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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40017746

Thailand’s export of gems and jewellery has risen in May, thanks to countries reopening and the weakening baht, the Gems and Jewellery Institute of Thailand (GIT) said on Thursday.

GIT deputy director Sumed Prasongpongchai added that many countries are ordering more Thai goods. However, he said the export of gold has dropped due to a decline in the price of the precious metal.

Thailand’s export of gems and jewellery in May was US$757.48 million (27.63 billion baht), up 69.70 per cent year on year, he explained. However, he said the export value, including gold, in May was $1.01 billion (36.86 billion baht), down 7.03 per cent year on year.

He said the export of gems and jewellery between January and May this year was $3.28 billion (119.74 billion baht), up 46.90 per cent year on year. The export value including gold in the first five months was $7.58 billion (276.72 billion baht), up 113.96 per cent year on year, he added.

Sumed explained that many of Thailand’s major gems and jewellery export markets have expanded, including the US (53.53 per cent), India (158.21 per cent), Hong Kong (7.6 per cent), Germany (16.61 per cent), United Kingdom (73.52 per cent), Switzerland (123.88 per cent), United Arab Emirates (17.95 per cent), Belgium (35.86 per cent), Italy (103.97 per cent) and Japan (10.74 per cent).

Exports of major products have increased, such as silver jewellery (13.95 per cent), gold jewellery (61.79 per cent), polished diamonds (70.70 per cent), rough gems (43.49 per cent), polished hard gems (91.37 per cent), polished soft gems (60.80 per cent), artificial jewellery (34.81 per cent) and scraps made of precious metals (38.28 per cent), he said.

However, he said export of platinum ornaments and rough diamonds had dropped by 14.82 per cent and 22.04 per cent, respectively.

Sumed Prasongpongchai

Sumed expected the export of gems and jewellery to rise further as many countries have reopened. The weakening of the baht has also helped boost Thailand’s competitiveness.

However, he said people’s purchasing power would be under pressure due to the Covid-19 crisis and the Russia-Ukraine war’s impact on fuel prices and production costs.

The GIT has continued setting the standard for Thai gems and jewellery, such as promoting the “Buy with Confidence” project and laboratory inspection standards, in order to gain confidence in the industry, he said.

He added that the GIT has also encouraged entrepreneurs to use online channels to boost gems and jewellery sales.

Published : July 14, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40017739

Thailand has exported over a million tonnes of fruits during the first half of this year, generating over 80 billion baht in revenue for farmers, the fruit management committee of the Agriculture Ministry said.

The export figures were reported to the meeting of the so-called “Fruit Board”, or the committee in charge of development and management of fruits, which is ex-officio chaired by Agriculture Minister Chalermchai Sri-on.

The meeting was held on Monday and Chalermchai assigned his adviser, Alongkorn Ponlaboot, to chair the third meeting of the Fruit Board for this year.

Alongkorn said the meeting was informed that exports during the first half of this year was 120,000 tonnes higher than in the same period last year.

The meeting was pleased with the export performance of fruits but the committee was warned to plan ahead to manage longans in eastern provinces, which would be harvested late this year, Alongkorn said.

He said the meeting also approved a project to provide remedy to longan farmers, whose harvest could not be sold mainly because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Alongkorn said the meeting also resolved to set up two forward commands for managing fruits – one in the South and the other in the North.

He said Somchuan Ratanamangalanon, deputy permanent secretary at the Agriculture Ministry, was appointed as chief of the Southern forward command and Chatree Bunnag, Agriculture Ministry’s inspector-general, as chief of the Northern forward command.

Alongkorn said the two forward commands would work with 22 provincial fruit management committees, which are headed by their respective provincial governors, to solve problems related to fruits that would be harvested during the second half of this year.

He said the Northern forward command would have to particularly deal with longans that would come into the market in the second half.

Alongkorn said Chalermchai has instructed the Fruit Board to speed up the implementation of the five-year development plan for fruits for 2022-27. The plan aims to improve the quality of Thai fruits.

