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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40013758

Thai Chamber of Commerce (TCC) chairman Sanan Angubolkul urged the government to declare Covid-19 as endemic faster in a bid to draw more tourists to Thailand.

He made the remark during a seminar organised by Thansettakij and Krungthep Turakij on Wednesday.

Sanan said the chamber expected the price of crude oil this year to move to between US$100 and $120 per barrel as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine will not end easily, resulting in a rise in product prices, especially animal feed and fertilisers.

“Low-income people would be affected by rising energy prices even though the government launched ten measures to relieve the cost of living,” he said.

“Meanwhile, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand [TAT], the number of Russian tourists visiting Thailand this year is expected to be around 500,000-700,000 due to the conflict.”

Sanan said the TCC is cooperating with TAT to attract around 200,000 tourists from Saudi Arabia to Thailand this year. He added that the agencies aimed to draw tourists from India as well.

Sanan went on to say that Vietnam – where daily Covid-19 cases had risen to 200,000 cases – is now focusing on attracting tourists, investors, traders and businessmen.

He added that Vietnam would soon announce a Covid-19 transition from pandemic to endemic to facilitate travel.

“Hence, we urge the government to announce the Covid-19 transition to endemic earlier than July, otherwise Thailand will be at a disadvantage,” he warned.

Sanan also provided four guidelines to boost the country’s economy:

> Restart: develop an ecosystem to support the business sector

> Reimagine: rethink to boost business value

> Recover: “recovering” the tourist sector, and

> Reform: adjust to move with the changes, such as digital transformation.

“The country is suffering in various ways, such as tourism, high household debt and inequality in access to loans, so the government should help several business operators access funds more easily,” Sanan pointed out.

“Meanwhile, the government should amend outdated laws and transform itself into an e-government to work with the private sector more closely,” he added.

Published : March 24, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40013754

The baht opened at 33.66 to the US dollar on Thursday, weakening from Wednesday’s close of 33.60.

Krungthai Bank market strategist Poon Panichpibool expects the Thai currency to move between 33.55 and 33.75 during the day.

Poon said the baht was likely to swing in a wide range and could test the resistance level of 33.75 to the dollar.

With the market closing to risks and the energy price increasing, investors are worried Thailand’s current account might fall deeper into deficit than expected.

Poon suggested close monitoring of foreign investor moves to see if they were going to buy short-term bonds or offload the bonds after returning to purchase Thai stocks.

In the short term, Poon predicted, the baht’s resistance level would be 33.75, a level which could see exporters offloading the dollar. The key support level would be 33.20, which would spur importers to purchase the greenback, he said.

Poon said the market was closed to risks again after unsuccessful peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.

The market was worried western countries might slap Russia with added sanctions, especially those to do with energy, which would lead to further energy price increases, Poon added.

Published : March 24, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40013751

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index is expected to fluctuate between 1,670 and 1,690 points on Thursday despite the rising crude oil price in response to Kazakhstan’s move to cut oil exports due to storm damage, Krungsri Securities said.

It predicted that uncertainty on whether or not the US Federal Reserve would raise the interest rate soon to tackle rising inflation, as well as the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the SET’s move to improve regulation of stock trading would all pressure the index.

Krungsri Securities advised investors to closely follow a key meeting on Thursday featuring the US, the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and the Group of 7 on sanctions against Russia.

It recommended the purchase of the following as an investment strategy:

• PTTEP, Top, IVL, SPRC and BCP, which will benefit from the rising price of crude oil and gross refining margin.

• PSL and TTA, which will gain from a rising freight rate.

• BDMS, BH, Intuch, Advanc, BTS and BEM, which are defensive stocks.

The SET Index closed at 1,677.95 on Wednesday, up 0.08 points or 0.00 per cent. Transactions totalled 70.22 billion baht with an index high of 1,686.14 and a low of 1,676.88.

Published : March 24, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40013734

The Thai Credit Guarantee Corporation (TCG) and its partners on Wednesday launched Portfolio Guarantee Scheme (PGS) 9 to offer loan guarantees to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that operate their business under laws or policies related to energy conservation, alternative and renewable energies.

TCG senior executive vice president Dusida Tapvong said these SMEs will receive two years exemption from loan guarantee fees, a maximum guarantee of THB100 million per person and a 10-year guarantee period.

She added that this scheme came after a memorandum of understanding between TCG, Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand, Krungthai Bank, Siam Commercial Bank, Export-Import Bank of Thailand and Small and Medium Enterprise Development Bank of Thailand.

“This scheme aims to provide financial support to SMEs, which is in line with Thailand’s strategy to drive the Bio-Circular-Green Economy between 2021 and 2026,” she said.

Published : March 23, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40013724

The Securities Exchange Commission on Wednesday banned the use of digital assets and cryptocurrency as a means of payment, starting April 1.

The announcement stated that the SEC had consulted the Bank of Thailand and both saw the need to prohibit the use of digital assets as a medium of exchange.

The announcement explained that the use of digital assets as a medium of exchange would affect the stability of the financial system and the country’s economy.

The use could also pose risks to the people and businesses due to the fluctuating prices and risks from being hacked by cyber thieves, the announcement said. It added that the use of digital assets as a means of payment could also be abused for money laundering.

The SEC invoked all related laws on supervising digital assets operators to prohibit them from using digital assets for purposes other than investment, the announcement added.

