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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40014105

The Revenue Department has issued guidelines on the waiver of income tax on revenue earned from the transfer of cryptocurrency or digital tokens.

The guidelines focused on three points, namely:

1. Revenue or loss incurred from the transfer of cryptocurrencies or digital tokens must be calculated by an authorised digital assets exchange. The calculation of profits or losses must be based on the entire tax year. The price of cryptocurrency or digital tokens on the last day of the tax year will be applicable to the following year.

2. Earnings from the transfer of cryptocurrencies or digital tokens calculated by an authorised digital assets exchange must be recorded and checked by a related official. The report must contain the following information:

a. Initials of the cryptocurrency or digital tokens

b. Date and time of the transfer

c. Transaction type

d. Number of cryptocurrencies or digital tokens transferred

e. Price of the cryptocurrency or tokens transferred

f. Value of the cryptocurrency or digital tokens transferred in Thai baht

g. The cost of the transfer in Thai baht

h. The cost of the cryptocurrency or digital tokens

3. These regulations are effective from May 14, 2018.

Published : April 02, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40014069

The Public Debt Management Office (PDMO) reported on Friday that as of February 28, the country’s outstanding public debt stood at THB9.8 trillion, or 60.17 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).

Of the total, 98.22 per cent is domestic debt, while 1.78 per cent is foreign debt.

The office said public debt comprised THB8.02 trillion of government debt, THB696.55 billion was debt of the Financial Institutions Development Fund, THB843.32 billion was debt of state-owned enterprises, THB259.94 billion was debt of Government Guaranteed Financial SOEs – which refers to a state enterprises that undertake lending business, asset management and credit guarantees – and THB7.06 billion was debt of other government agencies.

Earlier this year, the PDMO had estimated public debt at the end of fiscal 2022 would reach 62 per cent of GDP, on the expectation that GDP would expand 3.5 to 4.5 per cent year on year. This estimation is within the limit of the State Fiscal and Financial Disciplines Act, which stipulates that public debt should not exceed 70 per cent of GDP.

The PDMO added that if the GDP this year expands more than the estimation, the ratio of public debt will be lower.

Published : April 01, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40014052

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index fell by 2.44 points or 0.14 per cent to 1,692.80 after opening on Friday morning.

Total transactions amounted to 4.57 billion baht with an index high of 1,697.74 and a low of 1,692.61 in opening trade.

Yuanta Securities (Thailand) Director of Securities Analysis Department Nattapon Kamthachue expected the day’s index to fluctuate between 1,690 and 1,700 points, advising investors to follow the US non-farm payroll announcement for March and Russia-Ukraine peace talks.

His top picks of stocks to purchase were small and medium-sized shares that have gained specific positive sentiment, those priced cheap, and those whose first-quarter business turnover is expected to improve, such as PJW and SVOA.

The SET Index closed at 1,695.24 on Thursday, down 3.16 points or 0.19 per cent. Transactions totalled 71.20 billion baht.

Published : April 01, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40014049

The baht opened at 33.31 to the US dollar on Friday, weakening from Thursday’s close of 33.25 and sliding for the sixth successive week.

Krungthai Bank market strategist Poon Panichpibool predicted the Thai currency would move between 33.20 and 33.40 during the day.

Poon said that the baht is likely to swing in a wide range as the risk-averse market spurs the dollar to strengthen.

The baht was being supported by the return of foreign inflows to the Thai stock market and the falling crude oil price after the US announced it would release 1 million barrels from its reserve.

Poon warned investors to beware of currency market volatility after the US employment data is revealed tonight. A worse-than-expected recovery in the US labour market would pressure the dollar to weaken, he added. However, if the US data matches the forecast, the currency market would remain stable as it had already priced in the US Federal Reserve’s rate-rise signal.

Poon forecast the baht’s resistance level would be 33.50 to 33.70, at which point exporters might offload the dollar. The key support level would be 33 to 33.20, which would spur importers to purchase the greenback.

The currency market has been risk-off since February’s invasion of Ukraine by Russia and a lack of progress in ensuing peace talks.

Meanwhile, the Fed has signalled will hike the interest rate in May and in June meeting after US inflation in February reached 6.4 per cent, the highest level in 40 years.

