#ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

Glove maker stock mania in Malaysia outpaces even Tesla

CorporateJul 20. 2020An employee monitors latex gloves on hand-shaped molds moving along an automated production line at a Top Glove Corp. factory in Setia Alam, Malaysia, on Feb. 18, 2020. MUST CREDIT: Bloomberg photo by Samsul Said.

By Syndication Washington Post,  Bloomberg · Abhishek Vishnoi · BUSINESS, WORLD, US-GLOBAL-MARKETS, ASIA-PACIFIC

A relatively low-tech stock trade is making Tesla’s dizzying rally look like an under-performance.

In Southeast Asia, makers of rubber gloves are attracting more investor fervor than even the electric cars and flame throwers of Elon Musk. Top Glove Corp. is up 428% this year in Kuala Lumpur, the most on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index, while Supermax Corp. has leaped more than 1,200%, compared with Tesla’s 259%. That’s due to the boom in glove demand thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, aided by a short-selling ban in Malaysia till year-end.

The meteoric rise has been unprecedented by Malaysian standards, with the top three glove makers adding about 109 billion ringgit ($26 billion) in combined market value this year. More than $1 of every $10 invested in the nation’s stock market right now is a bet on gloves — a feat that makes the Southeast Asian nation a play on global hygiene, much like South Korea and Taiwan are for semiconductors. Top Glove resumed its rally Friday even after the U.S. moved to block imports from two of its units.

“The rally in glove makers reminds many of Tesla but the sector’s earnings outlook is more certain than that of Tesla,” said Ross Cameron, a fund manager at Northcape Capital Ltd., which overseas about $7 billion in assets globally. The short-selling ban has had a minor contribution to the rally while “we expect the sector to report significantly more than 100% earnings growth next year,” he said.

Fund managers at Northcape and Samsung Asset Management have increased their bets on the sector this year, saying the shift in glove demand is structural and many market participants are still behind the curve.

Some of the glove makers are planning bonus share issues after this year’s eye-popping rally. The odds of some stocks getting more institutional allocation are set to increase as the companies have become big enough to be included in key indexes followed by international investors.

Supermax and Kossan Rubber Industries Bhd. are set to join the MSCI Malaysia Index after a review next month due to the meteoric rise in their stock price, Brian Freitas, an analyst on Smartkarma wrote in a note last week. “The stocks now rank very highly on free float market cap,” the note added. Kossan shares have climbed 224% year-to-date.

Still, a faster-than-expected development of a vaccine to treat Covid-19 risks putting the brakes on the spectacular rally in glove makers’ shares. The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol has placed a detention order on disposable gloves made by Top Glove. Top Glove said in a statement on Thursday that the issue may be linked to foreign labor and it is reaching out to U.S. Customs to seek to resolve the matter within two weeks.

Fund managers and analysts said the company could still ship its gloves to the U.S. using other units. Also any cancellation of orders would be offset by demand from other countries due to the acute shortage.

The Malaysian Rubber Glove Manufacturers Association expects global glove demand to rise 20% to 330 billion gloves this year, according to Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd. analyst Farah Diyana Kamaludin, who attended its briefing last week.

For now, the order books have swelled, glove prices have skyrocketed and companies are aggressively expanding their capacity to meet orders.

#ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

Chevron to buy Noble Energy for $5 billion in rare oil-bust deal

CorporateJul 20. 2020A Chevron sign at the company’s El Segundo Refinery in El Segundo, Calif., on April 27, 2020. MUST CREDIT: Bloomberg photo by Kyle Grillot. Photo by: Kyle Grillot — Bloomberg Location: El Segundo, United States

By Syndication The Washington Post, Bloomberg · David Wethe 

Chevron Corp. agreed to buy Noble Energy Inc. for about $5 billion in shares as the oil giant looks to beef up amid the wreckage of the worst-ever crude crash.

The takeover is the industry’s first major deal since the coronavirus triggered a severe slump and the largest since Occidental Petroleum Corp. acquired Anadarko Petroleum last year.

The deal will grow Chevron’s shale presence in both the Denver-Julesburg Basin of Colorado and the Permian Basin, which was once the heartland of the U.S. shale boom but is now experiencing a sharp reduction in drilling. It will increase the company’s proved reserves, as reported at the end of 2019, by about 18%. The deal also strengthens Chevron’s stake in the Eastern Mediterranean with assets off the coast of Israel.

