Cashless society

Suebasak Suebpakdee, a telecoms researcher at Bangkok University, said the “Eat, Shop, Spend” project appears to be a way of introducing Thais to cashless payment, as it will circulate funds in many economic sectors.

Boosting popularity of e-wallets

Though the younger generation is familiar with e-transactions, the concept of e-wallets has not spread nationwide. “If we want to succeed like China and other developed countries, where e-wallet has become a more traditional way of payment, we need to expand access points and applications. Only about one million people use e-wallets even though the service has been available for several years,” Suebsak said. “However, this ‘Eat, Shop, Spend’ campaign has almost immediately gained 10 million e-wallet users, with merchants and small businesses finally recognising online opportunities, especially since they are earning Bt500 to Bt1,000 daily via apps.”

Emergence of e-wallet checkouts

This campaign has not just increased the use of e-wallets, it has also increased the number of points where it can be used. Previously, e-transactions could only be made at large retail shops or luxurious coffeeshops, but now it can be used in mom-and-pop stores, street vendors and even for motorcycle taxis. “Some countries use years to reach this scale, while Thailand managed to achieve this in less than half a month,” he said.

National Digital ID kicks off

Behind the simple interface of the “Eat, Shop, Spend” is the National Digital ID system, which uses a facial-recognition system. Suebsak believes the system’s performance and accuracy will improve when the personal database is linked and more data is retrieved from different sources.

Hence, he said, the “Eat, Shop, Spend” campaign is worth the investment and even though the system is unstable, this campaign is a firm step towards a cashless society.

Krislert Samphantharak, director and secretary of the Puay Ungphakorn Institute for Economic Research at the Bank of Thailand, led the study on “peeking into Thai business structure via shareholder information”.

The researchers looked into 3.3 million items of shareholder information in more than 880,000 corporates and found that there were only 9,068 groups running businesses in the country. They also found that most of the businesses were concentrated among 13 business groups, each having more than 100 companies under its umbrella, while the remainder had only two or three companies in their group.

A high-market concentration was also found in 10 businesses, namely liquor production, beer production, wholesale of beverages, wholesale of cigarettes, plastic manufacturing, paper packaging, gas production, cement production, brick manufacturing and sugar production.

Krislert said this high market concentration has a direct impact on wealth and income inequality among Thais. A study in 2017 had also found that 500 persons accounted for 30 per cent of total profits in the Thai business sector and equities held by 500 people represented 36 per cent of the total book value of Thai businesses.

The previous study and the latest are apparently in line with an earlier survey by Credit Suisse Global Wealth report, which found that Thailand has the greatest inequality in wealth in the world.

Krislert, hence, suggested that Thailand needs to promote market competition to improve wealth and income inequality, and for this the government will have to promote new market entries, especially in terms of small and medium-sized firms. More effort should also be made to reduce market monopoly and promote new entrepreneurs, the study suggested.

The Cabinet on Tuesday approved the list of the new SRT board of directors after it was proposed by the Transport Ministry.

The approval will pave the way for the signing of the contract.

Department of Land Transport director-general Chirute Visalachitra has been named as chairman of the new board.

The contract signing between the SRT and the CP-led consortium could not take place on October 15 as the previous SRT board resigned en mass on October 1. On October 8, Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob postponed the deadline for the signing to October 25, pending the appointment of the new board.

The high-speed railway will connect three international airports – Don Mueang in Bangkok, Suvarnabhumi in Samut Prakan and U-Tapao in Rayong.

When investing companies add value to their products and sold at higher prices, Thai producers receive less profits, resulting in low wages for labourers.

Production of industrial parts could be easily relocated to other countires, said Chalee Loysong, president of the Confederation of Electronic, Electrical Appliances, Auto and Metal Workers (TEAM).

A clear sign of the move emerged when companies started to reduce costs through cutting down on the numbers of both full-time workers and those engaged in outsourced work, he said, adding that the latter are especially prompt to being discarded, given the absence of a long-term contract.

Vehicle and electronic-part production are the two sectors that will be hardest hit by the emergence of electric vehicles (EV) as the eco-friendly model needs only 3,000 parts, compared to 30,000 for a vehicle driven by fossil fuels.

If traditional car manufacturers do not reduce production cost, they will not be able to stay afloat. The same goes for electronic-part producers as they need to adopt new technology amid concerns over export markets and the on-going trade conflicts between China and US.

Chalee predicted that some jobs in the finance and other industries – such as car, electrical, ceramic, and printing, will be replaced by machines and AI in the next few years. He expressed concerns of the consequence if the government did not have a contingency plan.

