Kasikornbank is among the lenders that have topped up their holdings for the holiday period this month. Kasikornbank said it has reserved Bt30 billion in cash for the nation’s biggest festival.

The cash will be held across its branches and ATMs over the holiday. The allocation covers April 12-16.

Of the total, Bt4 billion is for branches in Bangkok and Bt4.9 billion for customers’ needs outside the capital. KBank has 957 branches.

Some Bt21.1 billion is reserved for 9,267 ATMs across the country.

Of this amount, Bt8.8 billion is being held in Bangkok and Bt12.3 billion is in place for KBank’s ATMs in the provinces.

Bangkok Bank yesterday said it had readied more than Bt36 billion in cash for 10,000 ATMs nationwide to serve customers from April 13-16.

“Customers can rest assured that cash will be available for withdrawals from Bangkok Bank’s ATMs during the Songkran holiday,” the bank said.

Customers can also use the bank’s services at 319 micro-branches in shopping malls and communities.

The bank will resume normal operations from April 17.

In addition, customers can perform financial transactions via digital channels for free via Bualuang mBanking and Bualuang iBanking for instant money transfers between different regions and banks, PromptPay transfers, bill payments for products and services, as well as top-up services. “Customers can be confident that they will be able to perform their financial transactions in a convenient, fast and safe manner,” the lender said.

Siam Commercial Bank has put aside Bt37.5 billion for Songkran, split evenly between Bangkok and the provinces.

The reserve is higher than the Bt36 billion allocated last year.

Kasikorn Research Centre (KResearch) forecasts that Bangkokians’ spending (excluding outlays on overseas trips) will reach Bt25 billion from April 12-16. This would be 3.6 per cent higher than for the same period last year.

The researchers say the smog in the North is expected to see Bangkokians avoid that region in favour of spending most of their time in Bangkok and the nearby provinces. This will benefit retailers, accommodation and restaurant businesses in these areas, KResearch said.

Of the total expected spending, Bt9.65 billion is likely to be spent on parties, Bt6.65 billion on accommodation and trips, Bt4.6 billion on shopping, Bt2.05 billion on merit making, and the same amount on other leisure pursuits.

The average spending per person is expected to be Bt5,800, compared to Bt5,600 last season, KResearch said.

Immigration Bureau chief Pol Lt-General Surachate Hakparn said yesterday that the measure encouraged higher spending by tourists from these countries, estimated at a total of Bt122 billion in the last three months.

Since the measure began on November 15, 2018, 2,346,971 arrivals have come under the scheme as of March 31, including 1,704,539 Chinese, 467,435 Indians, and 174,997 of other nationalities.

While the measure may have costed the bureau Bt4.693 billion in visa fees, it was more than offset by higher spending.

SCB IN PAYMENTS DEAL

Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) recently teamed up with Ria Money Transfer, a subsidiary of Euronet Worldwide and a leading company in cross-border money remittances, to provide cash payout remittance services in Thailand.

The agreement allows customers in Thailand to receive money transfers sent from all over the world through Ria with greater convenience. Recipients can collect cash quickly and securely at any of SCB’s more than 1,000 branches nationwide without the need for a bank account.

Srihanath Lamsam, executive vice president of Siam Commercial Bank’s Payment Product Function Department noted that Thailand is a major Asian nation and the recipient of a large amount of international money transfers, with SCB alone receiving more than 800,000 transactions last year. More than 70 per cent of these transactions come from the US where Ria has a strong retail presence through agents and company-owned stores in addition to their online channels.

STOCKS’ BRIGHT START

The Thai bourse posted positive return in the first quarter despite foreign investors mostly staying on the sidelines, waiting for a clearer picture of domestic and external Issues, according to the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET).

At the end of March, the SET Index rose 4.8 per cent from the end of last year to 1,638.65 points, moving in line with its regional peers, with the average daily trading turnover of Bt41.83 billion, down 10.5 per cent from a month earlier. Agriculture and agro-industry, technology, resources, property and service groups outperformed the SET Index.