“Our strong balance sheet and financial discipline gives us the flexibility to be a buyer of quality assets during these challenging times,” Chevron Chief Executive Officer Michael Wirth said in a statement Monday. “This is a cost-effective opportunity for Chevron to acquire additional proved reserves and resources.”

Consolidation in the shale patch has been largely non-existent this year as the combination of a severe oil-price slump and pressure on companies from investors to return cash leaves explorers with little remaining firepower to make deals. Energy mergers and acquisitions activity so far this year totals about $122 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, down by almost two-thirds year on year.

Last year, Chevron lost a takeover battle for Anadarko. Occidental won with a higher bid, but has subsequently struggled with the large debt pile resulting from that deal.

After Anadarko, Noble was among the top four potential candidates that Chevron could have gone after as it closely resembled Anadarko’s portfolio at a smaller scale, Bob Brackett, an analyst at Bernstein, said Monday in a note to investors.

“We still don’t embrace the Permian M&A theme as a money maker,” Brackett wrote.

Highlights of the deal:

– Investors will get 0.1191 of a Chevron share for each Noble share. That’s equivalent to $10.38 a share, or a 7.5% premium over Friday’s closing price.

– The total enterprise value of the deal is $13 billion.

– Noble’s stock is down 54% over the past 12 months through Friday.

– Noble was up 9.8% at $10.60 as of 7:50 a.m. before the start of regular trading in New York. Chevron was 0.3% lower.

– The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter, subject to regulatory approvals.

#ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

Thai corporates announce 5 SDG strategies

CorporateJul 20. 2020Suphachai Chearavanont, CEO of Charoen Pokphand and GCNT chairperson

By The Nation

Fifty-four leading Thai companies under the Global Compact Network Thailand (GCNT) have agreed to adopt United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs) strategies for 2020.

Formed under the auspices of the UN in 2018, the GCNT pushes for responsible corporate practices and integration of SDGs into Thai business strategies.

“This action is to bring significant changes and uplift corporate governance standards in business operations,” said Suphachai Chearavanont, CEO of Charoen Pokphand and GCNT chairperson. “GCNT focuses on the four core principles – human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption, including education and public health … particularly in the Covid-19 crises,” he added. “Someday, this crisis will end, but sustainability will become an essential issue for everyone. Hence, to reach the sustainable development goals is necessary and we must collaborate onwards.”

The GCNT’s five SDGs strategies are:

Strategy 1: Creating awareness through establishing the “Thailand Sustainability Index” Report for the private sector to create indicators and necessary information in sustainable development.

Strategy 2: Using market mechanisms to drive sustainability through public-private partnerships. Creating and share sustainability insights of each organisation through activities based on the 17 SDGs, such as weekend workshops where members will share and discuss operations, new knowledge and world trends in sustainable development.

Strategy 3: Building new leaders across all levels of companies, from the C-level to new managers, and implementing an annual sustainability report in accordance with the 10 Principles of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), which focuses on Human Rights, Labour, Environment, and Anti-Corruption.

Strategy 4: Recognising working people in sustainability to empower members to achieve SDGs through sharing solutions for societal issues through internal and external organisation activities to accomplish measurable outcomes. Participants with outstanding performance will be recognised at the “SDGs Pioneer 2020” event scheduled to take place in early 2021.

Strategy 5: Applying technology and innovation to solve societal issues, for example by reducing carbon dioxide emissions to achieve “carbon neutral”, using disruptive technology to impact positively on people’s lives, practicing zero-waste principles, reducing inequality via digital education, and building a network of startup communities.

Speaking after a meeting with the National Committee on Sustainable Development (NCSD) along with the Global Compact Network Thailand, and the National Economic and Social Development Council.

Said Somchai Wangwattanapanich, Federation of Thai Industries vice president: “The Federation of Thai Industries attended the meeting with the National Committee on Sustainable Development along with the Global Compact Network Thailand, and the National Economic and Social Development Council.

