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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/econ/40019554

The baht opened at 36.46 to the US dollar on Wednesday, weakening from Tuesday’s close of 36.38.

The currency is expected to move between 36.30 and 36.55 during the day, Krungthai Bank market strategist Poon Panichpibool predicted.

He said the baht is likely to fluctuate across a wide range and could weaken as the dollar is strengthening.

Poon however speculated that the baht would not weaken past its key resistance level of 36.50 as exporters are waiting to offload the dollar at that level.

Moreover, foreign investors do not appear to be in a hurry to sell their Thai assets and Poon believes they will in fact purchase more Thai stocks as prices head down while investors are wary of taking risks in the US and European stock markets.

However, he noted the baht could be volatile today, Wednesday, especially as China announces various economic results.

If the Chinese economic data is much worse than expected, it might pressure Emerging Asia assets or cause currencies to weaken, he said.

Meanwhile, the baht might fluctuate as the dollar and euro might come under pressure if investors are certain the European Central Bank would decide to increase the interest rate, Poon pointed out.

The strategist advised investors to use hedging tools such as options to manage risks in a highly volatile currency market.

Published : August 31, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/econ/40019545

Thai investors could pick up more equities and bonds, as the two asset classes are available at attractive prices amid global clues of peak inflation and recession, said Eastspring Investments, a leading Asia-based asset manager.

Speaking at a seminar titled “Investment Outlook: Different World, Different Playbook” on Tuesday, the chief investment officer of Eastspring Asset Management (Thailand), Yingyong Chiravutthi, said that economic and investment outlooks are related but not on the same page.

It means that even though the situation of the current global economy appears quite dim, there is always some path to profit from the market, said Yingyong.

He said that equities and bonds are beginning to trade at attractive prices. During this time, investors are advised to diversify and invest more in equities, whether in the US, China, Vietnam or Thailand, as opposed to bonds.

“Regarding equities, we retain a positive view of US shares, particularly growth stocks. We believe that peaking inflation and interest rates present opportunities to buy longer-duration bonds. After the interest rates were raised 2-3 times, the market has started to recover and generate good returns,” said Yingyong.

He added that when inflation and interest rates start to decrease, growth stocks tend to perform better.

In Chinese equities, the company believes that investors will continue to benefit from low-interest rates and the Chinese government’s supportive measures.

Still, concerns may loom over China’s real estate debt over the next 3-6 months.

“Vietnamese equities are suitable for long-term investment while we are quite positive on Thai equities, especially low-volatility and high-dividend stocks, since they will be less affected by the global economic slowdown as well as global political issues,” Yingyong noted.

Niwet Hemavachirawarakorn, a leading investment expert in Thailand who spoke at the seminar, concurs with the advice to invest in Vietnamese equities. He described Vietnam as one of the most promising markets for long-term investment due to the fast-growing economy, low-cost skilled labour, and high consumption market.

Eastspring Investments chief investment officer Bill Maldonado noted that inflation had started to decline, a little accomplishment for the US Federal Reserve which jacked up interest rates to curb high inflation.

In this scenario, Maldonado suggested that investors consider low volatility, value and dividend-paying stocks, while the peaking inflation presents opportunities to buy longer-duration bonds.
 

Regarding Chinese equities, he predicted more aggressive fiscal and monetary policies in the second half of 2022, which will benefit China’s A-share market.

As for the overall Asian economic outlook, Maldonado said that consumption is likely to continue to shift from goods to services as Covid restrictions are eased.

He pointed out that Asean economies should benefit from the reopening boost which is especially positive for Thailand whose economy is highly reliant on tourism. Commodity-based economies like Malaysia and Indonesia should also see good GDP growth in 2022.

Meanwhile, during times of high market volatility and high inflation, real assets, such as gold, are attractive havens.

He warned that the major risk over the next 6 to 12 months would be geopolitical tensions continuing to cause market volatility.

Meanwhile, global economic growth will also continue to be affected by supply chain disruptions and interest rate hikes.

Arm Tungnirun, director of the Chinese Studies Centre, Chulalongkorn University, and Wit Sittivaekin, an economics expert, shared their perspectives, providing broader information about the global economy in the years ahead.

Arm said investors should keep their eyes on the annual meeting of the Communist Party of China in October, which will give investors a hint of China’s policy and economic direction.

Meanwhile, Wit suggested that investors monitor the United States’ mid-term elections to the House and Senate in November.

Yingyong concluded that investors should not only keep track of global movements, but also diversify portfolios by not putting too much weight on a single asset. This is a good investment strategy that will reduce volatility in any situation.

Published : August 30, 2022

By : Nongluck Ajanapanya

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/econ/40019537

Business leaders are worried that electricity-price rises will see costs surge in Thailand’s industrial sector, according to a Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) survey.

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has announced it will hike the fuel tariff from next month until December, resulting in a record high of 4.72 baht per unit of electricity.

The FTI survey asked 215 executives how the increase in electricity costs will affect their Thai industry. Most worried that the hike was too high, said FTI vice-chairman Montri Mahaplerkpong, revealing the survey results on Tuesday. 

Survey respondents said the higher electricity cost would cause the price of products to rise, driving up the cost of living even further. It would also hit Thailand’s ability to compete with Vietnam, which has kept its electricity cost to 2.8 baht per unit for 2022, they said.

Montri forecast the price of products and services in Thailand would rise by 10 per cent by the end of this year.

