Charoen Pokphan Group (CP Group) has advised Thai businesses to prepare for China to reopen in the latter part of this year.
CP Group senior vice president Thanakorn Seriburi said he expects China to reopen soon, following two years of tight restrictions under Beijing’s zero-Covid policy.
He said Thailand’s exporters should be ready for the reopening of Chinese markets as the country’s purchasing power will increase sharply. He added that tensions with Taiwan would not affect the economy.
“China’s economy will expand despite Covid-19 impacts,” he said, noting that China’s GDP grew 0.4 per cent in the second quarter.
He added that Beijing is targeting 5 per cent economic growth this year despite the private sector saying it would be satisfied with 4 per cent.
Thanakorn said Chinese economic expansion is being driven by infrastructure projects including high-speed rail, motorways and airports.
“Infrastructure development is aiding China’s distribution of agricultural products, reducing logistics costs and facilitating travel.”
He added that Beijing is focused on three areas of economic development: keeping city residents in place to expand the urban service sector, large-scale agriculture, and investment in high technology.
Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith has instructed state firms to speed up investments to shore up the country’s economy and told 17 loss-making state enterprises to find measures to improve their financial situations.
Arkhom was speaking at a meeting of executives of 52 state enterprises.
He said state enterprises had used only 60 per cent of their 350-billion-baht investment budget by the end of July, falling short of their 95 per cent target.
He added that the state firms’ combined assets of 14.7 trillion baht were large compared to Thailand’s GDP of 17.6 trillion baht.
“As a result, state enterprises play a crucial role in driving the country’s economy,” Arkhom said. “State firms must speed up investment budget spending, especially on mega projects that are crucial to the country’s development.”
Meanwhile, 17 state firms that had been accumulating losses for years must increase efforts to halt the slide.
Arkhom also assigned the following four policies to state firms:
– Improve performance by adopting new technologies.
– Protect the environment. PTT Plc, the Provincial Electricity Authority, Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand and the Metropolitan Electricity Authority must also minimise the impact of rising fuel prices on the public They must also support the transition from combustion engine vehicles to electric vehicles.
– Protect public health and the elderly while helping people to access funds.
– Guard food security. Arkhom said food-related state firms must develop new, alternative foods.
The baht opened at 35.80 to the US dollar on Monday, weakening from Friday’s close of 35.74.
The Thai currency will likely move between 35.70 and 35.90 against the greenback during the day and between 35.30 and 36 during the week, Krungthai market strategist Poon Panichpibool predicted.
He said the baht is likely to fluctuate and weaken to test its resistance level at 35.90 as the dollar strengthens and the gold price heads downward.
Moreover, foreign investors may sell off Thai stocks or wait for their price to drop before buying them, so the baht is lacking supporting factors. He also mentioned that some exporters are selling the dollar, while some investors believe the baht will strengthen.
Meanwhile, the dollar may rise further if the market believes the US Federal Reserve will increase the interest rate to a fairly high level. He added that a slowdown in Europe is also supporting the dollar through the pressure on the euro.
The strategist has advised investors to use hedging tools such as options to manage risks in a highly volatile currency market.
Technologies in the metaverse era will help some businesses to grow exponentially, said Pipat Wattanamongkolsiri, CEO of digital solution provider 9 Cat Digital.
Pipat was speaking at the “Metaverse Expo Thailand” in Bangkok on Sunday. The event was organised by The Nation.
The tech chief zeroed in on the benefits of blockchain, explaining that it would overcome various pain points for people thanks to its transparency, decentralised network and speed. The digital ledger technology is already spreading through diverse industries, including logistics, agriculture and healthcare.
“Many people are now asking how to maximise the uses and benefits of blockchain in their business,” he said.
However, he said that given the fast pace of technological development, it was no surprise to see many businesses making mistakes or overlooking new tech’s potential.
“In the next era, combining business and the metaverse will help companies to grow to a global level,” he said, adding that companies should seek partnerships to expand in the metaverse.
