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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/economy/40020513

APEC council draws up plans to rejuvenate region’s economic engine – MSMEs

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2022

Nongluck Ajanapanya

The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) has released its first draft proposal to revitalise and support all-important micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

The proposal will be presented to Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders at their November summit in the hopes of providing some guidelines on business operations to promote MSMEs, said ABAC chairman Kriengkrai Thiennukul during a media interview.

Although the overall economy is gradually recovering, MSMEs are still extremely vulnerable and have been negatively impacted by Covid-19, he pointed out.

“MSMEs are the Apec region’s economic engine. They employ more than 50 per cent of all workers and make up over 97 per cent of entrepreneurs. Given that MSMEs are responsible for between 40 and 60 per cent of GDP, future GDP growth is possible if these small business owners are inspired to realise their full potential,” Kriengkrai noted.

The proposal was compiled from three previous ABAC meetings.

APEC business leaders and leading analysts all agreed that promoting and supporting MSMEs is critical to driving the region’s economic recovery and sustainability.

It will meet the needs of APEC policymakers looking for ways to expand new possibilities, he said.

The recommendations made to the APEC meeting to promote MSMEs will centre on four major areas.
 

The first proposal is to create an enabling environment for these enterprises to use digital technologies by leveraging public-private partnerships to accelerate the development of digital skills.

Policymakers should subsequently encourage and improve sustainable practices.
The next step is to create a concrete digital market infrastructure ecosystem for supply chain finance.

Lastly, it must assist underrepresented MSME groups such as women, indigenous peoples and youth in overcoming production barriers and constraints, as well as in balancing economic risk diversification.

Kriengkrai emphasised the importance of promoting MSMEs.

He believes the APEC economy will be able to sustain its growth if MSMEs receive adequate funding or access to global markets, as well as increased business knowledge and skills, support for competitiveness growth, digital entry into international markets, coordination with large corporations, and inclusive promotion.

Nongluck Ajanapanya

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/economy/40020505

Food security high on Apec’s priorities, especially in aftermath of pandemic

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2022

THE NATION

Food security is an important issue for members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) to enable people to access quality foods, a senior Thai Foreign Ministry official said on Tuesday.

Deputy director-general of the ministry’s Department of International Economic Affairs, Prinat Apirat, was speaking during the 8th Apec Media Focus Group “Apec and Food Security: Sustainability beyond global uncertainties” at King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang in Bangkok.

She said Apec economies are paying attention to three aspects related to food security — production, distribution and sustainable food system.

She also pointed out that sustainable food system is a pain point for Apec economies as food production has been disrupted by the Covid-19 crisis and geopolitical conflict.

“So, sustainability is a key part of this discussion, including of natural resources, environment biodiversity and waste management,” she said.

She added that the discussion will also focus on implementing a regulatory framework, policies, partnerships and practices for production.

Meanwhile, Pasinee Napombejra, senior policy and plan analyst at the Agriculture Ministry’s Office of Agricultural Economics, said food security has become a major concern for Apec economies more than it was 10 years ago.

She added that Thailand has implemented a road map for food security, covering food safety and trade facilitation, improving the livelihood of people, sustainability of natural resources and environment, digital innovation in the agricultural sector and balancing the economy, social and environment with the Bio-Circular-Green economy model.

THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/economy/40020503

MPC raises key policy rate in bid to tame impact of inflation on economic growth

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2022

THE NATION

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Wednesday further raised the policy interest rate by 25 basis points to 1.00 per cent per annum with immediate effect.

The latest hike by 0.25 percentage point followed a similar increase last month.

The MPC has sent out a strong signal since June that it would increase the policy rate to cool down inflation. In June, the MPC voted to maintain the policy rate at 0.50 per cent while three members voted to increase the rate by 25 basis points.

MPC secretary Piti Disyatat said the committee voted to raise the policy rate because the Thai economy was still recovering, driven by the tourism sector and spending by the private sector, while inflation was still high.

Piti said the MPC expected Thailand’s economic growth would be 3.3 per cent this year and 3.8 per cent next year because of the push from from the tourism sector and spending by the private sector. He said the MPC saw the tourism sector’s recovery had exceeded expectations and more sectors of the economy were improving.