There are 13-14 million people under the social security system and the number will swell to 40 million if labourers in the agriculture sector are included, in addition to 2 million registered alien workers in the country whose future are in perils, he concluded.

The rules currently apply only to private commercial private.

They were set to ensure that banks are sustainable under sound management for the benefits and protection of clients.

State banks have already been informed that they will be subjected to the same criteria as their commercial counterparts. The BOT has been steering financial service providers to responsible and fair market practices under three main pillars: First, customers are assured that they will receive fair and sincere services; second, customers are given appropriate and clear advice; and third, customers are given products or services at reasonable prices and fair conditions.

Financial service providers must also help customers realise their rights and responsibilities.

Chatchai Payuhanaveechai, president of the state-owned Government Savings Bank (GSB), said the market conduct rules would ensure that customers of state owned banks are treated fairly, adding that

the bank has adopted these rules for more than a year. He expects they would be imposed on state banks next year.

The rules would not affect GSB operations and sales as adjustment had already been made, he said.

If, as seems likely, the Fed lowers its key policy rate again, pressure would be put on the Thai baht which has been seen by investors as a safe haven. The strengthening of the baht has already brought headaches to Thai policymakers, with exporters complaining their competitiveness is being eroded as the exchange rate makes Thai products more expensive. The Bank of Thailand has been preparing to launch new measures that are expected to include capital outflow liberation, the opening of the currency exchange business allowing exporters to place money overseas, management of the gold trade and a current account surplus.

The Thai baht has appreciated about seven per cent since early this year, edging closer to Bt30 per dollar and last week hitting a six-year high.

Uncertainties in the global economy remain high even though US President Donald Trump agreed to postpone tariff hikes od 30 per cent on Chinese goods worth $250 billion due to come into effect this week, Anusorn added.

It is expected that the US and China will achieve a partial trade deal. However, the US still plans to raise tariffs to 15 per cent on another batch of Chinese goods worth $160 billion in December.

Anusorn cited some researchers who have suggested that prolonged trade tension would severely damage the Chinese economy, costing around 25-30 per cent of China’s gross domestic product while costing the US about 5 to 10 per cent of its GDP.

The US dollar remains favourable for reserve currencies estimated to be at 65 to 70 per cent of global reserves while the Chinese yuan accounts for only 1 to 3 per cent of global currency reserves.

China, however, has a strong fiscal position as the government has large international reserves.

China could also strengthen its international role via the Belt and Road initiative as well as its high-tech industry and artificial intelligence.

The US recently blacklisted Chinese tech companies accusing them of violating the rights of minority Muslim populations in China and Trump also commented on the Hong Kong protests indicating that if the Chinese government were to use violence to suppress protestors, it would affect the trade deal between US and China. US actions suggest that it is linking trade issues with human rights, which could mean that trade tension will continue and affect global trade and economy, experts say.

In Thailand, divisive politics have the potential to dampen both consumer and investor confidence, Anusorn warned.

Opposition politicians, academics and civil groups are campaigning to amend the junta-sponsor Constitution while the Army Chief opposes the move.

“Hate speech could deepen political conflicts and adversely affect confidence. There is a need for political reconciliation by all sides and a determined move towards democracy and raising the standard of living of the people” he added.

The business sentiment index, compiled by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, stood at 72 for the October-December period, slightly down from 73 the previous quarter, KCCI said in a statement.

The BSI figure has stayed below the break-even threshold of 100 for the past 14 consecutive quarters. The last time the BSI was above 100 was in the third quarter of 2014.

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20191014000119

He said the AOT revenue board approved draft terms of reference for the bidding on Friday (October 11).

Bid documents will be distributed next month and applicants have another month to submit their bids.

Nitinai expects the competition to be fierce and believes the same firms that recently sought the duty-free concessions for Suvarnabhumi Airport and several provincial airports would also participate in this process.

OIE aims to enhance productivity and upgrade quality commodities to premium products and has put its Food Intelligence Centre to work in examining every aspect of the food industry.

The Office has also established guidelines for vegan food development to support the food industry, noting that even fast food joints such as Burger King, McDonald’s and KFC have turned to healthier options and released vegan products such as meatless burgers and vegetarian fried chicken. Kellogg Unilever and Nestlé are also coming out with new products to satisfy the taste buds of consumers. The vegan food market has grown rapidly in recent years, with non-meat eaters in the US and Europe increasing from 2 million in 2014 to 20 million in 2018 with the resultant rise in sales.

Thai businessmen and exporters should not overlook this trend, Ittichai said.