Marketing was another important key to boosting business growth in the metaverse era, said Pipat. And the good news for businesses was that marketing in the so-called Web 3.0 would become easier than in Web 2.0 if businesses equipped themselves with the new digital skills and tools of the metaverse, he explained.
The three-day “Metaverse Expo Thailand” wrapped up on Sunday.
Thailand’s future e-commerce growth will be driven by expansion into the virtual world, experts said during the “Metaverse Expo Thailand” in Bangkok on Sunday.
Thanawat Malabuppha, CEO and co-founder of shopping search engine Priceza, said Thai e-commerce had grown exponentially over the past 17 years, thanks to the internet and Covid-19 crisis. Its success was due to its ability to satisfy consumers’ needs for convenience, diversity and promotions, he added.
Thanawat Malabuppha
“Even though Central continued expanding its branches, consumers prefer the internet rather than department stores as it meets their demand for convenience,” he said.
Under the government’s e-commerce development plan, Thailand is targeting e-commerce revenue of 5.35 trillion baht this year rising to 7.1 trillion baht by 2027.
Kulthirath Pakawachkrilers (right)
Kulthirath Pakawachkrilers, CEO of business-scaling solution provider Thailand e-Business Centre, compared the potential of e-commerce in Thailand and China.
She calculated that it would take Thailand up to three years to catch up with China. She advised Thai companies to focus on winning metaverse customers’ hearts rather than luring them with cheap prices.
“Thailand must see the metaverse as a new norm, and be ready to embrace what will happen next,” she said.
She estimated that 10 per cent of Thais are now ready to immerse themselves in the metaverse, led by hardcore gamers.
Kulthirath added that the advent of cryptocurrency is a warning for businesses to train their staff to understand new tech tools in order to boost revenue and growth.
Pawoot Pongvitayapanu, managing director and founder of e-commerce service provider Tarad Dot Com, said more Thais are now able to access technology thanks to the government’s economic stimulus during Covid.
He also pointed out that e-commerce would begin to disrupt local businesses soon as Thai retailers outside Bangkok are now adopting e-commerce platforms.
“In the future, retailers will be forced to use e-commerce to boost their business efficiency,” he said.
Pawoot Pongvitayapanu
However, the three speakers advised small and medium enterprises (SMEs) not to jump into the metaverse straightaway, warning its hardware, software and users are still insufficient.
“Marketing in the metaverse will begin bustling once technologies are ready and big players arrive,” Thanawat said. He expects people will adapt to the metaverse within three years.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has hailed a report ranking Thailand as the world’s top country for wellness retreats.
Thai wellness resorts came top in international rankings based on research into Tripadvisor reviews by leisure website Slingo.
Published last Monday, the research focused on which countries have the best resort hotels, wellness and spa activities.
Thailand ranked No 1 with an overall wellness retreat score of 9.5/10.
“Often referred to as the spa capital of Asia, Thailand is home to some of the most therapeutic and luxurious retreats in the world. Thailand tops our list, with better reviews for wellness activities and resorts than any other destination we looked at,” Slingo said.
Indonesia ranked second with an overall wellness retreat score of 8.5/10 while Maldives was third with a score of 8.5/10.
The research also ranked the countries with the highest-rated wellness activities.
Maldives topped this list with 88.73 per cent of 29 spa and wellness activities rated four-star and higher.
Thailand was ranked second, but with a far higher number (2,673) of wellness activities sampled. Of these, 73.03 per cent were rated four-star or higher. The top-rated activity was the yoga and Pilates classes offered by Ocean Sound resort on Koh Tao.
Responding to the ranking, PM Prayut praised the hard work and high levels of service among Thailand’s tourism workers, his deputy secretary-general Anucha Burapachaisri said on Sunday. The PM is confident that Thailand has strong potential for wellness tourism, Anucha added.
“The prime minister would like to thank all personnel in the tourism sector for building a good reputation for the country,” he said.