Soraphol Tulayasathien, SET’s senior executive vice president, said local institutional investors net bought Thai stocks for a 20th straight month, while March’s daily trading turnover on Thailand Futures Exchange rose 31 per cent from the previous month , reflecting investors’ enhanced risk management.

In the month, foreign investors net sold Thai stocks worth Bt16.44 billion.

At the end of March, dividend yield was 3.16 per cent, higher than Asian bourses’ average at 2.77 per cent. The SET Index’s forward and historical price to earnings ratios, at the end of March, stayed at 14.9 and 17.1 times, compared to Asian bourses’ average at 14 and 16 times.

  The agency next year will set up 13 smart cities in the provinces and will join business partners to showcase smart city solutions.

Passakorn Prathombuts, DEPA’s senior executive vice president, said the agency aims to develop smart cities to cover 77 provinces in the next five years in order to improve the quality of life and boost the country’s competitiveness.

The agency aims to play the role of a facilitator to support both the private and public sectors in helping the development of smart cities.

The agency, under the City Dara platform, will collect unstructured and structured information such as traffic data, CCTV, WiFi access and transportation to create a mega-data market place of the cities.

In the next step, the agency plans to develop various solutions for smart city development, including smart environment, smart mobility, smart people, smart governance, smart energy, smart living and smart economy.

“We have a pilot City Data platform in Phuket and aim to transfer knowledge for development of other smart cities in the next step,” said Passakorn.

He added that within the next year, the agency would develop smart cities in 13 provinces such as Chiang Rai, Nan, Krabi, and Mukdahan. As result, the country will see development of smart cities covering 20 provinces by the end of next year. The agency aims to make Thailand the centre of smart city development in Asean by 2032 and a Thai city will be ranked in the world’s top 10 smart cities in 2036.

“The government wants the smart city concept to be driven by local citizens and the private sector. The government will act as facilitator to support the eco-system, basic infrastructure, set the standard and regulations as well as provide grants or seed funding,” said Passakorn.

He added that some of the technologies that drive a smart city are Internet of Things, big data, 5G network and artificial intelligence.

Richard Li, general manager of Messe Frankfurt (Shanghai), said in order to develop smart cities in Thailand, the company has joined hands with DEPA to set up the Thailand Building Fair, Thailand Lighting Fair and Secutech Thailand.

The three events, held in conjunction with Digital Thailand Big Bang, will offer an overview of smart city development. Intrinsic elements such as smart and energy-efficient lighting and building as well as smart security and safety systems will all be present under one roof during the show and will offer a unique insight into how smart city development can create sustainable and modern environments for every citizen in Asean to live, work and thrive.

The events will be held from October 28-31.

Messe Frankfurt’s brand shows for the smart city industry Secutech Thailand, Thailand Lighting Fair and Thailand Building Fair will showcase innovative smart city solutions, while the focus on digital infrastructure will be at the DEPA-organised Digital Thailand Big Bang show. The four shows will embrace this new theme to serve as a one-stop shop for the latest smart city technology and solutions.

Nuttapon Nimmanphatcharin, president of DEPA, said the collaboration would mark a noteworthy new milestone for Smart City Solutions Week in Thailand. The adoption of the smart city concept is an undeniable trend in Asean cities. The agency hoped that industry players would take advantage of these integrated solutions and build a networking platform across the smart city ecosystem.

Kasikorn Research Centre (KResearch) yesterday revised down the country’s economic growth for 2019 to 3.7 per cent from its earlier estimate of 4 per cent, KResearch assistant managing director Nattaporn Triratanasirikul said.

TNSC chairman Ghanyapad Tantipipatpong said that given the negative factors, the council has cut its forecast for this year’s export growth to 3 per cent from the earlier estimate of 5 per cent. In the first two months of this year, Thai exports were expected to inch up 0.2 per cent year on year.

