The bank’s president Pisit Serewiwattana said that over the past several years, as climate change and pollution problems were faced by Thailand and the world, Thai companies have continuously expanded their investment in renewable energy. The trend is likely to increase in the future, predicted Pisit.

Accordingly, EXIM Thailand has issued a 3-year Renewable Energy Bond, over 3-month USD LIBOR. Daiwa Capital Markets is acting as the sole arranger and underwriter of the deal.

The bond issuance was aimed at supporting credit for projects that are beneficial to the environment and promote renewable energy development, such as hydropower projects.

At present, EXIM Thailand provides facilities for hydroelectric power plant projects with capacity ranging from 20.1 to 1,285 MW.

Channel 7HD had the highest rating at 1.943, followed by Channel 3HD with a rating of 1.321, MONO29 at 0.795, Workpoint TV at 0.710, ONE HD with 0.582, Thairath TV at 0.449, 3SD with 0.327, Channel 8 at 0.316, Amarin TV HD at 0.297 and Nation TV with 0.200.

The value last year was Bt1.148 trillion, up 1.43 per cent annually or US$35.822 billion, up 7.05 per cent annually, according to a media release on Tuesday from the Federation of Thai Industries.

The country’s food exports since 2015 until last year had risen every year on an average annual growth of 3 per cent.

“This will be the year where data and analytics mature in the sector; it is the year where evidence-based decision-making starts to become commonplace; it is the year when all organisations begin to uncover new insights that lead to new opportunities and – ultimately – important choices,” noted Richard Threlfall, KPMG International’s global head of infrastructure.

“This is all good news. With a greater focus on evidence, decision-makers will see a wider range of opportunities and choices than ever before. And by making better choices, they get closer to delivering better outcomes for their communities,” he added.

Emerging Trends in 2019 showcases the year’s top trends as identified by KPMG International’s Global Infrastructure Leadership team. The report provides important context behind the 10 trends, offers insights into how the trends are evolving and delivers sound advice to help infrastructure players stay on top of the evolving marketplace.

“Those that are able to stay on top of the emerging trends and understand their broader implications will be well placed to make the choices they need to drive their future success,” added Threlfall.

“And that is what this edition of ‘Emerging Trends’ in infrastructure is all about.”

So what are the top trends to watch over the coming year? And how will they influence the infrastructure sector? Here’s a look at KPMG’s top 10 emerging trends in infrastructure for 2019:

?The public sector begins to reassert its role: As new models and solutions start to disrupt the traditional role of authorities and regulators, governments will take a more assertive approach to defining the rules for private sector infrastructure provision.

?Data drives operational efficiency: The increased maturity and accessibility of data and analytics will allow infrastructure players to uncover the insights that will enable unprecedented efficiency across the infrastructure lifecycle.

?The challenges of mega-projects are magnified: With a view to helping defend their projects against political and financial pressures, mega-project owners will find a new thirst for benchmarking and learning lessons from other projects globally.

?Eyes shift to emerging market opportunities: As interest in new growth opportunities increases, authorities in emerging markets will start to place greater emphasis on properly selecting, preparing and delivering projects.

?Embracing the evidence: Infrastructure authorities will adopt more holistic and evidence-based decision-making processes that enable a much more informed approach to delivering on society’s needs and expectations.

?Sustainability goes mainstream: While progress on the sustainability agenda is clearly being made, expect more public pressure and scrutiny on the sustainability of infrastructure planning, delivery, maintenance and funding.

?Progress trumps divisiveness: Infrastructure players will reassess their long-term strategies in order to diversify their footprints while also moving towards those markets that continue to make progress on their infrastructure agendas.

?Competition for new technologies heats up: The competition around new technologies will intensify as players continue to look for new opportunities to improve their services, products and revenues.

?The customer becomes king: Governments will focus more clearly on understanding actual user choice and will start creating infrastructure plans informed by real-time and predictive customer insights.