“The National Committee on Sustainable Development [NCSD] is driving Thailand SDG targets through their strategies, which align with the GCNT’s. Thus GCNT should coordinate closely with them to drive sustainability together in the same direction, particularly link to civil society,” said Federation of Thai Industries vice president Somchai Wangwattanapanich, after meeting with the GCNT, NCSD and National Economic and Social Development Council.

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International digital asset exchange trading platforn Zipmex launches in Thailand

CorporateJul 20. 2020Proud Limpongpan, chief strategy officer at Zipmex

By The Nation

Leading licensed digital assets exchange, Zipmex, on Monday (July 20) launched its operations in Thailand via desktop and mobile.

The expansion comes after successful launches in Singapore, Indonesia, and Australia. 

A screenshot of Zipmex’s mobile app.

The company said it continues to accelerate operations across Southeast Asia to fuel a rising demand for digital currency due to the recent regulation changes in the market. 

Zipmex said it offers traders a variety of investment opportunities in the digital assets space. Having received both licences for cryptocurrencies and digital tokens from the Ministry of Finance and being regulated by the Securities Exchange Commission, Zipmex is entering the Thai market with hopes to bring innovative financial products to all investors, the company said. 

The company is audited every quarter and works closely with the Anti-Money Laundering Office of Thailand to detect, prevent, and report any fraud or suspicious financial activities – just like a traditional financial institution.

The Southeast Asian market is experiencing a “crypto-boom” with the current global pandemic with Covid 19 which is fuelling a further shift for digital currencies and assets due to fiat currencies crashing. Pre-pandemic, this would typically result in a surge towards US currency, however the market is experiencing a shift due to the growing interest in government-backed national digital currencies, with China emerging as a leader, the company said. The global perception and acceptance of digital assets is changing swiftly with the current economic climate and indicates growing interest in crypto and digital assets across the region, and the emergence of a competitive market for new players, the company said.

Zipmex’s timely expansion into Thailand coincides with Project Inthanon by the Bank of Thailand, which is now entering maturing stages of development. Project Inthanon is a collaborative project between the central bank and financial institutions with the key objective of developing and testing a proof of concept for domestic wholesale funds transfer using a wholesale central bank digital currency. This initiative supports the notion that change is on the horizon pertaining to digital currency regulations and its acceptance in Thailand, the company said.

In Thailand, Zipmex has a registered capital of Bt52 million, and always keeps an internal Net Capital Rule of Bt27 million. Although Thailand will be the fourth market the company is operating in, the main base of operation has been and will continue to be in Bangkok. The company is the only one in the market that uses a custody solution with up to US$100 million insured per wallet, by one of the UK’s top financial institutions.

The company said pre-launch it has pre-signed up 1,000-plus customers, including Thaivivat Insurance Plc, The Sala Hospitality Group, Traveloka, and The Water Library Group. 

Exclusive prizes worth a total value of over Bt2 million has been given to the top 5 who successfully referred the most friends to register with Zipmex on its official website.

“Zipmex strives to become a wealth-generating platform through helping people save and invest wisely, increasing their wealth,” Proud Limpongpan, chief strategy officer, said. “It is a platform for anyone to use to manage investments and wealth. People hear of digital assets and they think it’s something unreachable when in fact it’s fractionalised — you can buy 0.0001 of a bitcoin — which means anyone can start; the minimum is Bt30. Moreover, at Zipmex, we offer zero commission which means new investors can try trading digital assets with no additional charges,” Proud said.

“Unlike existing players in the market, we are approved by regulators regionally, and we plan on curating the investment selection by only listing reputable digital assets instead of focusing on investing on so many alt-coins,” Proud added.

#ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

Art Basel organizer’s board warns holders to accept Murdoch deal

CorporateJul 20. 2020

By Syndication Washington Post, Bloomberg · Patrick Winters · BUSINESS 

The board of Art Basel organizer MCH Group AG warned investors to accept a rescue package that includes an injection of capital from the younger son of billionaire Rupert Murdoch, or risk running out of time.

“If this overall package were to fail, extremely little time would be left for developing and implementing alternative restructuring solutions before it was too late,” according to a statement from the board of directors on the company’s website Saturday.

MCH Group has been battered by the coronavirus outbreak, which led to some of its biggest events being called off. The Art Basel show, slated for September, was canceled, and big-name brands like Rolex and Patek Philippe deserted its watch exhibition, Baselworld, leading to the scrapping of the show. Sales will slump by as much as 170 million francs ($181 million) this year.