Published : April 01, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40014035

Thailand’s exports of gems and jewellery saw a big jump in the first two months of this year due to the economic recovery in major buyer markets.

Exports of gems and jewellery had slowed down after the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020.

In January and February, Thailand exported US$2.07 billion (THB68.3 billion), up 101 per cent from the same period a year earlier, said Sumed Prasongpongchai, chief executive officer of the Gem and Jewellery Institute of Thailand (GIT), a public organisation.

Exports of gems and jewellery accounted for 4.7 per cent of total Thai exports during the period, he added.

Even with the exclusion of unprocessed gold, the exports of gems and jewellery in the first two months totalled $1.16 billion (THB38.3 billion), an increase of 41.9 per cent, according to Sumed.

He attributed the sharp gain to the economic recovery in many countries that are major purchasers of Thai gems and jewellery, including the United States, India, Hong Kong, Germany, and the United Kingdom. The recovery has led to higher purchasing power in those countries, he added.

The US remains the top export market for Thai gems and jewellery, with an increase of 52 per cent.

However, Sumed warned that the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine would increase inflation in the countries that are major importers of gems and jewellery. Also, the Omicron variant has still caused many Covid-19 infections, while interest rates are on the rise.

Published : March 31, 2022

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40014033

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Thursday pressed the button to officially start the construction of the Smart Park estate in the Eastern Economic Corridor.

In a teleconference ceremony from Government House, Prayut said in his opening speech that the Smart Park industrial estate project in the EEC is a part of the Thailand 4.0 policy of his government.

Prayut said the Smart Park project is a mechanism for driving the country’s economy through new S-Curve industries that will be drawn to the Smart Park zone in the future.

The prime minister said the new S-Curve industries, which will use advanced technologies, will be environmentally friendly and create a lot of jobs for local people.

Prayut said the cooperation by all sectors to push for the EEC and Smart Park project will create a strong and sustainable economy for the country.

Industry Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit said in his teleconference speech that the Smart Park project was approved by the Cabinet on September 29, 2020 to be built on a 1,400-rai plot in Tambon Huay Pong in Muang district of Rayong province.

The THB2.37-billion project will drive the country’s economy through investment in the high-tech industrial zone, Suriya said.

He said the ongoing construction is hiring about 200 workers and the construction will lead to circulation of THB24 million a year in the province.

Once the Smart Park industrial zone is open, it would create 7,400 jobs and a circulation of THB1.3 billion in the local economy a year, the minister added.

“From the plan, after the construction contract is signed, it will take three years to build Smart Park and it will be in operation in 2024,” Suriya said.

He said although the prime minister had just pressed the button to formally started the project, the construction had begun earlier. By March 21, 7.66 per cent of the construction had been completed, Suriya said.

Speaking on stage at the construction site, Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand governor Weerit Amrapal said the Smart Park project will cater to new S-Curve industries that use advanced technologies, which are environmentally friendly.

The new S-Curve industries include digital, robot, comprehensive medical, aviation and logistics industries, Weerit said.

He said the Smart Park would be ready to accommodate industries of the future because the zone will be equipped with all necessary facilities and all of its buildings will be constructed to international standards.

Published : March 31, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40014009

Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith expects the gross domestic product in 2022 to expand 3.5 to 4.5 per cent, with exports in 2022 exceeding the estimated 5 per cent growth.

Arkhom was speaking at the annual general meeting of the Thai National Shippers’ Council on Wednesday.

“Although the ministry has set the GDP target at 4.5 per cent at most, we believe that with cooperation from the government and private sector we can push this up by 0.1 to 0.3 per cent, despite the Russia-Ukraine conflict,” he said.

“Exports have always been an integral part in pushing economic growth,” Arkhom noted.

“Last year exports expanded 17 per cent year on year, and in the first two months of 2022 we have already seen a 12 per cent expansion.

“A number of financial institutes have predicted that 2022 exports would see a 5 per cent expansion due to the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war, but the ministry believes we can achieve 10 per cent expansion through improvement of logistics and gaining new markets,” he said.

Arkhom said another factor that would help boost economic growth is tourism, but he did not expect it to fully recover just yet from the Covid-19 impact.

“In the past three months we have only seen around 400,000 foreign tourists entering Thailand. If this trend continues throughout the year, we will see just 1.6 million foreign visitors in 2022, which is significantly lower than the estimation,” he said.