The MPC expected headline inflation would be 6.3 per cent this year and 2.6 per cent next year, Piti said. He explained that the MPC expected lower inflation next year because it believes global oil prices would go down while supply issues related to raw materials for manufacturing would also ease.

Piti added that the MPC expected core inflation this year and next year would be 2.6 and 2.4 per cent respectively.

He said the MPC expected inflation to rise because of increasing cost of manufacturing and surging demand for raw materials, but the MPC would closely monitor inflation and try to control it.

The MPC also saw that Thai banks still enjoyed stability with strong reserves, while businesses and households have better capabilities to repay their debt.

Piti said the MPC regarded the overall financial situation was still easing with government bonds offering higher yields and private firms having the capacity to mobilise funds via bonds.

The MPC would also monitor the volatile exchange rate and the baht’s depreciation, which has weakened along with other currencies in the region, Piti said.

Since the MPC see potential for growth of the economy, but is facing a risk from rising inflation, the MPC had decided to gradually increase the policy rate to ensure sustainable economic growth in the long run, Pitti said.

THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/economy/40020501

New business registrations rise 33 per cent year on year in August

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2022

THE NATION

More than 7,400 new firms were registered in August, a sharp 33 per cent increase year on year, the Business Development Department said on Wednesday.

Thosapol Thangsubut, director-general of the department, said 7,418 new limited partnerships and limited companies were registered in August, up 27 per cent over the previous month and 33 per cent more than in August last year.

He said the new firms have a combined registered capital of 24.393 billion baht and the top three registered businesses are construction firms, property developments and restaurants.

Thosapol noted that restaurants are the third highest number of new businesses registered for seven consecutive months.

He noted that the high number of new restaurants being registered could be attributed to the recovering economy and tourism after Thailand fully reopened to foreign tourists.

Thosapol said the high number of new businesses being registered in recent months was proof of investors regaining confidence after the country allowed businesses to resume operations fully following the Covid-19 pandemic. The fact that schools and universities have resumed normal classes and foreign arrivals are on the increase also have boosted the confidence of business operators, he added.

Meanwhile, a total of 1,941 businesses reported an end to their operations in August, an increase of 26 per cent compared to July and 65 per cent compared to August last year. The top three sectors that registered the most number of closures in August were also in the same sectors as new business registrations – construction, property and restaurants, Thosapol said. The 1,941 firms had registered capital of 12.5 million baht.

During the first eight months of this year, 53,577 new businesses registered with registered capital of 334.109 million baht, while 9,493 firms with registered capital of 78.163 million baht reported end of operations.

Thosapol said his department expects about 68,000 to 72,000 businesses would be registered this year.

As of August 31, there are 849,410 registered businesses operating in the country with total registered capital of 20.39 trillion baht. The businesses comprise 203,074 partnerships, 644,971 limited companies, and 1,365 public companies, Thosapol said.

THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/economy/40020498

Thailand signs mini-FTA with Gyeonggi province, South Korea’s ‘Silicon Valley’

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2022

THE NATION

The Commerce Ministry on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with South Korea’s trade promotion agency, to promote international trading and cooperation between Thailand and Gyeonggi, South Korea’s most populous province.

The MoU was signed by Lee Gae-youl, head of Global Trade Department and executive director, Gyeonggi Business and Science Accelerator (GBSA), and Phusit Rattanakul Sereeruengrit, director-general at Thailand’s Department of International Trade Promotion.

The ceremony was witnessed by Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit, Commerce deputy permanent secretary Keerati Rushchano, and Korean Ambassador to Thailand Moon Seoung-hyun.

“Under the MoU with GBSA, both parties will seek to minimise trade obstacles and locate new opportunities for economic cooperation,” Jurin said. He added that the MoU will serve as a mini-free trade agreement between Thailand and the South Korean province, and will be the sixth mini-FTA that the ministry has signed with three countries to promote international trade and investment.

Five previous mini-FTAs were with China’s Hainan and Gansu provinces, India’s Telangana state, Japan’s Kofu city, and South Korea’s Pusan city.

Currently Thailand has 14 full FTAs with 18 countries worldwide. Jurin said his ministry is targeting more FTAs in the coming years.

Jurin added that Gyeonggi has the highest GDP among South Korean provinces and is considered the country’s Silicon Valley due to the advanced IT industry, which will be greatly beneficial to Thailand’s small and medium-sized enterprises.

