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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40013371

The Thai government has asked China for permission to ship Thai durians on the high-speed train to Kunming without being stopped for Covid checks midway, a government spokeswoman said.

Deputy government spokeswoman Rachada Dhnadirek said the Thai side had proposed to China during a recent meeting that Thai fruits and durians should be allowed to be shipped on the high-speed train and cargo containers should be closed at the Laos railway station.

The Thai side asked China to exempt Thai fruit from being checked again at the Mohan border gate and instead allow them to be transported non-stop to the destination station in Kunming.

The government spokeswoman said Thailand expects the request to be approved, and implementation should begin this month.

She said that during the negotiations, the Thai side also asked China to exempt Thai durians shipped by Covid-free-certified exporters from strict Covid checking at the four border gates of Mohan, Youyiguan, Pingxiang, and Dongxiang.

Currently, Chinese authorities are strictly checking all fruit containers entering the country at the four border checkpoints in line with its zero-Covid policy. The checking delays the shipments and sometimes results in some fruits going rotten.

Rachada said the Thai government asked Beijing to give privileges to durian exporters with GMP-Plus and Covid-free certificates. She said so far only 400 durian exporters have received training and earned the GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices)-Plus and Covid-free certificates.

The spokeswoman said exporst of fruit to China have been affected by China’s zero-Covid policy and several ministries have been trying to hold talks with China so that fruit shipped from Thailand do not get damaged in the long checking process of Chinese authorities.

“The government has never ceased its efforts to solve issues related to the shipping of fruit to China since the Covid-19 pandemic began,” Rachada said.

“The Agriculture, Commerce and Foreign ministries are joining hands to coordinate with China to solve the issue of bottlenecks at Chinese checkpoints.”

She added that the Thai side had also proposed to China to hold a joint meeting between Thailand, China, Laos and Vietnam to settle on a common protocol for speeding up fruit exports and imports.

The Thai side would propose a green lane at each border checkpoint to speed up clearance of fruit to avoid damage, she added.

She said the exports of fruit were valued at Bt91 billion in 2020 and the value increased to Bt160 billion in 2021 because the government has been trying to solve all issues related to Covid restrictions.

The spokeswoman added that the Agriculture and Commerce ministries are now eyeing fruit markets in the Middle East, such as in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Last week, Agriculture Minister Chalermchai Sri-on held a meeting with the UAE trade minister to allow Thailand to export more agricultural products and foods to the Middle East country, the spokeswoman added.

Published : March 14, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40013370

Fitch Ratings, an international credit rating and research company, said many Thai firms are on the road to recovery this year.

Lertchai Korcharoenrattanakul, senior director of Fitch Ratings’ industries credits rating division, said at an online seminar last week that these firms were showing signs of recovery due to several factors.

He said the recovery could mainly be attributed to the cautious, step-by-step reopening of the country after the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, he said, hotel, aviation and retail businesses that have borne the brunt of the pandemic and restriction measures would take far longer to recover.

Also, he said, rising energy prices would continue adding pressure on the profits and growth of businesses that are not related to energy and electricity generating.

Lertchai said most Thai firms rated by Fitch have been cautious with their cash management and expansion. He said companies have borrowed more money to buy back shares or to buy shares in carbon-credit businesses, resulting in a high-debt ratio.

He added that negative ratings of many companies reduced and positive ratings rose in 2021.

Published : March 14, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40013359

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index is expected to rise to between 1,665 and 1,670 points on Monday in response to positive developments in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Krungsri Securities said.

However, it forecast the index will be pressured by the falling crude oil price and mass sell-offs of shares to manage risk from the US Federal Reserve meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday (March 15-16).

“The Fed is expected to raise the interest rate to deal with inflation,” Krungsri Securities explained.

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

• KBANK, BBL, TTB, KTB and BLA will benefit from news of US interest rate hike.

• PSL and TTA will benefit from the rising freight rate.

• GSPC, BGRIM, SCGP, GULF and EPG will benefit from falling oil prices.

The SET Index closed at 1,658.01 on Friday, up 10.93 points or 0.66 per cent. Transactions totalled 78.49 billion baht with an index high of 1,659.67 and a low of 1,637.93.

Published : March 14, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40013357

The baht opened at 33.30 to the US dollar on Monday, unchanged from Friday’s closing rate.

The Thai currency is expected to move between 33.20 and 33.40 during the day and between 33.00 and 33.50 during the week, Krungthai market strategist Poon Panichpibool said.

Poon said the baht is likely to fluctuate in a wide range and could continue to weaken if foreign investors sell Thai assets due to the Ukraine-Russia war.

However, he predicted the baht would not weaken much as foreign investors had already halted speculation that saw them sell Bt60 billion in short-term bonds at the start of the conflict. If the war does not worsen, the baht will be supported by a weakening dollar and gold-selling, he added.