“We can only hope the situation does not worsen after Songkran, which will enable the government to further ease travel and entry restrictions just like other countries are doing in this region.”

The Tourism Ministry estimates that Thailand will welcome at least 7 million foreign travellers in 2022, lower than the previous estimation of 10 million. Tourism revenue in 2022 is expected to rise to just 30 per cent of revenue in 2019, which was recorded at 3 trillion baht.

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Published : March 31, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40014008

The baht opened at 33.25 to the US dollar on Thursday, strengthening from Wednesday’s close of 33.31.

Krungthai Bank market strategist Poon Panichpibool predicted the Thai currency would move between 33.15 and 33.40 during the day.

Poon said the baht was likely to swing in a wide range after strengthening suddenly on Wednesday due to a weakening dollar and the Monetary Policy Committee being of the opinion that the Thai economy is recovering, while its GDP growth projection did not decrease to a large extent.

However, the baht might be pressured to weaken due to uncertainty over Ukraine-Russia peace negotiations, but Poon believes the Thai currency will not weaken much because foreigners are returning to invest in Thai stocks. They have already purchased 7 billion baht of short-term bonds in the past two days, which reflects a decrease in the baht’s weakening.

Poon expects the support level to be 33.00-33.20 to the dollar, a level importers are waiting for to purchase the US currency.

The currency market meanwhile is closely watching whether upcoming Ukraine-Russia peace negotiations will be a success after reports that a battle was raging near Kyiv. Investors are also worried that the Thai economy will shrink after signs of an inverted yield curve in the US bond market.

Published : March 31, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40014004

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index is expected to fluctuate between 1,690 and 1,710 points on Thursday amid uncertainty over peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, Krungsri Securities said.

It pointed out that there was concern after fighting continued on the outskirts of Kyiv and Chernihiv despite Russia’s promise to reduce military operations to facilitate peace negotiations.

“However, foreign fund inflows in response to Thailand’s economic recovery and further easing of Covid-19 restrictions would help boost the index,” Krungsri Securities predicted.

It advised investors to follow the Opec+ meeting on Thursday as the group was expected to increase oil production by 400,000 barrels per day in line with a previous decision.

Krungsri Securities also recommended the purchase of the following stocks as an investment strategy:

• GPSC, BGrim, SCGP and EPG, which would benefit from falling oil prices.

• AOT, AAV, BA, Mint, Centel, ERW, CPN, CRC, HMPro, CPAll, Makro, Amata and WHA, which would gain from further easing of Covid-19 restrictions.

• OSP, CBG, ICHI and SNC, which would benefit from the upcoming tourism season.

The SET Index closed at 1,698.40 on Wednesday, up 8.66 points or 0.51 per cent. Transactions totalled 97.88 billion baht.

Published : March 31, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40013992

Thailand and the UK will hold the first Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) meeting in June on expanding investment and trade.

Auramon Supthaweethum, director-general of the Department of Trade Negotiations, was speaking after the department held a Senior Official Meeting with the UK on Friday.

They discussed holding the first JETCO at the ministerial level in June in London. They discussed the overall situation, economic policies, guidelines to improve trade and investment relations, and the preparation for JETCO.

They aim to improve the economic, trading, and investment relations as the UK has left the European Union. In March, Thailand and the UK had signed a memorandum of understanding to establish JETCO.

Auramon said, “The UK is advanced in digital, technology and services. It also has strict laws and regulations, especially for new areas such as environment, security and health. It is a good opportunity for Thailand to join hands with the UK, as Thailand has good products and services, and it can prepare to develop for the fast-changing world in the new era.

“The cooperation with the UK will be beneficial in exchanging experience and knowledge of research into future food, plant-based food, and regulations for the registration of health products.”

In 2021, the UK is Thailand’s 22nd biggest trade partner, the fourth biggest in Europe behind Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. Trade value between the two nations was valued at US$5.533 billion (THB175.223 billion). Thailand exported to the UK goods and services worth $3.489 billion and imports from the UK were worth $2.044 billion.

Major Thai exports were processed chickens, motorcycles, jewels and accessories, tyre products, and cars. Major imported products included machines, circuit boards, paper pulp and paper scrap, and chemicals.

Published : March 30, 2022

By : THE NATION