James Murdoch plans to invest in MCH Group via his investment company, Lupa Systems, which will acquire a stake of 30%-44%, Basel-based MCH Group said in a statement on July 10. The company also plans to add Murdoch to the board of directors.

MCH Group will propose a 104.5 million-franc capital increase and a restructuring of its debt capital at an extraordinary general meeting on Aug. 3, which is when shareholders will vote on Lupa Systems’ entry as a new shareholder with a lock-up period of five years.

#ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

CP earns international praise for virus crisis response

Corporate

Jul 17. 2020

By The Nation

Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group shared its Covid-19 experiences at this week’s international “High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development 2020”, organised by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

Speaking at the “Building Back Better: Navigating Business Risks and Opportunities in a Post-Covid World” video conference, CP’s chief sustainability officer Noppadol Dej-Udom said the group had mitigated Covid-19 impacts and will continue to aid economic and social development after the pandemic in line with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Noppadol said CP faced three major challenges during the virus crisis.

The first was to ensure job security, whereby the company formed policy to not layoff any of its 360,000 employees worldwide. This initiative had boosted Thailand’s economy by ensuring the security of employees’ families and business partners along the supply chain, he said.

The second challenge was food security. As people began panicking and stockpiling food supplies during the first phase of lockdown, CP created confidence for consumers by providing sufficient and safe food to meet their needs, said Noppadol. The company also delivered free food to those who had lost their incomes and to those quarantined at home, as well as developing affordable ready-to-eat food to help reduce living costs for those suffering amid the pandemic.

The third challenge was health and well-being. Due to the shortage of face masks, CP established a surgical face mask factory within five weeks with a production capacity of 3 million masks per month to be distributed to medical personnel, hospitals, humanitarian organisations and the general public nationwide.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has provided us with the opportunity to reassess our strategies. Some suggest that the virus is a rehearsal for a bigger crisis to come, which is climate change. The virus crisis will enable us to learn and better prepare for the future. In addition to donating goods and money to tackle this crisis, a new collaborative effort has been formed, based on integration of ideas and expertise from all sectors. We must synergise and unite globally to get through this crisis together.” said Noppadol.

Other panellists highlighted the importance of innovation in agriculture to increase productivity, reduce land use and chemicals, and boost resilience to climate change. The importance of maintaining the globe’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reach “zero Carbon” targets to prevent the global temperature rising more than 2C was also emphasised. Caroline Rees president & CEO of human rights agency Shift, worried that Covid-19 could widen economic and social inequality, adding that private sector must look after employees and other other stakeholders, not only their shareholders. Rees praised CP Group for retaining its employees and for providing concrete assistance to those affected by the crisis.

#ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

Haier adapts to ‘new normal’ with smarter home appliances

Corporate

Jul 17. 2020Zhang Zhenghui, president of Haier Electrical Appliances (Thailand)

By The Nation

Home-appliances brand Haier said it has met 31 per cent of its sales growth target in the first half of this year, and is expanding its presence in the smart-home appliances market with several products, including air-conditioners, refrigerators and washing machines. It is also launching a smart-sharing AC campaign to meet demands amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Haier is now aiming for a 34 per cent growth in the latter half of the year, with sales worth about Bt2.63 billion.

The Covid-19 crisis has dramatically changed consumer behaviour, with buyers now expecting a lot more and thinking twice about price and quality before making a purchase. This challenge has driven Haier to adjust to the situation and get ready for the unexpected, which has resulted in a proactive business approach to suit the new normal.

At a press conference on Friday (July 17), Zhang Zhenghui, president of Haier Electrical Appliances (Thailand), said: “Haier expects continuous success this year, with an estimated total sales revenue of Bt6.205 billion, up 38 per cent from last year. This total revenue comprises Bt2.94 billion from home air-conditioners, up 21 per cent from last year; Bt1.16 billion from refrigerators, up 45 per cent; Bt835 million from washing machines, up 37 per cent; Bt590 million from freezers, up 41 per cent; Bt365 million from commercial air-conditioners, up 45 per cent; and Bt322 million from other products, up 65 per cent. We will further extend our market share actively in the latter half of this year to achieve our annual sales target.”

