The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has said it will improve regulations, so local investors have the opportunity to investing overseas.
The Bank of Thailand (BOT) recently eased regulations on investing in foreign securities by increasing investment limits and expanding financial products, among others. The move aims to offer more investment opportunities to the public and help them diversify their portfolios.
SEC secretary-general Ruenvadee Suwanmongkol said based on the Foreign Investment Allotment System, the commission will allow investors to seek credit for investment from BOT directly.
“To register for bond trading, SEC is preparing circulars for brokerage firms and dealers, but we have to wait for BOT guidelines first,” she added.
She said she expected BOT’s decision to ease measures will encourage people to invest in foreign securities.
“However, it depends on the investment situation and investors’ ability to tolerate risks as well,” she added.
By The NationEnergy firm Banpu Plc expects to set aside at least US$1 billion (Bt30.4 billion) for its five-year investment plan (2021-2025), said chief executive officer Somrudee Chaimongkol.
The budget would be spent on business expansion through joint investment, takeovers, and boosting existing production capacity, she added.
She said the company expects continued growth of Ebitda ( Earnings before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation) from the fourth quarter this year into next year, thanks to improving gas and coal prices in the fourth quarter. The advent of winter has triggered higher energy demand, especially in China and India.
Banpu’s completed acquisition of a gas-producing operation in the Barnett Shale in Texas in the third quarter will enable realisation of its new production capacity in the fourth quarter this year.
The Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA) is expected to call for bids to construct the Purple Line southern extension in February next year, said governor Pakapong Sirikantaramas.
Construction of the extension from Tao Poon to Rat Burana is expected to start in September 2021 and take six years to complete at a cost of Bt124.959 billion.
The project will be financed by a public-private partnership.
Of the total cost, Bt80 billion will be for civil works, Bt16 billion for land expropriation and Bt23 billion for the train system.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Indorama Ventures (IVL) Plc have signed a $100-million (Bt3.04 billion) financing package to reduce the environmental impact of plastic by boosting the capacity of IVL’s plastic recycling plants in Thailand, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
The plants will recycle polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastics widely used in bottles. The finance package comprises $50 million from ADB and $50 million from the ADB-administered Leading Asia’s Private Infrastructure Fund (LEAP). A $150 million loan will be provided by the International Finance Corporation, and $50 million from Germany’s DEG.
“The recycling of plastics like PET is a must for healthier oceans, and this initiative will help to achieve that objective by partnering with IVL, which is the global leader of PET production and recycling,” said vice-president for Private Sector Operations and Public–Private Partnerships Ashok Lavasa. “There is a rising global demand for recycled plastic packaging. ADB’s support will help IVL to meet this demand by collecting and treating plastic waste that would otherwise have been released into the oceans.”
Said chief Sustainability Officer at Indorama Ventures Yashovardhan Lohia: “By using post-consumer PET bottles as a feedstock for new bottles, we give value to waste. This drives improvements in waste collection systems, meaning less waste and cleaner oceans.”
It is estimated that Asia accounts for more than 80 per cent of all plastics released into the ocean. Globally around half of PET is recycled. In a circular economy, products and materials are redesigned, recovered, and recycled to divert plastic waste from landfills and oceans. The plants to be built under the project are expected to be fully operational by 2022, and will ensure that nearly 5 billion additional bottles are diverted from waste annually.
IVL is a Thailand-listed, global business committed to develop technologies and processes that use post-consumer PET and polyester waste materials as feedstock for the future. As the largest producer of 100 per cent recyclable PET in the world, IVL supports all aspects of the circular economy to reduce the amount of waste entering the environment. IVL is listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and operates 125 manufacturing facilities in 33 countries across five continents.
Electricity Generating Plc (Egco) applied for a licence to procure and trade liquified natural gas (LNG) with the Energy Regulatory Commission last week, said the company’s president Thepparat Theppitak.
Egco plans to import 250,000 tonnes of LNG per year to feed its Banpong power plant in Ratchaburi and Klongluang plant in Pathum Thani.
The shipment will also be used to fuel its Egco Cogen power plant in Rayong.
He added that the company was closely monitoring LNG markets to identify the right time to import the gas.
Five companies already hold LNG import and trade licences: PTT, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, Gulf Energy Development, B Grimm LNG, and Hin Kong Power Holding (HKH), in which Gulf Energy Development holds a 49-per-cent stake.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index rose by 17.93 points, or 1.28 per cent, to 1,419.56 in the morning session on Wednesday.