Poon forecast a baht resistance level at 33.40 to 33.50, which would see exporters selling the dollar. He saw its key support level as 33.00, when importers would buy dollars.

Poon speculated that the war might support further demand for dollars as the so-called safe haven currency. However, the dollar might weaken if the US Federal Reserve does not increase the interest rate as quickly as the market expects, he added.

The Fed signalled via its “dot plot” that it will increase the interest rate only six times this year and next. As such, Poon said the dollar’s upside might be limited once the Fed’s monetary policy becomes clear.

Published : March 14, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40013342

The Customs Department said its revenue has risen 6 per cent in the first five months of the fiscal year 2022 from the same period last year.

Revenue rose to Bt8.8 billion from October 2021 to February but was 0.5 per cent below the target, department director-general Patchara Anuntasilpa said. The target for the full year is Bt100 billion.

Patchara said fallout from the Russia-Ukraine war was unlikely to hit customs revenue hard.

“Although air freight may be affected by the war, the impact will not be high,” he said.

Regarding new tariff rates on imported parts for electric vehicle (EV) production, Patchara said his department would talk with the Office of the Board of Investment to avoid redundancies in tax privileges. He explained that makers of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) already enjoy tax privileges from the BOI. The tax exemption for BEV manufacturers would not affect Customs revenue much, while the country would stand to gain from domestic production of BEVs, he said.

He added that the department was seeking to finalise the import tax rate for battery vehicle manufacturers this year.

The BOI has already offered BEV manufacturers corporate tax exemption for eight years and more tax privileges if they invest in BEV research and developments in the Kingdom.

Published : March 13, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40013306

Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered government agencies to find ways of softening impacts on the public of soaring energy prices and present them at Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting.

The move comes after Prayut met for talks with Energy Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow and economic advisers on Friday afternoon, said government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana.

The Russia-Ukraine war has driven up energy prices, pressuring the retail price of oil and LPG and threatening to deepen Thailand’s inflation woes.

After meeting with the PM, Supattanapong said the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) will be raised by 1 baht per kilogram for a 15kg canister from April 1.

However, the government will cap the price of diesel at Bt30 until the end of May.

The price of a barrel of oil hit a 14-year high of US$180 on Wednesday but had fallen back to around $110 by Sunday (March 12).

The PM also heard from economic advisers about progress on bilateral trade and investment with Saudi Arabia after relations between the two countries were restored in January.

Thailand and Saudi Arabia have so far discussed investment in oil refineries, petrochemicals, electric vehicles (EVs), biofuel, biochemicals, video games and entertainment industries. The government expects these investment projects to start taking shape from April, according to Thanakorn.

Prayut also acknowledged progress in luring investment via promotions for Thailand’s new S-curve target industries, including manufacturing of EVs, electronics and pharmaceuticals, added the spokesman.

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Published : March 12, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40013285

The Energy Ministry said on Friday that oil firms in Thailand have been instructed to boost their reserve capacity to 70 days from 60 days to ensure there is enough fuel for domestic use amid the global crisis sparked by the Russia-Ukraine war.

“Maintaining stability in fuel supply is very important in the current situation. We must ensure that Thailand has enough fuel for domestic use, while the rising price of fuel will be treated as a separate issue,” Energy Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow said.

He made the comment after attending a meeting with Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, Bank of Thailand governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) secretary-general Ruenvadee Sawanmongkol to discuss how the global oil crisis will impact the Thai economy.

“The ministry will continue fixing the price of diesel at 30 baht per litre to help the transport sector,” he said. “Currently the Oil Fund, which subsidises the price of fuel, has a borrowing limit of 30 billion baht. If the global oil crisis persists and fuel subsidies continue being required, we will consider raising the limit to 40 billion baht or more. However, the final decision is in the hands of the Cabinet,” Supattanapong said.

He added that earlier this week, the Cabinet had agreed to waive excise tax for B0 diesel (diesel with less than 0.005 per cent of sulphur) and oil used by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand to generate power until September 15.

“This tax waiver should help reduce the cost of electricity generation,” he said. “The ministry is also looking into buying cheaper electricity from different sources to prevent people’s utility bills from rising too high.”

Related News

PTT’s gains from rising oil prices to be offset by support of subsidiaries, says ratings firm

Minister paints grim picture on oil price

Thailand discusses purchasing of crude oil at ‘friendly’ price

Published : March 11, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40013281

A total of 44 foreign investment proposals were approved last month, of whom five will invest in the Eastern Economic Corridor, the Commerce Ministry announced on Friday.

Deputy Commerce Minister Sinit Lertkrai said the EEC was still attractive to foreign investors, as 11 per cent of foreign investors registered by the ministry in February would invest some Bt2.285 billion in the economic area.