Trade volume between Thailand and Gyeonggi in 2021 amounted to US$3.2 billion, while this year the trade volume in seven months has already surpassed $2 billion.

Ambassador Moon Seoung-hyun added that to further promote bilateral trade between the two countries, South Korea will organise “G-Fair Korea 2022” in Bangkok on Wednesday and Thursday in a bid to find Thai business partners and suppliers for South Korean entrepreneurs and vice versa. He also hoped that the mini-FTA would bring about more business cooperation, especially in electronics and soft power industries, and that it could be incorporated into the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership of which both Thailand and South Korea are members.

THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/economy/40020488

Top 7 Thai beauty market priorities as the market projects to grow by 5.4%

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2022

WGSN reveals the top strategies include Traceability and Transparency, Science-First Skincare and Holistic Beauty

According to Statista, the SEA beauty, health, household and personal care segment is valued at US$18.5bn and is projected to grow at an annual rate of 16% during 2022-2026. Thailand’s beauty market is valued at US$5.42bn as of 2022 and is projected to have a CAGR of 5.4% (2022–2026). 

WGSN’s proprietary methodology predicts consumer trends on the 18 – 24 month horizon with 90 per cent accuracy, and the firm has unveiled its South & Southeast Asian beauty priorities analysis report that health is a concern that connects all countries in Asia.

In Southeast Asia and India, product safety and authenticity are particularly important, with counterfeit products and poor manufacturing processes posing a dangerous issue. 

Thailand is prioritizing skin health as consumers gravitate to cosmeceuticals formulated with clean, natural and herbal ingredients. In addition, Thai consumers are also concerned about product safety and value innovative brands that are trustworthy and ethical. 

“Health is one of Thai consumersʼ top beauty priorities, making clean and safe formulations is a must among beauty brands. Brands should prioritize traceability and transparency processes as top strategies, as Thai consumers expect to see full transparency on product sourcing and performance,” said Christine Chua, Beauty Analyst, WGSN.

WGSN has revealed the top 7 beauty priorities for Thailand, which include:

1)    Traceability and transparency: Health is Thai consumer’s biggest beauty priority, making clean and safe formulations a must. Education is also important as they try to learn more and increase ʻingredient-fluencyʼ as 70 per cent of Thai consumers only recognise 3 out of 10 active ingredients and are looking to retailers to fill the gap. 

2)    Science-first skincare: Derma-backed beauty brands will grow in popularity, valued for perceived expertise and prestige branding. Alongside perennially popular all-natural formulations, ʻscience-madeʼ ingredients will gain traction. 

3)    Holistic beauty: A growing cohort of Thai consumers will continue to seek head-to-toe beauty and self-care products. Scalp care products will uptick, with hair loss one of Thai consumersʼ biggest beauty concerns. 

4)    Wellness products and services: Rising stress levels and burnout are driving demand for wellness products and services. Intentional products such as massage oils, foot baths, candles and aromatherapy-infused skin and body care will appeal to Thai consumers, while spending on professional treatments, spas and wellness retreats will continue to increase.

5)    Gender-neutral to gender-specific: Thai men are developing more sophisticated beauty needs. While gender neutrality is expected, informed consumers are seeking facial skincare custom formulated for their concerns. Thailand is also home to a prominent trans community. Products that address the skin dehydration and hair loss common with hormone replacement therapies will be in demand and offer a white space opportunity for brands and retailers.

6)    Experimental purchases: The growing affluence and usage of digital channels have created a thirst for innovation. 81 per cent of Thai consumers plan to spend more or the same as now on beauty, especially on new brands with good reviews. In addition, local brands are also leveraging local pride, using Thai art, food and heritage as their muse. 

7) Community-minded: Conscious Thai consumers are seeking brands that fulfil their Protopian beliefs, benefiting others and the planet as well as themselves. For example, a Bangkok-based farm-to-face brand uses every part of the moringa, including the leaves, branches and seed, leaving no waste behind. The moringa is harvested organically in small batches to prevent overworking the soil and helps ensure fair trade for local families the brand partners with.

Social media and e-commerce have radically changed the way Thai consumers discover new brands and products. Moreover, with the growing ageing population in Thailand, the anti-ageing category is now a prime territory for brands and retailers. Sunscreens and skin screens are also popular by association, especially with the all-year summer in the tropics region.