?Interdependence creates opportunities: Infrastructure planners will take the steps necessary to start considering multiple long-term plans, supported by robust scenario planning capabilities, as a way to maximise the growing interdependence of infrastructure.

“Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor is a good example of the above trends, with long-term growth due to the new S-curve policy as well as smart technology implementation,” says Tanate Kasemsarn, head of infrastructure and

government, KPMG in Thailand.

“With participation between the government and the private sector, the projects have gained interest from multiple parties, from both domestic and international players.

“In order to drive the projects to success, collaboration and the sharing of knowledge, expertise, and financing, while using proper data analysis and insights are needed.

“With collaboration and decisions made based on data, the project will achieve better planning and operational efficiency.”

The contraction could be blamed on the ongoing trade war between US and China, which has also impacted world trade, according to experts.

In addition, political developments in Europe, risks to China’s banking sector, low expansion of crude prices and the baht’s appreciation have also led to downward pressure on Thai exports.

The value of exports in March was reported at Bt663.22 billion, a drop of 5.6 per cent YoY, while imports for the month stood at Bt609.51 billion, a drop of 8.3 per cent, Pimchanok Vonkorpon, director-general of the Trade Policy and Strategy Office, said.

The country recorded a trade surplus of Bt53.71 billion for the month.

In US dollar terms, exports in March were worth $21.44 billion, down 4.9 per cent YoY while imports for the same period were reported at $19.43 billion, down 7.6 per cent YoY.

During March, shipments of agricultural and agro-industry products increased 3.2 per cent, led by fresh, chilled, frozen, canned and processed fruit and vegetables, and fresh, processed and frozen chicken to Japan, the United Kingdom, China, the Netherlands and South Korea.

Rubber returned to positive territory for the first time in 16 months with expansion in China, Japan, the United States, South Korea and India.

However, sugar and rice have seen contraction by 23 and 7.7 per cent, respectively.

Shipments of manufacturing products shrank 6 per cent, led by electronics items, computers and its components and hard disk drives, while shipments of automobiles and auto parts, motorcycle and parts and rubber products continued to expand.

Pimchanok said though exports in March had shrunk, the numbers were still satisfactory considering last year’s high base and last month’s figures.

If Thai exports continued to log $21 billion per month, the second-quarter growth figure will be positive, which could enable export growth in the range of 3-6 per cent.

She conceded that it was difficult for export growth to hit the ministry’s target of 8 per cent this year. Exports of $23 billion per month would be required to hit the 8 per cent growth target.

In the second quarter of the year, exports are expected to expand, as the US-China talks will likely conclude by the end of June. Other positive factors are rising crude prices and China’s fiscal and monetary stimulus.

New markets

Besides, the ministry is working to expand exports to new markets such as India and expects free trade agreements with several countries to help boost growth during the rest of the year.

Thailand needs to reset its export strategy, especially in electronic products as well as automobiles and auto parts in view of the rising popularity of electric vehicles, Pimchanok said.

Of Thailand’s main export destinations, shipments to Japan climbed 7.4 per cent in March, but shrank 1.4 per cent and 2.6 per cent to the US and Europe, respectively.

Thai shipments to Asean and China shrank 15.6 per cent and 9 per cent respectively during the

month.

Meanwhile, Thai shipments to CLMV (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) and South Asia inched up 0.3 per cent and 1.6 per cent, respectively.

The decrease could be blamed on the ongoing trade war between USA and China that has also impacted world trade.

However, the ministry is working to expand exports to new markets such as India and China and anticipates that free trade agreements with several countries will help boost export growth during the remainder of the year.

The value of exports in March was reported at Bt663.22 billion, a drop of 5.6 per cent over the same month of last year, while imports for March were recorded at Bt609.51 billion, a drop of 8.3 per cent. The country’s trade surplus was given as Bt53.71 billion.

In dollar terms, exports in March 2019 were worth US$21.44 billion, a decrease of 4.9 per cent compared to March 2018 while imports for the same period were reported at US$19.43 billion, a drop of 7.6 per cent.