In its marketing strategy for the second half of this year, Haier will introduce new products that have strength in quality, design, innovation and unique functionality to meet diverse needs. It also provides cutting-edge products as part of its Haier Smart Home Range. With Bt170 million earmarked for boosting brand awareness and sales through both online and off-line channels as well as increasing marketing channels, penetrating the B2B segment, revamping distributors’ shops, and improving pre- and post-sales services.

“Despite the coronavirus’s impact on consumers’ purchasing power, Haier still enjoys continued sales growth, especially for air-conditioners and refrigerators. I think it is highly possible that we can reach the annual sales growth of 38 per cent with a revenue of Bt6.205 billion this year,” Zhang said.

In the air-conditioning category, Haier introduced a Smart-Sharing AC campaign, in which consumers pay for actual power used at the rate of Bt4 per hour, which can be paid via a smartphone app. These aircons are installed for free and come with free post-sales service. Each aircon is installed on a three-year or 5,200 hours contract.

This campaign uses Advanced Info Service (AIS)’s NB-IoT technology which automatically connects the air-conditioners to the NB-IoT network nationwide without the need for Wi-Fi connection or SIM cards, and usage data is recorded and sent to the Smart Sharing AC mobile app, allowing users to control and check on their air-conditioners from anywhere. The app also allows them to change the aircon’s settings, turn it on and off, change the wind direction and temperature as well as schedule servicing.

Haier air-conditioners have a built-in self-cleaning technology, which allows them to clean every 20 minutes, while its self-purifying technology filters out 99.99 per cent of dust particles that are even smaller than PM2.5 particles.

Haier has stepped up the development of its “self-hygiene” technology, using silver nano-particle coating to keep air-conditioners free of bacteria and fungi, as well as the hyper PCB electronic board to protect against unstable voltage, humidity and certain insects, making the air-conditioners more durable and energy-saving.

The company has also come up with the HRF-MD758 smart refrigerator in its IOT Smart Series, featuring a large touchscreen interface, voice-controlled virtual assistant and a Food Manage function that keeps track of what is in the fridge. The refrigerator’s “ultra cam” shows what’s in stock, so users can order groceries online or thanks to the internet of things (IoT) technology, find recipes that use what’s available.

There is also the Ice Bar LC-132 or living room refrigerator, with a top shelf that is specially designed to store wine, along with other shelves with adjustable temperature levels to store different things, ranging from breast milk to tea leaves and beverages.

Haier has also introduced a self-cleaning top-loading washing machine equipped with a smart ball technology, which removes 99.9 per cent of dirt and impurities in every wash, has a direct-motion motor delivering quiet, smooth, energy-saving operation and a control panel at the back.

This washing machine, which comes in 13-kilogram and 14kg capacity, was launched this month.

Another new product from Haier is its Android Smart AI TV, which can be connected to security devices like a CCTV, as well as the doorbell. It can also be used to turn the lights in the house on and off.

“For the rest of this year, Haier will focus on an integrated marketing approach covering both online and off-line markets. This includes launching more TV commercials for our refrigerators, boosting brand awareness with our brand ambassador, enhancing positive brand image through Haier Brand shops in Bangkok and Khon Kaen, expanding sales channels and B2B opportunities, renovating our distribution outlets and seek new marketing opportunities to keep the business growing,” Zhang said.

#ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

MQDC unveils new normal for Bt300 billion property development

Corporate

Jul 17. 2020Visit Malaisirirat, MQDC CEO

By The Nation

Real estate developer Magnolia Quality Development (MQDC) is turning the virus crisis into an opportunity by focusing on the “home-based economy/lifestyle” as the new normal for home-buying decisions. The company is also forging ahead with residential projects under the “For All Well-Being” concept, which prioritises space and green areas under the new home-based living trend.

“The spread of Covid-19 has brought a “new normal” behaviours, including working from home to reduce their exposure to others,” said MQDC CEO Visit Malaisirirat. “Some people have started cooking their own meals instead of eating out because restaurants were closed for a time. Others have taken up gardening as a hobby after being forced to stay home for days on end. It’s safe to say that demand for homes is also changing: Buyers no longer look just for a place to live, but for a home that caters to their various needs, which include working and leisure activities that will allow them to stay physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy when they are home.”