Alongkorn said the Fruit Board would focus on development of production technologies, the processing of fruits, the creation of Thai fruit brands, the use of traceability system of fruits, and efforts to expand both local and foreign markets as part of the implementation of the development plan.

He said the Fruit Board would also study measures to cope with the expansion of durian orchards both in Thailand and other countries that would compete for market share in export to China.

According to Alongkorn, the Fruit Board also made several decisions, including:

• Setting up a committee to be in charge of developing mangosteens and coconuts

• Assigning a subcommittee to implement a plan to comprehensively solve issues related to longan production as proposed in a study, whose results were reported to the Fruit Board on Monday

• Approving a plan to manage 764,777 tonnes of longan expected to be harvested in the northern provinces this year

• Approving a plan to manage 487,459 tonnnes of durians, mangosteens, rambutans, and southern langsats that will be harvested this year.

• Assigning the secretariat of the Fruit Board to draft proposals on how to provide remedy to longan farmers for their harvests in 2021 and 2022. The proposals will be sent to the agriculture minister for sending to the Cabinet for deliberation.

Published : July 14, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40017705

The baht opened at 36.24 to the US dollar on Thursday, strengthening from its previous close of 36.28.

The currency is expected to move between 36.15 and 36.35 during the day, predicted Krungthai Bank market strategist Poon Panichpibool.

Poon said the baht was likely to fluctuate and weaken as the dollar advanced and amid investor concern that the Chinese government might enforce more lockdown measures.

Poon expects the baht’s short-term support level to be 35.90-36, and its resistance level 36.5.

The dollar might “invert” if the US Federal Reserve does not signal it would go in for a heavy rate increase in July, he said.

Poon felt that uncertainty over what the Fed would do is likely to lead to a fluctuating market.

He advised investors to use hedging tools such as options to manage risks in the highly volatile currency market.

Published : July 14, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40017695

Kla Party leader Korn Chatikavanij said on Wednesday that the 3-billion baht pledged by PTT Plc to the oil fund would not help bring down oil price sustainably.

Korn, a former finance minister, was commenting on the resolution of the PTT board to contribute 1 billion baht per month to the oil fund for three consecutive months so that the government would have enough cash to continue to provide oil subsidies.

Korn said the Energy Ministry had claimed earlier that it would receive contributions of 24 billion baht from refineries but it has got only 3 billion baht so far.

“The 3 billion baht is far below the 24 billion the energy minister boasted the government has received,” Korn said.

“But doing just this is not the final solution to expensive oil prices. I hope this was the first step towards changes to oil price structure to reduce the burden on the people.”

Korn reiterated that the structural price of oil could be changed by telling oil refineries to reduce their gross refining margin, which was at least 3 baht per litre higher than what it should have been.

“The market price of petrol is also two times higher than what it should have been. If these two factors are reduced, people will get cheaper oil immediately,” Korn said.

Korn had earlier slammed refineries for making huge gains from gross refining margin of up to 8 baht per litre. But the refineries issued a joint statement denying that their margin was that high.

Published : July 13, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40017692

A group of 50 owners of boutique and small hotels in Phuket rallied in Patong area on Tuesday, urging help from the government after their bank creditors threatened to seize their hotels.

They staged the rally at a car park behind the Krung Thai Bank Patong branch to highlight their grievances to Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam, who is visiting Phuket with an entourage to evaluate the performance of government agencies.

The demonstrators carried banners that small and medium-sized enterprises and small hotels in Phuket were dying because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Their leaders said they represented some 200 small and boutique hotels in Phuket, which have been affected by the pandemic. They said they did not receive government help because most of them had failed to obtain a hotel licence.

A leader said the pandemic had forced the closure of their hotels so they lacked income and were unable to service their debt to the banks.

He said many of the 200 hotels were seized by the bank creditors and were auctioned off.

“We would like to ask for leniency from banks. Please don’t seize our hotels. Some of the owners have to continue to pay back loans even after their hotels are seized. We would like to seek understanding from the government instead of helping only big hotels,” the leader said.