KBank Private Banking (KPB) has announced its investment strategies, focusing on five alternative assets in order to “Increase Options for Survival” in an era of economic volatility wherein conventional investment may not be the right answer.
KPB showcased its success as evidenced by its stellar performance with a return on investment of around 11-19 per cent p.a. This achievement reinforces KPB’s status as Thailand’s top-notch investment and wealth management advisory service provider.
Triphon Phumiwasana, Senior Managing Director, Private Banking Business Head, Kasikornbank (KBank), noted, “Amid highly uncertain economic circumstances, traditional asset classes may no longer provide satisfactory returns.
Investors have therefore switched to new forms of investment as alternative vehicles for risk diversification and long-term stable returns. To survive market volatility, global investors have invested in alternative assets thanks to their highly flexible investment management strategies.
Given that prices of private assets are not tied to capital market movements, therefore they reflect real fundamentals of each asset class. As a leading investment and wealth management advisory service provider, KPB has recommended that our clients invest in alternative assets since 2021 to capitalize on their growth potential while also guarding against market volatility.”
KBank Private Banking recommends the five following asset classes, comprising three types of private assets and two types of public assets with flexible investment strategies. They are, i.e.,
1. Private Equity
Private Equity (PE) is typically an investment fund which is not listed on a public stock exchange. Private equity funds mainly invest in companies with high growth potential seeking to raise funds for business expansion. Unlike public stock markets which tend to fluctuate out of emotion-driven market sentiment, PE prices are not quoted on a daily basis, and their returns typically reflect real fundamentals of the companies they are invested in. Given this, private equity potentially provides attractive returns with relatively low price fluctuations over the short-term period.
However, investors may have to measure this advantage against the need for a lengthy investment period, mostly depending on the growing stage of the invested companies. Therefore, private equity is suitable for long-term investors who can hold their investment for at least seven to nine years.
2. Private Debt
Private Debt is like a loan provided outside the capital market as an alternative form of fund mobilization for companies wishing to expand their businesses. However these companies are unable to gain access to funds per the normal course of business such as loans provided by banks, or for companies wishing to quickly mobilize funds.
Therefore Investors will enjoy higher returns amid the current upward trend in interest rates, although they may have to trade that off for relatively low liquidity compared to investment in government bonds or debentures that are typically traded in the capital market. This asset class is suitable for investors who can invest over at least five to seven years.
3. Private Real Estate
Investment in Private Real Estate or basic infrastructure that is not listed on a public stock market such as office buildings, and electricity and telecommunication projects, can help diversify risks in a volatile market, as well.
Properties with high rental rates offer investors a greater opportunity to enjoy steady returns. Investment in Private Real Estate is ideal for present investment conditions as it offers investors stable cash flows. Long-term investment of at least three years is recommended.
4. Quantitative Hedge Fund
Quantitative Hedge Fund is an alternative fund with greater flexibility in investment strategy. Trust must be placed primarily on the skills of fund managers as they anticipate positive returns regardless of any market conditions.
Quantitative Hedge Fund can invest in a diverse range of asset classes and typically uses a short-selling strategy to make profits during market downturns by borrowing assets to sell first before repurchasing them later at a lesser value or using derivatives to boost the leverage rate or other more complicated strategies, based on mathematical and quantitative statistical methods.
Overall, a quantitative hedge fund can serve as a tool to add new dimensions to investment portfolios in terms of returns and risk diversification.
5. Structured Note
Structured Note is a financial instrument combining the key features of debentures and derivatives. Its investment mechanism is based on asset prices or factors related to market changes in various forms such as stock index, foreign exchange rate, etc.
For instance Structured Note products that are preferred among Thai investors are knock-in knock-out (KIKO) structured notes with Thai or foreign stocks as underlying assets. They will offer good returns at a time when the market is moving in a narrow range, and can provide regular returns in the form of monthly interest.
