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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.”

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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

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40013249

The Commerce Ministry has opened a store on a popular online trading platform in Taiwan to promote Thai goods, a senior official said.

Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP) director-general Phusit Ratanakul Sereroengrit said the new online outlet is called TopThai Store and it has been launched on the PChome platform in Taiwan.

Phusit said the cooperation with PChome will open Taiwan’s constantly expanding online market to Thai exporters and manufacturers. Its online retail market, for instance, expanded 14.75 per cent last year.

Phusuit said PChome is the most popular online trading platform in Taiwan.

The TopThai store is aimed at creating a “good perception” of Thai products among Taiwanese shoppers, the director-general said.

He said the DITP and PChome have teamed up to select fashion brands with “good quality” and “good design” to sell on TopThai.

The products are considered to belong to the so-called Bio-Circular-Green Economy as they are considered to be environmentally friendly.

He said the DITP expects more than 50 Thai brands to sell their products on the platform.

The managing director of PChome (Thailand) said Taiwanese like to visit Thailand and they are aware of Thai goods but the opening of the online store will promote Thai goods “much more”.

Digital Marketing Office director Chanthaphan Panchamanon said TopThai is the sixth store the DITP has opened on online platforms abroad.

He said the DITP had earlier launched two TopThai stores in China on Tmall.com and the Tmall Global platform, one TopThai Store on India’s Bigbasket.com, one on Amazon.com in the US and one on Klangthai.com in Cambodia.

Chanthaphan said the DITP would invite Thai manufacturers to meet PCHome (Thailand) representatives on March 29 for a discussion so that their goods can be selected for sale on the platform.

The online store is interested in house decorations, fashions, dried foods and dried fruits, he added.

Published : March 10, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40013248

Precisely 20.9 million smartphones were sold in Thailand in 2021, International Data Corporation (IDC) reported.

According to the IDC’s Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, smartphone sales in Thailand grew by 20.9 per cent in 2021 from the previous year, the highest in Southeast Asia, with 5.5 million being were sold in the last quarter of 2021 – a growth of 16.6 per cent – due to seasonal promotions and retail sales recovery after lockdown measures were eased.

One highly popular phone was Apple’s iPhone 13, while 5G smartphones stole one-third of market share in the fourth quarter. Android phones such as the Samsung Galaxy A52s, Vivo Y76 and Redmi Note 10 also proved highly popular.

Sales of 5G smartphones in Thailand were the highest in Southeast Asia. Thailand placed third in sales in the Asia-Pacific region (not including China and Japan), after India and South Korea, respectively.

IDC market analyst Teerit Paowan said sales in 2021 were “extremely strong” because demand had piled up from the previous year as devices were in shortage. Sales were also supported by the government’s Covid-19 compensation and cheap 5G smartphones.

“IDC believes the growth will be stable in 2022 but 14 per cent higher than pre-pandemic 2012,” Teerit said.

“A Dtac-True merger is likely to cause fierce competition in the short term in an expansion of the customer base. However, the limitation in supplies will cause a bottleneck at least in the first half of 2022.”

The top five brands in Q4

Samsung retained the first place even with a shortage of the A-series model. Promotions and incentives were focused on flagship phones that increased the sales of the Galaxy S21.

Xiaomi jumped into second place due to a recovery in the delivery of the Redmi series. The firm tried to expand its offline platforms by opening 13 new Xiaomi stores in December.

Apple grew both year-over-year and on-quarter with the iPhone 13 even amid a shortage and high prices of the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max.

Oppo also witnessed a tight supply of affordable 4G smartphones. Meanwhile, its mid-range Reno 6 was well-received but sales of the Reno 6 Pro weren’t impressive because of its high price.

Vivo too was affected by the shortage, especially for its affordable phones such as the Y series. But the firm boosted its stores and partner stores and increased its sales staff.