The statement said the SEC had resolved during its meeting on March 3 to prohibit the use of digital assets as a means of payment and issued the following guidelines, which have been updated following public hearings from January 25 to February 8:

– Digital assets operators of all types must not provide services or carry out any action to support or promote the use of digital assets as a means of payment for goods or services. For example, the providers cannot launch advertisements or set up any system or tool to facilitate the use of digital assets as a means of payment. They cannot open digital wallets to use digital assets as means of payment either.

– In case the operators find clients of wallets or accounts using a digital asset to pay for goods and services, the operators must take action against the clients and must suspend or cancel the services.

The regulation will take effect from April 1 and the current digital assets operators must take action to have their services comply with the regulation within 30 days.

Published : March 23, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40013720

China Eastern Airlines is making an effort to find ways to help Thai durian exporters after it cancelled five chartered flights following a plane crash in China, a Thai academic said on Wednesday.

Sakda Sriniwet said he had learned from China Eastern that it was seeking ways to help durian exporters after the airline learned of his concern.

Sakda, a former expert at the agricultural product quality development office of the Agricultural Extension Department, said on Tuesday that the airline informed a Thai exporter that five of its chartered flights had been cancelled with no schedule for resumption.

China Eastern Airlines’ Flight MU5735 crashed in mountainous terrain with 132 people on board about an hour into its journey from Kunming to Guangzhou.

Sakda said that after the airline saw a report quoting him, it explained that only flights using Boeing 737s – the type that crashed – would be cancelled pending a security check.

“China Eastern Airlines is now rushing to solve the problem to minimise the damage,” Sakda said, adding: “And I’ve learned that some senior Agriculture Ministry officials are also hastening to solve the problem.”

Published : March 23, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40013709

The baht opened at 33.46 to the US dollar on Wednesday, strengthening from Tuesday’s close of 33.54.

Krungthai Bank market strategist Poon Panichpibool expects the Thai currency to move between 33.40 and 33.60 during the day.

Poon said the baht was likely to swing in a wide range. However, the market was open to more risks and might influence foreign investors to purchase Thai stocks, causing the baht to strengthen.

Meanwhile, short-term bond transactions, which pressure the baht to weaken, might slow after foreigners invested around 2 billion baht in these bonds. He recommended monitoring the situation to see if the investors return to buy up more of the bonds.

In the short term, Poon predicted, the baht’s resistance level would be 33.60 to 33.75, a level which might see exporters offloading the dollar. The key support level would be 33 to 33.20, which would spur importers to purchase the greenback.

Published : March 23, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40013693

Four Thai commercial banks were downgraded by S&P Global Ratings over concerns that the commercial banks operating in Thailand would be affected by increasing systematic risks.

The S&P announced its new ratings for Thai banks on Tuesday, which showed Siam Commercial Bank and Kasikornbank downgraded from “BBB+” to “BBB”.

The S&P also downgraded Krungthai Bank and TMBThanachart Bank to “BBB-” from “BBB”.

The S&P, however, reaffirmed “BBB+” for Bangkok Bank and Bank of Ayudhya. The ratings agency reasoned that Bangkok Bank has high systematic importance in Thailand and this quality offsets the risk. It said Bank of Ayudhya benefits from being a strategic subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.

S&P also announced that its research team has revised down the standalone credit profiles of all the six banks by one notch because the team expects the banks to continue to face structural issues due to the economic situation in the country.

The S&P added that the country’s economic recovery would remain fragile and uneven across sectors in Thailand. It predicts that the tourism sector would be further hindered by the Russia-Ukraine war.

The ratings agency also expects that non-performing loans in the Thai banking sector would continue to rise over the next 24 months to five per cent, which will be the highest since the 2008 global financial crisis.

Published : March 22, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40013687

Five chartered flights carrying durians to China have been indefinitely cancelled following a China Eastern Airlines plane crash in China, a Thai academic said on Tuesday.

Sakda Sriniwet said that following the crash in Yunnan, the airline has informed a Thai exporter that five of its chartered flights have been cancelled with no schedule for resumption.

China Eastern Airlines’ flight MU5735 crashed in mountainous terrain with 132 people on board about an hour into its journey from Kunming to Guangzhou.

Sakda, a former expert from the agricultural product quality development office of the Agricultural Extension Department, said he has learned that one exporter has been affected so far but he is not certain whether other exporters were also affected.

Sakda said the exporter had made a guarantee payment to book the chartered flights. He said China Eastern Airlines has not informed the exporters when it could resume the services.

He said flight cancellation would cause huge damage to durian exporters because freight flights were now the only effective way to transport durians to China.

Sacked explained that China has closed its border checkpoints and closed its ports to try to stem the spread of the Covid-19 and it would take several more months before Thai exporters could use freight services on the China-Laos high-speed railway.

Published : March 22, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40013660

The baht opened at 33.62 to the US dollar on Tuesday, weakening from Monday’s close of 33.54 to its lowest level in two months.

Krungthai Bank market strategist Poon Panichpibool said he expected the Thai currency to move between 33.50 and 33.75 during the day.

Poon predicted the baht would weaken and swing sideways in a wide range as investors shun risk and the market anticipates a rate hike from the US Federal Reserve.

He recommended speculating on foreign transactions as overseas investors are selling Thai stocks and bonds.

However, sales of short-term bonds are slowing so there was unlikely to be a large quantity available for purchase, Poon said. Foreign investors might return to purchasing short-term bonds if the Russia-Ukraine conflict situation improves, he added.

In the short term, he predicted a baht resistance level of 33.60 to 33.75, when exporters might offload the dollar, and a key support level at 33 to 33.20, which would spur importers to purchase the greenback.

Published : March 22, 2022