He said the five foreign firms included three Japanese investors with investment plans worth Bt962 million and two Singapore investors with investment plans totalling Bt1.323 billion.

The investment value of the five firms in the ECC amounted to 39 per cent of all investment plans by foreign firms registered in February, Sinit added.

The five firms would invest in maintenance services for dust-removing machines for industries, in purchasing businesses for raw materials and parts for various industries, such as machine and auto parts manufacturing, and in modern logistics systems, Sinit added.

Sinit said the alien business committee has approved licences for 44 businesses with investment plans totalling Bt5.781 billion.

Of the 44 foreign investors, 16 have registered new businesses while 28 have sought licences for ongoing companies.

The 16 new businesses were registered on February 23 and most of them are firms from Singapore, Japan and the Netherlands with investment value of Bt469 million. The new firms plan to hire a total of 837 Thai staff.

The 16 firms will also transfer their advanced technologies to their Thai business partners. The transfer of technologies would include those for preventing food contamination in restaurant chains, technologies related to broadband internet devices, and for machines that are used to trap and eliminate dust in factories.

“Most of the approved businesses in February are in line with the government’s policy to promote the new S-Curve industry that will be crucial for driving Thailand’s economy in the future,” Sinit added.

Published : March 11, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40013269

The baht opened at 33.15 to the US dollar on Friday, weakening slightly from Thursday’s close of 33.13.

Krungthai Bank market strategist Poon Panichpibool predicted the Thai currency would move between 33.00 and 33.25 during the day.

Poon said the baht has a chance of weakening but it will slow down and swing sideways in a wide range as the market is highly volatile.

He explained that the market saw hope in Russia-Ukraine peace talks as investors were not selling risk assets even though the latest round of talks was not successful.

Moreover, gold-selling supported a slowdown in the baht’s weakening. He also advised purchasing Thai assets from foreign investors as this would set a direction for the baht.
 
Foreign investors would start returning to the Thai market if the war does not worsen, he said.

Poon forecast the baht resistance level at 33.20 to 33.30, which will see exporters selling the dollar. Meanwhile, its key support level will be 32.80 to 33.00, when importers would buy if the dollar dips.

The Russia-Ukraine war has forced markets into a risk-off state, which means they will remain volatile. Poon said business operators should use hedging tools such as options to manage risks.

Published : March 11, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40013251

The president of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) on Thursday called on the government to scrap the Test & Go scheme that restricts tourism and subsidise fuel prices to shore up the Thai Industries Sentiment Index.

FTI president Suphan Mongkolsuthee said the Omicron variant that led to restrictions to tourism and other business activities and rising costs due to soaring fuel prices have severely affected the Thai Industries Sentiment Index (TISI).

The TISI for February fell from 88.0 in January to 86.7, he said.

He said the government should boost the tourism atmosphere by scrapping the Test & Go scheme and allow foreign tourists to visit simply by showing their Covid-19 vaccine certificate.

The Test & Go scheme requires tourists, who have been fully vaccinated, to undergo an RT-PCR test on the day of arrival and have an antigen kit test on the fifth day apart from showing another RT-PCR negative result 72 hours before boarding the plane.

Suphan said the government should simply set up a system for monitoring fully vaccinated tourists when they are in the country.

Relaxing the conditions will boost the atmosphere for tourists and will also boost the TISI, he said.

At the same time, the government should step up measures to deal with surging new cases of Omicron infections, such as stocking enough medicine, arranging enough hospital beds to care for patients with severe symptoms, improve the home isolation system as well as prepare more field hospitals and waiting or isolation centres for Covid patients.

Suphan said the government should also take steps to maintain the price of fuel and gas as well as get the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand to maintain the FT (float time) cost factor for calculating power fees.

He said these measures were necessary to prevent an increase in manufacturing costs for the industrial sector.

The FTI also called on the government to set up a joint state-private committee to monitor and assess the fallout of the Russia-Ukraine war so that timely measures could mitigate the impact on business operators.

Suphan said the FTI has found that all factors for calculating the TISI had dropped, including purchase orders, volume of sale, manufacturing quantity, operation costs and revenue of business operators.

The FTI had surveyed 1,242 manufacturers in 45 industries in February and found that the fuel cost was a cause of concern to 75.2 per cent of respondents.

He said 68.5 per cent of them were concerned about the Covid-19 situation, 56.8 per cent about the domestic economy, 52.3 per cent by the global economy, 48.3 per cent by the exchange rate, 45.5 per cent by the political situation and 45.6 per cent by the high interest rates. Each respondent was allowed to cite more than one factor of concern.

The FTI predicts the TISI index in three months would rise to 97.1, Suphan said.

Published : March 10, 2022

By : THE NATION