Teerit explained that with limited supplies, especially for affordable 4G devices, brands had to adapt to the situation. For example, they branched out into using chips from new manufacturers such as Unisoc and focused on manufacturing best-selling models.

Small brands such as HMD (Nokia), Lenovo (Motorola) and TCL took a significant leap in the market as they focused on affordable phones that were in high demand, Teerit added.

Published : March 10, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40013240

A survey carried out by the Commerce Ministry found the majority of people were aware of key ministry projects, while the programme to guarantee crop prices won the most public satisfaction.

The results of the survey were announced by Trade Policy and Strategy Office director Ronnarong Phoolpipat.

Ronnarong said the survey was conducted in January among 10,072 respondents from all districts across the country.

Sixty per cent of the respondents, who were asked whether they knew about the Commerce Ministry policies for 2021, voiced their affirmation, the director said.

He said 75 per cent of those who were aware said they were happy about the projects because they helped increase people’s incomes while reducing expenses during the time of economic hardship.

Ronnarong said the highest rate of public awareness and satisfaction – 81.3 per cent – was for the scheme guaranteeing crop prices for farmers.

It was followed by the project to sell consumer goods at discount prices, which was cited by 76 per cent of the respondents.

Meanwhile, 73.5 per cent voiced happiness over a project promoting online sales of goods, Ronnarong said.

The programme guaranteeing crop prices came out on top as the most liked, with 81 per cent of respondents citing it, he said.

“The price guarantee project was continued for the second time last year after the first in 2020. It helped farmers earn more income when they had to sell their crops amid low market prices,” Ronnarong pointed out.

The second most liked project was one promoting online trading, with 77 per cent of respondents mentioning it, the director said.

It was followed by the project to speed up registration of geographical indication goods, with 75.8 per cent citing it, Ronnarong added.

Published : March 10, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40013234

The Ukraine-Russia war has already caused the Thai economy to shrink, the Thai Chamber of Commerce (TCC) reported on Wednesday.

TCC chairman Sanan Angubolkul said the chamber is closely monitoring the situation.

In his opinion, the Russian economy is still strong even though the value of the rouble has taken a dive.

He said Russia has not used the full force of its military power so there still might be a chance for a peace breakthrough.

The war has sent the oil price soaring and the Thai economy to shrink, Sanan said, expecting the government to be able to keep the fuel price on the stable side until March.

He suggested that the government prepare a plan in advance as the situation might prolong and the oil price could stay at high levels all year long.

Sanan said the government measure cutting excise tax on diesel for generating electricity for six months might help the public as the power price would decrease by 1-1.5 baht per unit.

However, he said, the government must also plan for other emergencies because the situation is uncertain and it would be difficult to evaluate how long Thailand can keep prices from skyrocketing.

Sanan said the TCC is monitoring the rise in product costs, especially those to do with corn, wheat and sunflower seeds because of a shortage of these crops.

Moreover, rare earth elements might affect circuit board and chip manufacturing and will increase the import costs for related products, he warned.

The TCC is also worried about the rising fertiliser price because Thailand imports 5 million tonnes of fertiliser per year. If the price shoots up, farmers will be forced to use less fertiliser and this would affect production.

Sanan said this problem would crop up soon, so the government needs to prepare for it.

As for trade with Russia and Ukraine, Thailand has not been affected much directly, but it has been affected a lot indirectly because the price of many products is increasing, Sanan said.

Furthermore, the issue of shipping prices is worrying, especially international freight rates, he said, advising the government to allow the baht to weaken so exports won’t be affected to a major extent.

The TCC is also concerned that the economy would be affected by stagflation or high inflation while economic growth slows. The increasing cost of living will be higher than the expected revenue, so this situation too requires close monitoring, Sanan said.

The TCC believes tourism is a key factor for economic recovery, so Thailand should maintain a neutral stance in the conflict and welcome travellers from all countries, he added.

Published : March 10, 2022

By : THE NATION