The group dispersed after a team of officials of Wissanu promised to take up their demands.

Published : July 13, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40017639

The Interior Ministry aims to allow foreign investors who invest 40 million baht for at least three years to purchase residence on 1 rai (1,600 square metres) land in a bid to boost real estate sales and stimulate the economy.

The ministry will propose this measure to the Cabinet soon, Deputy Interior Minister Nipon Boonyamanee said on Tuesday.

He expected this measure to help stimulate the real estate market and benefit lands in Bangkok and other major provinces, such as Samut Prakan, Chonburi, Chiang Mai and Phuket.

“So far, the Interior Ministry has sought measures to stimulate real estate sales, especially among foreign businessmen with high purchasing power,” he said.

“The price of real estate in Thailand isn’t high compared to other countries, so it is a good opportunity to stimulate the economy.”

He said the ministry also aims to lower transfer and mortgage fees for properties costing more than 3 million baht to 0.01 per cent.

He added that the ministry will study whether the reduction of transfer and mortgage fees will be offered to properties costing up to 20 million baht or not.

Published : July 12, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40017619

The baht opened at 36.22 to the US dollar on Tuesday, weakening from Monday’s close of 36.18.

The currency is expected to move between 36.15 and 36.35 during the day, predicted Krungthai Bank market strategist Poon Panichpibool.

Poon said the baht is likely to fluctuate and weaken as the dollar is strengthening and investors are concerned that the Chinese government may enforce more lockdown measures.

He expects the baht’s support level in the short term to be 35.90 to 36, and the resistance level to be at 36.5.

Poon said the dollar might “invert” if the US Federal Reserve does not signal it would go in for a heavy rate increase in July.

He also urged investors to beware of the currency market’s volatility before and after information on US inflation has been revealed.

If the US inflation is higher than expected, the Federal Reserve may signal an interest rate increase this year, which will strengthen the dollar.

The market may also fluctuate as investors are waiting for the latest ZEW Economic Sentiment indicator. If it shows that the European economy is worse than expected, then it may pressure the euro and help the dollar strengthen.

Published : July 12, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40017615

There are no political conflicts coming in the way of Thailand successfully hosting the Apec CEO Summit 2022 in November in Bangkok and that business leaders from 21 member countries will achieve fruitful solutions for the global economy, the private sector said.

Poj Aramwattananont, member of Apec Business Advisory Council (ABAC) Thailand and Apec CEO Summit 2022 chairman, stated that current geopolitical conflicts may put some pressure on the Apec Summit of leaders. but not on the CEO summit.

“As business people, we care more about benefits than conflict. We prioritise better solutions for all parties,” Poj said.

His comments came as the Russia-Ukraine war has gradually intensified, leading to worries that the gathering would not achieve its goal.

Thailand, which chairs Apec 2022, is all set to also host the Apec CEO Summit 2022 under the theme “Embrace, Engage, Enable”. So far, the host country has received positive feedback from all members regarding participation in the event.

The event is rich in trade and investment opportunities, both for Thailand and the economies across the region, Poj added.

He anticipated that the country’s second hosting of the Apec CEO Summit after 2003 would help Thailand’s economy and tourism recover as it did the first time.

“Being the second-largest economy in Southeast Asia with half a trillion GDP — over 70 per cent from exports, 40 per cent from industry sector, and 50 per cent from service sector — this is a proud moment for Thailand to showcase our strengths, particularly our tourism and financial service industries, as well as our food industry, which contributes greatly to the world’s food security,” added Poj.

The CEO Summit is a premier gathering of chairpersons, CEOs and top business executives from the 21 economies comprising Asia Pacific, where they engage in dialogues with Apec leaders and discuss some of the most pressing issues crucial to sustainable prosperity of the region.

The purpose of this summit is to agree on identifying practical solutions to some of the biggest challenges the world is facing today and will probably be facing in the future.