Subsequently, each asset class is outstanding and can well meet the different needs of investors. Interested investors should study and understand investment details thoroughly or consult professionals for advice on appropriate investment portfolio allocation. In normal practice, alternative assets make up no more than 10 per cent of a total portfolio, as their main purpose is risk diversification.
In closing, Triphon noted, “According to operating results of last year, our alternative asset investment product with outstanding performance and satisfactory returns amid market volatility was K-GPE19A-UI fund, a private equity fund, which offered an average return of up to 19 per cent per annum. Throughout the second half of this year, KBank Private Banking is determined to continually introduce additional alternative investment products both domestically and internationally, and in alignment with investment themes of the future, namely Global Private Debt, Global Private Equity, Global and Local Private Real Estate, Quantitative Hedge Fund Strategy and Exotic Structured Note, as investment options.”
A local digital start-up has become Thailand’s fourth unicorn and its first metaverse unicorn after its shares were acquired by a subsidiary of Taiwan’s tech giant Foxconn.
The acquisition of shares in MiGroup’s Multiverse Expert by Power-All Networks was reported by Bloomberg and Digital Journal, as well as confirmed by the Digital Economy Promotion Agency (Depa).
According to reports, Power-All Networks acquired a 10 per cent stake in Multiverse Expert on July 10 this year with a US$120 million cash earn-out potential. The deal is directly aligned with Power-All’s drive in the pan-metaverse and metaverse product space in China and the global market.
Becoming a “unicorn” means a start-up can be valued at more than $1 billion. Thailand’s other three unicorns are Flash Group, Ascend Money and newcomer Bitkub.
Power-All announced that the move combines the strength of three companies – Multiverse Expert’s “metaverse” technology and innovative applications; CTG’s EDTech platform that has access to over 400,000 financial trading instruments and expertise in online financial trading; and Power-All’s own global reach, numerous patents, research in inter-cloud computing blockchain and pioneering efforts in the pan metaverse.
The company said this combination will give access to a massive worldwide market by offering new user experiences and setting up a global de facto standard with the highest number of platforms. All these platforms will offer people lifetime access to knowledge and abilities in building a new economy in the metaverse, financial knowhow, investment skills or professions that can continue beyond the retirement age.
Multiverse Expert specialises in providing advice, designing, developing and managing solutions in either private, public or hybrid blockchain projects.
It has also designed a Tokeconomics system deployed via Mainnet – an independent blockchain running its own network with its own technology and protocol. The company also provides the service of source code verification to its clients and provides advice on the development of applications both on the net and on mobile phones.
Congratulating Multiverse Expert for becoming Thailand’s first metaverse “unicorn”, Depa also pointed out that it was behind the success of two metaverse projects – Veleverse and Chiangmai Crypto City Metaverse.
Multiverse Expert has also developed two games in which players can earn crypto coins, namely Bitkub Verify Project: 3Kingdom-heroes NFT and Bitkub Register Project: BitMonster.
Depa noted that blockchain and metaverse are key digital technologies that can create new opportunities for the Thai economy. It pointed out that having unicorns in the two technologies boosts Thailand’s competitiveness and will help draw investments and a workforce with top-digital skills. This will also help Thailand achieve Web 3.0, a new iteration of the World Wide Web that incorporates concepts like decentralisation, blockchain technologies and token-based economics.
U-tapao Rayong Pattaya International Airport is being upgraded with the addition of a “smart” passenger terminal powered by 5G technology.
The construction of Terminal 3 is being conducted in collaboration with Thailand’s largest mobile services operator, Advanced Info Service (AIS).
AIS senior executive Saran Phaloprakarn said the goal was to turn U-Tapao, which is run by the Royal Thai Navy, into a modern commercial airport.
U-Tapao will become the third commercial airport serving Bangkok after Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang. A high-speed train route will link all three airports and the Eastern Economic Corridor development zone.
Currently, U-Tapao serves mainly foreign tourists visiting the resort city of Pattaya on the eastern seaboard.
AIS signed a memorandum of understanding with the airport on August 10, extending their collaboration on digital tech adoption.