An analyst at Krungsri Securities expected the day’s index to fluctuate between 1,390 and 1,415 points amid an expected smooth US presidential transition, progress of a Covid-19 vaccine and a rising oil price.
“However, mass sell-offs in stocks to reduce risks from pro-democracy protesters’ anti-government rally on Wednesday would pressure the index,” he said.
He recommended investors buy:
> PTTEP, PTTGC, Top, IVL and SPRC, which benefit from the rising oil price.
> Mint, Centel and AOT, which benefit from progress in the development of a Covid-19 vaccine.
> Amata, WHA, SAT, AH and RCL, which will benefit from the Asia-Pacific Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership pact.
The SET Index closed at 1,401.63 on Tuesday, down 18.80 points, or 1.32 per cent. The volume of total transactions was Bt102 billion, with an index high of 1,432.56 points and a low of 1,401.29.
The price of gold slumped by another Bt250 per baht weight in morning trade on Wednesday after falling sharply by Bt550 per baht weight at close on Tuesday, the Gold Traders Association reported.
As of 9.28am, the buying price of a gold bar was Bt25,950 per baht weight and selling price Bt26,050, while gold ornaments cost Bt25,483.96 and Bt26,550, respectively.
At close on Tuesday, the buying price of a gold bar was Bt26,200 per baht weight and selling price Bt26,300, while gold ornaments cost Bt25,726.52 and Bt26,800, respectively.
The spot gold price moved to US$1,810 (Bt54,938) per ounce in the morning, while the Comex (Commodity Exchange) gold price to be delivered in December dropped sharply by $33.20 to $1,804.60 per ounce on Tuesday due to mass sell-offs of the safe-haven asset in response to positive news over a Covid-19 vaccine and a hopefully smooth US presidential transition.
The Hong Kong gold price meanwhile dropped by HK$180 to $16,710 (Bt65,431) per tael, the Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society reported.
By Syndication Washington Post, Bloomberg · Kamaron Leach, Vildana Hajric · BUSINESS
The Dow Jones industrial average topped 30,000 for the first time and investors piled into risk assets as a series of market-friendly developments unleashed animal spirits on Wall Street.
The S&P 500 Index hit a record, spurred by the formal start of President-elect Joe Biden’s transition, news that all but removed the threat of a contested transfer of power. Investors also woke up with a clear sense of what Biden’s Treasury Department will have in policy preferences after he nominated Janet Yellen to the post. A third promising vaccine candidate added to the euphoria, boosting bets that the economy can soar next year.
The rotation into risk assets was widespread. Small caps in the Russell 2000 added another 1.9%, pushing its November rally past 20%. Tesla Inc. tacked on another 6.4% and is now worth $500 billion. Carnival Corp. jumped 11%, Planet Fitness Inc. rose 8% and MGM Resorts International added 9%. Four stocks rose for every one that fell in the S&P 500, while only three Dow companies dropped. Bitcoin rose to a three-year high, topping $19,000 as it closed in on a record.
The record runs come in the face of more troubling news on the virus front, with cases rising and more states enacting restrictions ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. Wednesday will also bring a flood of economic indicators, from jobless claims to readings on consumer confidence and personal income. Trading volumes have been elevated in what is normally a calm week. More than 12 billion shares changed hands yesterday, up 75% from the Monday before last year’s holiday.
“There’s nothing else to buy. People have this excess cash and they’re buying into the market and they’re chasing it,” Gene Goldman, chief investment officer at Cetera Financial Group, said. “People are ignoring the short term and just jumping in and buying. All the short terms news is being ignored for long term optimism.”
Energy companies in the S&P 500 surged 4% on the back of oil’s advance past $45 for the first time since March. The dollar weakened versus major peers and Treasurys slipped. Gold fell toward $1,800 an ounce.
As the S&P 500 pushes its November surge past 11%, a growing chorus is saying the rally can persist. Even after the latest advance, four of the 11 S&P 500 groups remain at least 8% below when the index set a record on Feb. 19. Expectation is mounting that as investors grow confident the vaccine will spark an economic boom, cash will continue flooding into the likes of banks, utilities and energy companies that have underperformed.