Said Karndee Leopairote, chief adviser to MQDC’s FutureTales Lab: “This is in line with FutureTales Lab research which found that being home-quarantined … has affected home-buying decisions as society is transitioning into a home-based economy/lifestyle, which we might call an ‘Everything at Home’ way of life. Consumers are now prioritising space over convenience. Consumers previously valued properties in the heart of the city, particularly along mass transit lines. But the pandemic has had profound effects on the future of work. Many businesses have made some operations remote, removing the need for daily commutes. This means people no longer need to live in the city or in a small condo unit in the city centre. Many will look for suburban homes that are more spacious and come with a garden as their primary place of residence.”

The company said this “new normal” now serves as the DNA of MQDC projects, along with eco-friendly innovations like the urban air purifier towers in use at Magnolias Ratchadamri Boulevard and Whizdom Sukhumvit projects.

In response to studies conducted by the world’s leading universities, including Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which show that spending time in nature every day reduces stress and boosts well-being, MQDC is introducing sustainable green space in its megaproject The Forestias, which will feature 30 rai of real forest in Bangkok’s southeastern suburbs. The company says over 70 per cent of this project will be covered in greenery, making it the first residential project of its kind: a city in its own right complete with facilities and large green areas. It will also feature a Six Senses hotel and residences, along with other international facilities, as well as a Huawei smart city platform.

A total of 24 MQDC property projects are now at the planning stage, available for sale, in construction, or awaiting ownership transfer, worth a combined Bt300 billion, said the company. These include luxury projects such as Magnolias Waterfront Residences ICONSIAM (379 units) and The Residences at Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok (146 units), whose ownership transfer rates stand at nearly 100 per cent and 60 per cent, respectively, it said, adding the two projects combined value is more than Bt20 billion and the total transferred amount stands at Bt15 billion.

#ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

Vietnam seen as investment magnet as virus saps ageing Thailand 

Corporate

Jul 17. 2020Thiti Tantikulanan, executive chairman of Kasikorn Securities

By The Nation

Vietnamese stocks are outshining their Thai counterparts due to Vietnam’s high potential for economic growth, prominent investor Niwes Hemvachiravarakorn said on Thursday.

Among emerging markets, Vietnam’s equities are the most attractive for investors seeking high returns in the next 10 to 20 years, he said during a seminar hosted by Kasikornbank yesterday.

The Thai stock market is mature so would not move up much, while Thailand’s economy had long passed its peak, he warned. An ageing society and no technological advantages have put the Thai economy on a slowing growth path, he added.

In contrast, Vietnam is on the path of high economic growth once experienced by South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia and Thailand. The Vietnamese economy has continued to expand during the virus outbreak while Thailand has suffered a sharp economic contraction.

However, Vietnam’s stock market is currently underdeveloped since wealthy Vietnamese prefer to make money from doing business, including manufacturing products for export. And since a high proportion of Vietnamese are young, they do not have incentives to save money for retirement. As a result, share prices and the stock index do not increase much.

Investors, however, can enjoy annual dividend yields from Vietnam’s listed companies of as much as 10 per cent, he said.

He also forecast that Vietnamese stocks will perform very well over the next 10 to 20 years.

Among advanced markets, he pinpointed the US as the most attractive investment destination.

While Thailand would see little change among big and small businesses post-Covid-19, the US has seen market caps of tech companies overtake traditional large corporates such as energy firms, he said.

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index’s 15-per-cent drop this year was reasonable while shares that had recently risen would retreat in the coming years, he predicted.

Niwes is optimistic, however, about the global economy and expects a V-shaped recovery in the post-virus era. This was because the downturn was caused by people not working during lockdown, rather than by underlying financial woes, he said. So, when people return to work, growth will resume.

Thiti Tantikulanan, executive chairman of Kasikorn Securities, was also pessimistic about Thai equities. There was a high chance the SET Index would slide from its current level of around 1350, he said. He also cited uncertainty over whether a virus vaccine would be available by the end of this this year, and cautioned that any vaccine may not be effective in protecting people from the disease.

A second wave of infections could send the SET Index to a new low, while a delayed or ineffective vaccine may hurt global Thai equities, he warned.