Key topics to be discussed during the three-day summit include: innovation, the global economy and the future of Apec, trade and investment, circular economy in practice, digital economy, future of work, inclusive growth, and healthcare after the pandemic.

Some of the world’s top-notch leaders from both the business and government sectors, as well as those from Apec economies, are expected to speak.

Kasemsit Pathomsak, ABAC alternate member and executive director of the Apec CEO Summit 2022, said that Thailand looks forward to welcoming notable chairpersons, top business executives, thought leaders, prime ministers and presidents from across the region to attend and speak at the summit.

“More than being a journey towards achieving a better trade and investment environment, we see a game-changing partnership between the business communities and the people of Thailand,” said Kassemsit.

The Apec CEO Summit 2022 will be held from November 16-18 at True Icon hall, Iconsiam. The three-day event includes 15 sessions on interesting current issues.

Published : July 11, 2022

By : Nongluck Ajanapanya

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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40017601

Thai companies clinched 352 business deals worth an estimated 11.6 billion baht with Saudi counterparts at a Bangkok business-matching event, the Commerce Ministry said on Monday.

The July 6 event generated instant trade of 130 million baht, with another 11.5 billion baht expected during the rest of this year, according to Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP) director-general Phusit Ratanakul Sereeroengrit.

Hosted by the DITP and Board of Trade, the event drew representatives from 70 Saudi companies under the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce, most of whom are in the food-and-beverage, construction, healthcare, retail, transport, gem and jewellery industries. “Saudi businesspeople expressed strong interest in ordering more products from Thailand, saying that Thai products are of high quality, meet international standards, and suit the needs of Saudi consumers,” said Phusit.

He added that the Commerce Ministry is expanding the Saudi market for Thai products including rice, halal foods, and fruit by launching promotions in Saudi supermarket chains Manuel and LULU. These events will be held alongside social media campaigns to boost Saudi consumers’ awareness of Thai products, especially food, cosmetics, and industrial products.

The DIPT will also invite Saudi importers and businesses to international trade fairs in Thailand throughout the rest of the year, including the TILOG VE/TILOG-LOGISTIX fair on August 24-26, the Bangkok RHVAC 2022 fair on September 7-10, and Bangkok Gems & Jewelry Fair on September 7-11.

Saudi Arabia is Thailand’s 17th largest trade partner and ranks second among Middle Eastern nations. In the first five months of 2022, two-way trade between Thailand and Saudi Arabia totalled 122.23 billion baht, up 45.56 per cent from the same period last year. Thai exports contributed 25.69 billion baht, up 23.3 per cent, while imports were at 96.53 billion, up 54.31 per cent from the same period last year.

Key Thai exports included automobiles and auto parts, wood and wooden products, rubber products, canned and processed seafood, and machinery and parts. Saudi exports to Thailand comprised crude oil, chemicals, fertiliser, pesticide, finished oil and scrap metal.

The burst of trade comes after the two countries normalised ties in January following three decades of soured relations.

Published : July 11, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40017580

The baht opened at 35.82 to the US dollar on Monday, strengthening from Friday’s close of 36.01.

The Thai currency is expected to move between 35.75 and 35.90 against the greenback during the day and between 35.70 and 36.30 during the week, Krungthai market strategist Poon Panichpibool predicted.

Poon said the baht is likely to weaken and test its resistance level from 36.20 to 36.30 if the dollar strengthens. He suggested investors beware of the baht’s volatility before the US inflation report has been revealed.

However, the baht’s weakening might be limited as exporters are waiting to offload their dollars. Moreover, foreign investors are waiting to buy Thai stocks on the dip and the sale of gold will also help slow down the baht’s weakening.

Poon speculated the dollar might strengthen if the US inflation is higher than expected and the US Federal Reserve sends a signal to increase the interest rate at a high rate. The dollar might also strengthen if the Chinese or European economic reports are worse than expected.

The strategist advises investors to use hedging tools like options to manage their risks in the highly volatile currency market.

Published : July 11, 2022

By : THE NATION