“Everybody’s just ecstatic with the vaccine news,” said Jerry Braakman, chief investment officer of First American Trust, in Santa Ana, California, which manages around $2 billion. “We had to slug through the election results, there’s a sense of relief that we didn’t decay into anarchy. That was definitely holding back the economy. We know how well stock markets do with recovery and its vision ahead. That’s normally the best time for markets.”
The rotation has been on display all month. Energy shares have surged almost 40%, while financial firms have rallied about 20%. Treasury yields have advanced and gold has stumbled.
“Even though we’ve seen this pretty sharp rotation into cyclical stocks, we think this could go on for much longer given how unbalanced many investors’ portfolios are when it comes to growth and value,” said Bill Callahan, investment strategist at Schroders. “Prior to the vaccine announcement the market wasn’t sure how long we would be in this state of economic limbo, but with the vaccine announcement it really doesn’t matter if the vaccine is distributed in the second quarter or third quarter next year, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.”
These are the main moves in markets:
Stocks
– The S&P 500 Index rose 1.6% as of 4 p.m. EST.
– The Dow average added 1.5% to 30,045.
– The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.9%.
– The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.9%.
– The MSCI Emerging Market Index was little changed.
Currencies
– The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.4%.
– The euro climbed 0.4% to $1.1890.
– The British pound gained 0.3% to $1.3358.
– The Japanese yen was little changed at 104.54 per dollar.
Bonds
– The yield on 10-year Treasurys jumped two basis points to 0.88%.
– The yield on two-year Treasurys increased less than one basis point to 0.16%.
– Germany’s 10-year yield gained three basis points to -0.56%.
– Japan’s 10-year yield climbed one basis point to 0.025%.
Commodities
– West Texas Intermediate crude surged 4.2% to $44.84 a barrel.
Energy Minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow said on Tuesday that the Centre for Economic Situation Administration (CESA) will on December 2 consider the policy on exchanging old vehicles for new ones.
Initially, it was proposed that the new vehicles in the exchange scheme must be electric and locally made in a bid to cut down on pollution and PM2.5 particles.
A government source said the exchange scheme aimed to drive the country’s electric vehicle (EV) industry as well as improve the environment.
The aim is also to turn Thailand into an EV production hub as well as increase the proportion of electric vehicles on Thai roads to 50 per cent by 2030, 85 per cent by 2035 and 100 per cent by 2040.
The scheme comprises seven projects, namely:
• Up to 100,000 cars aged 12 years or more can be exchanged for a discount of up to Bt100,000 per electric vehicle.
• Backing the production of up to 100,000 electric motorcycles per year for use as motorcycle taxis, delivery vehicles and personal vehicles by reducing costs as well as promoting battery rental business and a SWAP charging station. This should make motorcycles 50 per cent cheaper.
• Converting 2,511 Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) into electric air-conditioned buses and renting them out on a per-kilometre basis. This project aims to boost domestic production of electric buses by offering tax privileges to manufacturers as well as making the import of EV parts cheaper.
• Supporting the use of electric vehicles by different government agencies.
• Supporting the building of charging stations by improving regulations as well as strengthening the smart grid network plan so a charging station can be set up every 70 kilometres nationwide. This will also include setting the cost of power at a fixed rate of Bt2.64 per unit as well as promoting investment in DC-charging stations in remote areas.
• Enhancing the automotive industry’s transition to the electric era by promoting the use of EV in the country and preparing auto-parts makers’ readiness to shift efficiently.
• Funding the disposal of car wreckage and support for the Automotive and Tyre Testing, Research and Innovation Centre to enhance the capabilities of Thai automakers as well as upgrading the skills of workers.
Bangkok Dusit Medical Services Plc (BDMS) on November 19 decided to dispose all its ordinary shares in Bumrungrad Hospital (BH) worth around Bt18.613 billion.
According to BDMS’s filingwith the Stock Exchange of Thailand, it will sell more than 180.72 million shares at Bt103 apiece, representing 22.71 per cent of Bumrungrad Hospital’s total issued shares.
On Tuesday, the purchaser confirmed the availability of funds for the share purchase and BDMS is expected make the initial sales of 90.5 million shares on Thursday.
The sale of the remaining shares is expected to be completed by December 31.
BDMS has noted, however, that the sale is still uncertain and subject to the availability of the purchaser’s funding.
CEO Somrudee Chaimongkol 