“If the Thai exports must achieve 5 per cent growth this year, exports must average US$22.8 billion per month for the remaining nine months of this year. If the growth target is 3 per cent, monthly Thai exports must be $22 billion. TNSC expects exports in March to shrink 4-5 per cent, which could lead to first-quarter contraction of 1 per cent or flat growth,” Ghanyapad said.

She said the growth figure of 8 per cent targeted by the Commerce Ministry was not possible while it would be difficult to reach the TNSC’s 5 per cent growth target.

Exports in February rose 5.9 per cent year on year to US$21.55 billion, while imports decreased 10 per cent to $17.52 billion, which generated a trade surplus of $4.03 billion in the month.

Excluding exported weapons, Thai exports in the month contracted 4.9 per cent, led by a 9 per cent shrinkage in agricultural products shipments.

TNSC has also urged speeding up of the process of government formation after the election and the need for an economic stimulus to attract foreign investment, as well continuing the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) Policy, the country’s infrastructure investments and free trade agreements, she said.

She said that the election campaign promise to raise the minimum daily wage to Bt400 was too-high and could reduce Thailand’s international trade competitiveness.

TNSC secretary-general Chaichan Charoensuk said that given the export contraction in the first two months, March’s exports are forecast to shrink 4-5 per cent likely due to unfavourable markets for rice, rubber, tapioca products, processed, canned, frozen seafoods excluding shrimp, and processed and frozen shrimp. Shipments of electronics products, which have contracted, are also expected to rise weakly.

KResearch’s Nattaporn added that Thailand also will be challenged by the global economic slowdown which will, in turn, affect its exports. The new government has to expedite the implementation of economic stimulus policies under the fiscal year 2019 budget, including the passing of the fiscal 2020 budget bill. If the new government can be formed by June 2019 and the economic stimulus can be implemented as expected, household consumption will be boosted by 0.2-0.4 per cent of GDP, and the outlook for the Thai economy in the second half of this year will be brighter than in the first half.

The new economic growth projection reflects an expected slowdown in Thai exports resulting from the economic downturn in Thailand’s key trade partners despite better-than-expected improvements seen in the US-China trade dispute. KResearch has also cut its export growth projection for 2019 to 3.2 per cent from 4.5 per cent, and its 2019 import growth forecast to 4.3 per cent from 5.3 per cent.

Nattaporn expects the policy rate to be kept at 1.75 per cent throughout the year. High liquidity in local commercial banks and the banks’ approach to gradually approve loans currently should not intensify the competition in the commercial banks’ interest rates.

As for the movement of the baht, KResearch has forecast that the baht would weaken and move within the range of Bt31.20-Bt32.50 per dollar. Factors deserving close attention are domestic issues, especially, political and economic situations.

Manoon Siriwan, an energy expert, forecast that the global price of oil will be over US$500 per tonne in the second quarter .

The Energy Fund Administration Institute (EFAI), under the Energy Ministry, stated that the net value of the Oil Fund currently stands at Bt32.143 billion. The oil account value amounts to Bt38.273 billion while the LPG account is at a deficit of Bt61.3 billion.

Manoon said LPG demand will continue to increase in the second quarter due to hotter weather as reflected in the rising global oil prices.

However, he said oil price will not increase significantly from the current level. In March, global oil price stood at $500 per tonne.

Hence, the government will need to utilise the Oil Fund to fill the gap between LPG household price and the global price, he said.

The government currently has a policy to fix the price of LPG at Bt363 per 15 kilogrammes. Since March 15, the government has invested Bt6 billion in support of the policy.

He said stores which do not use e-payment methods may be subjected to investigations.

The e-payment law requires financial institutions to submit the financial details of their customers to the Revenue Department. The law applies to customers with more than 3000 transactions each per year with a total value of Bt2 million or more.

The new requirememt has caused concerns among store managers with many cancelling the e-payment method at their premses .

Veerathai said that e-payments is a more convenient and safer method of transaction.

Despite e-payment stores’ worries of being investigated, it is the stores that do not use e-payments that will be subjected to investigation, given e-paymentis obviously the better method, he said.