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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40012015

Cross-border trade in 2021 expanded 30 per cent compared to the previous year, the Commerce Ministry reported last week, while setting a target of 5-7 per cent growth for 2022.

“The total trade of 1.71 trillion baht in 2021 represented a rise of 30.03 per cent, with exports rising 34.6 per cent to 1.03 trillion baht and imports up by 23.7 per cent to 684 billion baht,” said Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit.

“The cross-border trade in 2021 has overwhelmingly exceeded the ministry’s target of 6 per cent expansion by five times,” he pointed out.

“This year we estimate the trade volume will continue to grow within the range of 5 to 7 per cent year on year. Exports are expected to amount to 1.08 trillion to 1.1 trillion baht,” Jurin said.

He said the factors that would contribute to an expansion in cross-border trade in 2022 include the continued recovery of global and regional economies from the impact of Covid-19, the weakening baht that would increase product price competitiveness, and the use of the newly opened China-Laos railway that would greatly help in transportation of farm products from Thailand to Vientiane and Chongqing – two of the biggest markets for agricultural products.

When divided by countries, the values of cross border trade with foreign neighbors are as follow:

•    Laos recorded 417.73 billion baht trade volume in 2021, increasing 39.31 per cent year on year
•    Malaysia recorded 346.6 billion baht, increasing 42.6 per cent
•    Myanmar recorded 122.08 billion baht, increasing 109.24 per cent
•    Cambodia recorded 144.9 billion baht, increasing 16.63 per cent
•    China recorded 194.82 billion baht, increasing 59.71 per cent
•    Singapore recorded 53.85 billion baht, increasing 51.49 per cent
•    Vietnam recorded 46.3 billion baht, increasing 5.03 per cent

“To further facilitate cross-border trade, the ministry will continue to work with government agencies and the private sector, both domestic and overseas, to locate potential buyers in new markets,” Jurin said.

“Furthermore, this year we expect to reopen more border checkpoints that had been shut to prevent Covid-19 from spreading.”

Of the 97 checkpoints that Thailand shares with Malaysia, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, only 48 are now open for cross-border trade. Jurin said he planned to reopen at least 12 more this year; four checkpoints are in Nong Khai, two in Chiang Rai, while Loei, Nakhon Phanom, Mukdahan, Ubon Ratchathani, Trat and Sa Kaeo have one checkpoint each.

“The ministry will continue to closely monitor the two risk factors that could hinder the expansion of cross-border trading: one is the situation now that the more transmissible Omicron is a major variant found in Thailand and neighbouring countries, and the other is the economic/political situation in Myanmar, especially the import control policy that aims to reduce the country’s deficit balance,” Jurin added.
 

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Published : February 07, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40012013

The baht opened at 33 to the US dollar on Monday, unchanged from Friday’s closing rate.

The Thai currency is expected to move between 32.95 and 33.10 during the day and between 32.80 and 33.20 during the week, Krungthai Bank market strategist Poon Panichpibool predicted.

Poon said the baht is likely to move according to the market’s investment and may strengthen to the key support level of 32.80 to 32.90 if the market is in a risk-on state.

However, Poon said the baht will not go past the support level until basic factors in the country have recovered.

Moreover, foreign investors are waiting to sell the currency after it strengthens, while exporters are selling at the key resistance level of 33.20 to 33.30.

Meanwhile, the dollar may strengthen if the currency market is heavily volatile. The market is worried that the US Federal Reserve will raise the interest rate too much if the inflation numbers are higher than expected.

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However, Poon said revenue reports that are better than expected will help investors sell fewer risk assets.

Published : February 07, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40012003

Former Bank of Thailand director Anusorn Thammajai on Sunday warned Thailand’s growing army of cryptocurrency investors that the digital assets could crash again in March.

Anusorn predicted another cryptocurrency crisis would hit next month as central banks move to taper quantitative easing and raise interest rates.

Last month, the price of cryptocurrencies plunged more than 40 per cent as investors fled to less volatile assets.

An eye-watering $1.35 trillion (44.5 trillion baht) has been wiped off the value of digital coins since November last year, according to CoinMarketCap.

“A cryptocurrency bubble will emerge at the end of March when liquidity in the financial market drops due to moves by central banks to taper quantitative easing and raise interest rates,” Anusorn said.

He warned investors who hold risky assets to pay extra careful attention in the second quarter this year.

He added that while cryptocurrency is helping to create a financial ecosystem in the digital economy, it also poses risks to financial and economic systems.

Published : February 06, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40011994

In a bid to promote Chanthaburi as the “City of Gems”, the Gem and Jewellery Institute of Thailand (GIT) held the International Chanthaburi Gems & Jewellery Festival from February 3 to 7.

Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit, who presided over the opening, said his ministry has set up a Gems Road in the province to shed light on its history of gems production and trade.

