Another company showing its products at the three-day event, which ended yesterday, is Byton.

Daniel Kirchert, president and co-founder of Byton, said that the company’s vision is to create what it calls “time to be” for people on the move. The company has built a next-generation smart device for the era of self-driving and shared mobility. The firm also announced the Byton K-Byte Concept, which is a smart drive with an innovative user interface. It come with a 49-inch shared experience display and 8-inch driver tablet, with an advanced hand-tracking camera.

It is deigned for remote touch and gesture control and as part of a rear-seat entertainment system.

“It fulfils all automotive safety requirements. The autonomous vehicle is produced at a plant in Nanjing. We will provide a prototype vehicle by the end of this year. Mass production will follow in 2019 to support customers in the Chinese market, with plans to deliver to the US and Europe by 2020,” Kirchert said.

“We use technology to provide a better user experience with facial recognition, augment reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), simulator and video conferencing. We think that the Chinese market has high growth potential for autonomous vehicles. Byton’s intelligent electric car will be manufactured at the company’s plant in Nanjing.”

Also at the show was Team8, a startup from France, which announced a smartwatch designed for children aged from five to 12. The company says it combines the benefits of “fun, health and security”. The smart watch will be priced 149 euros.

Stephane Daucourt, CEO of Team8, said that the firm will official launch its smart watch in September in France. It came to CES Asia 2018 on the lookout for a partnership and marketing team to deliver its products to Asia.

Miffy Chen, head of Alibaba A.I. Labs, kicked off day two of the event by announcing the TMall Genie AI Union to accompany its TMall Genie. She also announced the world’s first commercial Bluetooth mesh chip at US$1. Chen highlighted the humanisation, connectivity and ecological services of the TMall Genie intelligent personal assistant, AliGenie.

Elsewhere at the exhibition, Csjbot, a China-based robotics company, was showing off robots, such as those for services and education. They have been sold in more than 25 countries with over 2,000 customers. The firm will announce a new services robot named Food Delivery Cart to the Chinese market. It is designed for restaurants and hotels. It will carry all kind of dishes to serve customers from the kitchen to the table. The robot will available in China in July.

Siri, in announcing the target for green-sourced energy, said the drafting of a proposal for a 300-megawatt biomass project in the three southernmost provinces expedited – for completion within two months – before it is forwarded to the National Energy Policy Council (NEPC).

Sir said the Energy Ministry’s 15-year target to raise the raise the share of renewable energy in the national energy mix would be achieved without any burden being passed on to ordinary people. The electricity cost will not be higher than the current wholesale price range of Bt2.40-Bt2.50 per unit, the minister said.

The promotion of renewable energy is part of the government’s policy to drive forward the economy. Currently, Thailand uses about 10 per cent of the country’s electricity generation from renewable sources – ranging from solar cells and wind turbines to biomass and biogas – with total generation of 45,000 megawatts.

Given what the government describes as a relatively competitive electricity cost, it has a policy to promote electricity generation of about 250-300 megawatts from a biomass project in Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat provinces. A facility in Yala will be the centre of the generation scheme as part of a plan to set up a regional electricity system that will be built around a smart grid system under a new unit, the Regional Power System (RPS).

A stake of 24.5 per cent in RPS will be held by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat), with a stake of 24.5 per cent held by the Provincial Electricity Authority and 51 per cent owned by community enterprises.

Under the scheme, farmers will earn about Bt800 per tonne of wood to be sold. About 20 small power plants with capacity of 9-10 megawatts are expected to be scattered across the target areas. The electricity cost is determined at Bt3.40 per unit for sale to people.

This plan has been expedited by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha for completion within two or three months before forwarding it to the NEPC for approval.

In the meantime, Egat, which will set up floating solar farms in large dams, will join with Siam Cement Group (SCG) to test the system. Initially, the authority found the potential capacity for electricity generation to be about 1,000-2,000 megawatts, which boosted the ministry’s confidence to increase the target for renewable-sourced electricity to 30 per cent of the total within 15 years.

According to the new Power Development Plan (PDP), which is being prepared, if the electricity cost of fossil fuels is about Bt2.10-Bt2.20 per unit, the government will be able to purchase electricity in the order of 1,000-2,000 megawatts to sustain the stability of the electricity system.

“In the next 10-15 years, a coal-fired power plant at Mae Moh will have passed its use and if there are no new power plants coming, or more electricity imports, the coal-fired electricity capacity will be lower than 10 per cent,” Siri said. “That would be a level that is too low when compared other countries, where coal-fired production electricity accounts for 30-40 per cent of total electricity generation capacity.”

Therefore, more coal-fired electricity plants are needed under the PDP at proper locations with community acceptance and, by the end of this year, there may be certain directions issued for Thailand’s coal-fired power plants, he said.