Saran said the MOU allows AIS to work on 5G “use cases” at the airport for three more years, in time for the opening of Terminal 3.
Digitalisation at U-Tapao began in 2018 and was upgraded to 5G after AIS launched fifth-generation technology for broadband cellular networks in Thailand two years ago.
Saran said the U-Tapao’s 5G tech will be used to analyse video from closed-circuit cameras for increased safety, relying on artificial intelligence, big data and face-recognition technologies.
AIS is providing the 5G services at U-Tapao free of charge as it is trialling the technology at the airport.
Saran said results from the study may also be used to expand AIS’s business at the airport in future, including the sale of SIMs to tourists.
The smart tech would also help keep passenger queues short, he added. “5G and AI can help you predict the concentration of passengers at the airport,” he said.
The Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP), Ministry of Commerce is organizing the must-attend annual event, the Trade Logistics Symposium 2022 – one of Thailand’s largest logistics forums – the heart of trade logistics business efficiency building and development.
Renowned speakers will take to the stage their perspective on logistics for e-commerce and cross border on September 1-2, 2022 at Lido Connect and on webinar.
Mr Phusit Ratanakul Sereroengrit, DITP Director-General states that DITP takes progressive measures to boost the logistics industry to conform to the policy outlined by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce (Mr Jurin Laksanawisit) which is fortifying the service sectors especially logistics business to ensure the continuity of logistics activities and enhance the capabilities of entrepreneurs. The Department organizes the Trade Logistics Symposium 2022 under the theme “Empowering E-commerce and Cross Border Logistics” to represent a knowledge sharing platform between the world’s foremost business leaders, experts and international organizations and logistics and international trade entrepreneurs.
As the highlights for this year’s symposium, participants will have an opportunity to meet with the distinguished speakers from top organizations. Topics include:
“E-Commerce and Cross Border impact on the ASEAN’s logistics industry” – focusing on how do e-commerce and border trade affect logistics business in ASEAN by Ms Cecile Barayre-El Shami – Chief of Digital Economy Capacity-Building Section, E-commerce and Digital Economy Branch from UNCTAD.
“Guide tips to start Door-to-Door service” – highlight on the strategies of entering the transportation field in the delivery and what lies behind the factors which make the business keep going in the battlefield of competition by Ms Jamie Ko – Director, Regional Public Affairs and Policy and from the main service provider in the region – Grab.
“Fulfillment and Warehouse in the 21st Century” – concept of how e-commerce is driving new distribution and warehousing by Mr Nattapume Pavaratn, the President of Warehouse, Silo and Cold Storage Business Association and SVP Group Commercial, JWD InfoLogistics Public Company Limited.
“Collaboration is at the heart of the e-commerce logistics” by Mr. Behzad Goudarzian, Logistics Manager and Mr Pravin Shetty, Regional IT Manager of ISS Global Forwarding – an internationally recognized supply chain solutions provider.
Panel discussion “Time for logistics marketplaces platform in Mekong Region?” by Dr Piyanoot Sumrith, the President of Thai Transportation & Logistics Association, Managing Director and Founder of WeMove Platform, the Start-up newcomer that connects shippers and carriers by using technology, together with Ms Rachelle Alexis Lim, Executive Director of Strategy & Business Development from 2C2P Co., Ltd. – a full suite payments platform trusted by global businesses.
Interested person can register free of charge at www.tradelogistics.go.th/symposium. Discover other exciting opportunities in logistics at Facebook page: DITP.Logistics.
Thanawat Malabuppha
Kulthirath Pakawachkrilers (right)
Pawoot Pongvitayapanu
Indonesia ranked second with an overall wellness retreat score of 8.5/10 while Maldives was third with a score of 8.5/10.
Responding to the ranking, PM Prayut praised the hard work and high levels of service among Thailand’s tourism workers, his deputy secretary-general Anucha Burapachaisri said on Sunday. The PM is confident that Thailand has strong potential for wellness tourism, Anucha added.
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