“We expect this event to promote Thailand as a world-class gems and jewellery production and trade centre,” he said.

Meanwhile, GIT chairperson Nuntawan Sakuntanak said the festival will help stimulate the local market and become a key platform for gems and jewellery businesses to present their products and find local and foreign buyers.

She added that GIT in cooperation with the Department of International Trade Promotion had held an online business-matching event to pair up 102 gems and jewellery businesses with customers in 16 countries.

Provincial governor Sutee Thongyam also believes the fair will stimulate Chanthaburi’s gems and jewellery sector, especially during the high tourism season.

“We expect tourists during the Chinese New Year period as well as people visiting Khao Khitchakut to worship at Buddha’s footprint to attend the event, which will stimulate the economy,” he said.

According to Jurin, Thailand’s revenue from the gems and jewellery industry last year came up to 200 billion baht, 80 per cent of which came from exports.

He said the gems and jewellery sector is important to the country’s grassroots economy as 90 per cent of the industry are micro, small and medium enterprises, resulting in the employment of up to 1 million people nationwide.

Published : February 06, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40011973

For the first time since mid-2015, Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg fell off the list of the world’s top 10 richest people when the shares of Meta plunged to a record-breaking low on Thursday.

The plunge swept away nearly US$30 billion from the 37-year-old’s net worth, bringing it down to $84.3 billion. He owns about 13 per cent of Meta.

This wiping away of $29.8 billion in a single day comes only second to the $35-billion hit Elon Musk took in November when he tweeted that he was selling 10 per cent of his stake in Tesla. According to Bloomberg, Musk lost another $25.8 billion last week.

Meta’s stock dropped when the company warned of weaker-than-expected revenue growth in the next quarter and that Apple’s recent privacy changes would cost it $10 billion, CNBC said.

The 26 per cent drop was Meta’s biggest single-day plunge and wiped more than $200 billion off its market cap which was also a record.

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Published : February 05, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40011939

SiteMinder, an open-source hotel reservation software provider, recently published a list of 12 hotel booking websites that earned the most last year.

The top earners in 2021 were:

1. Booking.com
2. Agoda
3. Hotel websites (direct reservation)
4. Expedia Group
5. Hotelbeds
6. Traveloka
7. Trip.com
8. Global Distribution Systems
9. Mr & Mrs Smith
10. WebBeds – Destinations of the World
11. WebBeds – Sunhotels
12. DidaTravel

SiteMinder said the hotel booking trend in Thailand was moving in the same direction as globally. Hotels have generally been using online strategies and combining new and old methods to reach customers and earn more revenue.

These strategies focus on creating a balance between direct and indirect revenue, with direct reservation coming in third for two consecutive years as hotels invest in metasearch engines and convenient payment systems. Reservations directly with hotels has earned the highest revenue in 12 countries.

There were 29 new hotels on the list this year, reflecting hotels shift in focus when it comes to attracting new customers.

James Bishop, senior director of Global Ecosystem at SiteMinder, said hotels are adapting to the change in consumer behaviour and are happy to mix new methods with old guidelines.

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Bradley Haines, regional vice president of Asia-Pacific at SiteMinder, added that the hotel environment has developed continuously. It is a good thing that business operators in Thailand have adopted new measures to attract both direct and indirect bookings.

“We saw a growing success of direct reservation, regional reservation platforms, and business-to-business room platforms last year. We also saw Mr & Mrs Smith rise to ninth place from 12th in 2020. This reflects the endeavour of local businesses to attract travellers with high-purchasing power and longer stays,” Haines said.

He added that operators must always analyse and evaluate online business strategies because the market is changing.

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Published : February 04, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/40011920

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index will fluctuate between 1,660 and 1,680 points on Friday, Krungsri Securities said.

It added that the index gained positive sentiment from rising oil prices owing to cold weather in the US and the simmering Ukraine-Russia tensions. Mass buy-ups of company shares expected to grow based on their business turnover last year also helped boost the index.

“However, the European Central Bank and Bank of England’s signals that they will tighten the monetary policy to tackle inflation, plus mass sell-offs of shares in response to signs of overbought stocks would pressure the index,” Krungsri Securities said.

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

• PTTEP, TOP, PTTGC, IVL and SPRC, which will benefit from the rising price of oil and gross refining margin.

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

• IVL, TOP, GULF, SPRC, BANPU, TU, CPF, SPALI, WHA, HMPRO, BLA, JMT, SINGER, JMART, WICE, NER, ITEL, XO, ASK and UBE are expected to grow based on their business turnover last year.

The SET Index closed at 1,669.05 on Thursday, up 1.30 points or 0.08 per cent. Transactions totalled 68.03 billion baht with an index high of 1,673.75 and a low of 1,664.09.

Published : February 04, 2022

By : THE NATION