He insisted that there is no magic pill that can be used to subsidise fuel and energy prices to levels below their costs.

Based on a global study, for every Bt1 of subsidy for energy, Bt0.60-Bt0.70 is for the benefit of better off people and Bt0.20-Bt0.30 is for poor people.

Siri said that the price of household liquefied petroleum gas has been sustained at Bt363 per cylinder in order to lessen the impact on people’s cost of living. The minister expressed confidence that the Bt392-million LPG account will be able to cope with a higher global LPG price within one month.

If the account depletes, the oil account can be transferred to help make adjustments for the LPG price, he said.

According to the Bank of Ayudhya’s Global Markets Group, the Thai currency has been moving in the same direction of its regional peers.

From the end of May, the Thai baht has depreciated by 0.5 per cent, the Philippines’ peso by 1.5 per cent, Japanese yen 1.25 per cent, Korean won 0.45 per cent, India rupee 0.28 per cent and Indonesian rupiah by 0.26 per cent.

The Fed’s rate hike is expected to further encourage the outflow of foreign capital to high-yield markets, the bank said, adding that the baht would likely return to an uptrend towards the end of the year if the Bank of Thailand gives clearer signs for a rise in its policy rate late this year.

Currently, markets continue to follow the signals of major central banks, including the European Central Bank and Bank of Japan.

From the start of this year, foreign investors have been net sellers of Thai stocks worth about Bt146 billion. They have also purchased Thai bonds worth about Bt146 billion.

Yesterday, the SET closed at 1,709.86, dropping 8.48 points from Wednesday, with a total trade value of Bt59.74 billion. Foreign net sales amounted to Bt9.64 billion.

However, there were signs of fewer purchases of Thai bonds in May and foreign capital were expected to move out of Thailand to the United States.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) unanimously agreed to increase its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 1.75-2.00 per cent on Wednesday (June 13), as expected by the money markets. It was the second time after March’s increase and the seventh since December 2015.

The Fed has also signalled two more increases this year, expected to be in September and October.

Siam Commercial Bank’s Economic Intelligence Centre (EIC) said that the two expected round of increases could lead to gradual rises in long-term US bond yields, given no significant change in long-term US inflation forecast.

Based on past developments, Thailand’s bond yield was less sensitive to the US yields than those of its regional peers, the research house (IEC) said.

Some countries with fragile economy may see risks in the gradual crunch of the global financial situations, the IEC said. But investors will select to make investment according economic strength of the emerging-market countries, it added.

The research house (IEC) said that Thailand has low risks due to its strong economic stability compared to other nations in the region.

The Fed has also revised up its forecast for this year’s US economic growth from 2.7 per cent to 2.8 per cent and maintained its estimate for next year’s at 2.4 per cent. This year’s estimated US inflation is also raised from 1.9 per cent to 2.10 per cent.

The US central bank projects the short-term interest rates at 2.38 per cent by the end of this year, up 25 basis points from March’s estimate.

Bank of Thailand is expected to maintain its policy rate at 1.50 per cent this year although the US rates are now higher with wider differential, the EIC said.

Based on Thailand’s managed float regime, Thai inflation remains low and its foreign reserve is large enough to cope with the expected volatility from capital movements, while the country’s current account has been in surplus, the research house (IEC) said.

Thailand’s Monetary Policy Committee is expected to weigh less on the US rate policy, but more on Thailand’s headline inflation and output gap for its decision to leave the policy rate unchanged, the IEC said.

He added that the project will expand capacity of the airport in order to meet the projected rise in the number of flights from 14 to 40 a day.

The number of passengers has increased from four million to eight million a year.

And although he acknowledged concern among businesses nationwide about the uncertainty created by President Donald Trump’s abrasive trade policies, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell stressed that “the US economy is in great shape.”

The unanimous vote the Fed’s rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee brings the federal funds rate to a range of 1.75-2.0 percent, and indicated there would be two more rate increases this year and four next, one more than previously expected.

Wall Street was not happy with the aggressive new stance, worried that it signaled concerns about rising prices. All three major indexes turned negative right after the announcement and closed even lower.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.5 percent and the broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.4 percent.

However, Powell downplayed concerns about accelerating inflation, saying the central bank would not overreact to an expected uptick driven by the recent increase in oil prices and would aim for the rate to hold at around two percent for a “sustained” period.

“We know inflation is going to bounce around,” he told reporters. “We didn’t overreact, I think, to inflation being under two percent. We won’t overreact to it being over two percent.”

The Fed last raised the benchmark in March, the sixth increase since December 2015 as it tries to keep the economy growing at a sustainable pace without fueling inflation.

Inflation mounts

The FOMC statement stressed that rising rates were unlikely to derail economic growth — which the committee now characterizes as “strong” rather than “moderate.”

