serves more like a “helper” for restaurants and provides customers a new experience by offering them the options of dine-in, dine-out and delivery.
Eatable can be accessed via any web browser, and allows customers to order food for delivery, book a table, or order in advance for pick-up etc.
These services are provided for free and can help boost sales for small businesses.
Ruangroj Poonpol, president of Kasikorn Business-Technology Group (KBTG), said more than 1,000 eateries have joined the platform since it was launched for trial two to three months ago.
The platform will be officially launched in early 2021.
KBTG is also in the process of creating a new platform called Kai Tai Dian Cai that Chinese tourists can use via WeChat. This system is also expected to be launched next year.
Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob 
Sarath Ratanavadi, CEO of Gulf Energy Development Plc 
SootinClaimon.Com 