Thai banks will not pay interim dividends this year as the central bank wants them to retain capital levels. Meanwhile property developers have cut their residential unit prices as they struggle to get rid of mounting surplus stock. It will take time before share prices in the property sector rebound, he added.

Kasikorn Securities advises investors to hold cash and wait for share prices to fall, suggesting that investors buy gold as a hedge against stock market volatility. Kasikorn analysts, however, still prefer equities over bonds, arguing that equities yield higher returns.

#ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

Wild oil market, Reliance’s cash flood hold up Aramco deal

Corporate

Jul 16. 2020A storage tank containing liquid gas stands at the Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) facility in Saudi Aramco’s Shaybah oil field in the Rub’ Al-Khali (Empty Quarter) desert in Shaybah, Saudi Arabia. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

By Syndication Washington Post, Bloomberg · Saket Sundria, Debjit Chakraborty · BUSINESS

It’s not typical of Mukesh Ambani, Asia’s richest tycoon, to announce a deal before signing a document.

But that’s exactly what he did last year when he told a packed hall of shareholders that Saudi Aramco, the world’s biggest oil producer, was set to buy a 20% stake in Reliance Industries Ltd.’s refining and petrochemicals business, valuing it at $75 billion. So it may have come as a shock to some of those investors when Ambani said on Wednesday that a deal hadn’t been worked out yet with the delay partly down to the coronavirus.

With oil prices around a third lower than a year ago, a typical Asian complex refinery is losing money on every barrel it processes, compared with earnings of almost $7 a barrel last year. The International Energy Agency estimates global oil consumption will slump by 7.9 million barrels a day, or about 8%, in 2020, a big change from the 1.2 million barrels a day of growth it was predicting at the start of the year.

“While the partnership is undoubtedly a prolific one, one could easily imagine the road to fruition is not an easy one,” said Sri Paravaikkarasu, head of Asia oil at industry consultant FGE. “With Covid-19 sending the oil market into a tailspin, Aramco’s earlier strategies will be reevaluated.”

There’s also another reason for the delay in the deal that was originally expected to close by March: Ambani doesn’t need Aramco’s money as desperately as he did a year ago, something that he didn’t shy away from mentioning to his investors.

“Our equity requirements have already been met,” Ambani said. The Aramco “deal has not progressed as per the original timeline” due to “unforeseen circumstances in the energy market and the covid-19 situation,” he said.

Reliance has amassed almost $30 billion in recent months through investments in its digital unit and by selling shares to existing stakeholders, easing the pressure to raise cash to meet its goal of becoming net debt free by 2021. Ambani has already declared his flagship company free of net debt without relying on Aramco.

Even before the virus sent oil prices into a tailspin, differences over valuations and structure early in the talks had slowed progress. The Indian government also threw a spanner in the works after it asked a court to stop the proposed sale, in an attempt to force Reliance to pay arbitration claims in an unrelated case. While oil demand in India is recovering after dropping to the lowest level in more than a decade in April, it’s still about 10% below pre-pandemic levels.

“The market has changed very significantly since the letter of intent was signed last year,” Neil Beveridge, senior resources analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. in Hong Kong, said in a phone interview. “The deal is still quite strategic for Aramco to get a foothold in the Indian downstream oil market but clearly not at a $75 billion price tag.”

The deal is possible at a lower valuation of $57 billion, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. analysts wrote in a note separately.

Ambani, meanwhile, plans to create a separate business unit for his refining and petrochemicals operations. Reliance will approach India’s National Company Law Tribunal to spin off the oil-to-chemicals division, and expects to complete the process by early 2021. The firm has been approached by global companies for strategic partnerships in its petrochemical business, he said without divulging any names.

“Nevertheless, we at Reliance value our over two-decade long relationship with Saudi Aramco and are committed to a long-term partnership,” Ambani said, leaving the door open for a potential transaction.

The deal is crucial for Aramco, formally called Saudi Arabian Oil Co., as well. Iraq has replaced Saudi Arabia as India’s top supplier of crude and its lead has been widening.

“It does make more economic sense to integrate an existing refinery fully with petrochemicals and Aramco will continue pursuing the opportunity with Reliance,” Paravaikkarasu said. “More roadblocks can be expected along the way, even if Covid-19 leaves us.”