In another slight change of language — something that always draws the scrutiny of Fed watchers — it said “further gradual increases” in the key rate “will be consistent with sustained expansion of economic activity, strong labor market conditions and inflation near the Committee’s symmetric two percent objective over the medium term.”

The use of the terms “symmetric” and “medium term” is a clear indication the Fed is not in a hurry to get inflation to two percent and will be comfortable if prices rise above that level for a short time — which Powell confirmed.

Even so, Jim O’Sullivan of High Frequency Economics, summarized the Fed’s outlook as “a bit more hawkish than expected.”

In its quarterly Summary of Economic Projections, officials projected the Fed’s preferred inflation measure would accelerate only slightly, ending this year at 2.1 percent rather than 1.9 percent, and holding at that level through 2020.

That index currently is at two percent but other measures of consumer and producer prices have accelerated, pushed by rising fuel prices, as well as higher metals prices that could be the result of the steep import tariffs Trump imposed starting in March.

Powell said the Fed would continue to watch prices and employment data closely to gauge the impact of inflation and the trade policies on the economic outlook.

The quarterly economic forecasts show central bankers now expect the benchmark rate to end the year at 2.4 percent rather than the 2.1 percent projected in March. And the median forecast for the end of 2019 is 3.1 percent, up from the previous 2.9 percent, which signals four hikes this year and next.

Powell also said the recent tax cuts were expected to provide stimulus to the economy.

However, the FOMC’s economic growth forecasts were little changed, with 2018 GDP seen rising 2.8 percent rather than 2.7 percent but unchanged at 2.4 percent in 2019 and two percent in 2020.

The already historically low unemployment is projected to fall even further, ending the year at 3.6 percent before settling at 3.5 percent in 2019 and 2020.

More press conferences

Powell also announced that he would hold a press conference after every policy meeting, rather than the current quarterly schedule.

The change will start in January following the meetings that are scheduled roughly once every six weeks, to give the Fed “more opportunities to explain our actions,” Powell told reporters.

But he said “having twice as many press conferences does not signal anything about the timing or the pace of interest rate changes.”

Economists had predicted the Fed would make this change to overcome the common view that the central bank only moves rates at meetings that includes press conferences, which limits its options.

Exhibitors at the event, which started yesterday, are highlighting five technology trends that they say will serve the needs of people in the digital era.

Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of Consumer Technology Association (CTA), said that CES Asia is the premier event for the consumer tech industry in Asia and is driving the expansion of technology into new areas.

He said this expansion spans 20 products categories, featuring innovation that will improve people’s lives around the world.

The event also comes with 500 local and international companies in the areas of 5G, artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, augmented and virtual reality, audio and video, connectivity, digital health, vehicle tech and cutting-edge startups.

He said that GfK, China, reported that the Chinese technology consumer goods market in 2018 is expected to reach US$343.6 billion in 2018 and add growth of 6 per cent in 2019.

Steve Koenig, vice president, research at CTA, said that the five key technologies trends with global impact at CES Asia 2018 are 5G, AI, vehicle tech and smart cities, AR/VR, and robotics.

In telecommunications, 5G will create an advantage over 4G such as it will provide data traffic at much faster speeds in 2021. Meanwhile, 4G provides data traffic at 7.2 exabytes per month. The 5G network will also be provide connections with higher speed, greater capacity and lower latency. The event also provides a showcase of wireless VR, smart cities and self-driving cars.

Koenig believes that the 5G will be ready for commercial launch in South Korea, Japan, China and the US in 2020. China’s biggest mobile operator, China Mobile, plans to roll out 10,000 5G base stations by 2020.

With AI technology, it will a generate social impact. Experts say it will personalise the purchase journey, including automated factories using robots, bricks and mortar stores that utilise the Internet of things (IoT) for payment, eliminating the need for people to wait in lines.

Optimised inventory management will make use of image recognition and the data collection of Internet and in-store traffic to optimise marketing and customer targeting.

Companies can track purchasing habits through machine learning to map the customers’ journeys.

The AI technology also comes with smart speaker devices such as Tencent’s TingTing, Alibaba’s Tmall Genie and JD.com’s DingDing gadget. Smart speaker have high growth potential in the Chinese market.

Experts say AI will be in harmony with people’s daily lives via AI TV such as Hisense, a manufacturer of television, air-conditioners, and refrigerators in China.

The company has announced AI TV ahead of the World Cup. It has 34.7 million active users in China and expects that it will reach 65 million users by 2020.

Koenig said that in robotics, this technology will blend in with daily life such as with service robot and healthcare robots. At CES Asia there are various robots shown, such as a lawn mowing robot, LG CLOi and Sony Aibo.