Most executives surveyed want the government to limit the fuel tariff hike to 5 per cent while also issuing relief measures for SMEs and people on low income.

So far, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) has shouldered increased production costs amounting to about 83 billion baht. But this burden will be shared by consumers via the tariff hike from next month.

However, Montri urged the government to review its electricity pricing structure for every sector and also open up the market for private companies to invest in power plants. He also wants authorities to reduce the time it takes for companies to get permission to use renewable energy equipment.

He explained that the private sector is preparing for the electricity hike by investing in renewable energy sources such as solar rooftops in a bid to remain competitive.

Published : August 30, 2022

By : THE NATION

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https://www.nationthailand.com/business/econ/40019529

The Energy Business Department announced on Tuesday that the rise in oil and gas consumption during the first seven months of this year showed that the country’s economy was recovering.

Nunthika Thungsupanich, director-general of the department, said an average of 151.04 million litres of oil were consumed daily from January to July, an increase of 13.5 per cent from the same period of last year.

The average daily consumption comprised 29.80 million litres of petrol (up 2.4 per cent); 73.44 million litres of diesel (up 16.2 per cent); 6.32 million litres of bunker oil (up 18.9 per cent); and 7.8 million litres of aircraft petrol (up 66.7 per cent).

She said the consumption of LPG rose to 18.17 million kilograms per day, a 9.4 per cent increase, and NGV rose to 3.39 million kg per day, a 5.6 per cent increase.

Nunthika added that the import of oil rose to about 1.031 million barrels per day — 963,155 barrels of crude oil and 68,427 barrels of refined petroleum — from January to July, an increase of 14.5 per cent from the same period last year.

She said the oil consumption rose mainly because of the government’s measures to stimulate the economy.

Published : August 30, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/econ/40019528

The government believes the tourism industry is on the path to recovery and expects a 1,800-per-cent surge in foreign arrivals in the second half of this year.

Deputy government spokesperson Ratchada Thanadirek said on Tuesday that several figures clearly point to a recovery in the tourism industry.

She said more than 4 million foreign tourists have landed in Thailand over the first eight months of the year, and the government expects to log 7.5 million arrivals from July to December. This will mark a 1,840 per cent increase from the same period last year.

Ratchada added that the country can expect to earn 400 million baht from tourist spending in the second half.

She also cited four factors that will promote tourism, namely:

• Airlines resuming flights and launching new routes

• Many countries easing entry and departure restrictions making it easier to travel

• China allowing the resumption of some international flights

• Thailand has reopened border checkpoints to welcome tourists from neighbouring countries

Ratchada added that figures from the Commerce Ministry’s Business Development Department also indicate a tourism recovery.

The department reported that 549 new tour-guide and hotel-booking businesses with a capital of 989 million baht were registered in the first seven months of this year. This marked a 169 per cent and 226 per cent increase in the two business streams, respectively.

As of the end of July, there were 11,891 tourism and hotel-booking operators worth about 43 billion baht.

If the investment in tourism businesses is broken down by the nationality of owners, then 37 billion baht was invested by Thais (87.2 per cent), 1.1 billion baht by Chinese (2.6 per cent), 528 million baht by South Koreans (1.2 per cent), 445 million baht by Indians (1 per cent) and 3.4 billion baht by other nationalities (8 per cent).

The spokesperson said the recovery can be attributed to the cooperation from all sectors and several government measures introduced to stimulate the tourism industry.

For instance, she said, the government has extended the period covered by visa-on-arrival and has launched several campaigns to promote popular destinations.

She added that though the government expects some 10 million foreign arrivals, it is concerned that new viruses, the Russia-Ukraine war and global inflation will affect people’s decision to travel.

Published : August 30, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/econ/40019522

SCBX Pcl, the “mothership” company of SCB Group, never officially sought permission to buy a 51 per cent stake in BitKub Online, the Bank of Thailand (BOT) has said.

The BOT deputy governor for stability of financial institutions, Ronadol Numnonda, said on Monday that the central bank had been officially informed about the cancellation of the deal.

He said that both companies mutually terminated the deal due to business reasons.

Ronadol said that BOT focuses on developing financial innovations while also regulating the overall stability and security of commercial banks in their governance, sufficiency of capital, risk management and its effects, and protection of customers .

Speaking about the BOT regulation that allows commercial banks to invest only up to 3 per cent of their capital in digital assets, he explained that the objective was:

• Allowing commercial banks to have flexibility to invest in bringing innovations to provide service to customers with more efficiency
• Allowing digital asset businesses in the country to grow gradually, and to restrict risks that might affect trust in commercial banks
• Allowing commercial banks to invest or manage their resources carefully

The BOT believes these objectives will eventually be beneficial to users and the development of innovation in the Thai financial sector, he said.

He said that commercial banks that want to establish a subsidiary related to digital assets must first seek permission from the BOT.

Ronadol added that the regulations were not aimed at any specific deal but to regulate the risks to the overall financial system.

SCBX last Thursday announced that the group and Bitkub Capital Group Holdings had reached a mutual agreement to terminate their proposed investment of 17.85 billion baht for a 51 per cent stake in Bitkub Online.

Published : August 30, 2022

By : THE NATION

#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.

https://www.nationthailand.com/business/econ/40019507

The baht opened at 36.33 to the US dollar on Tuesday, strengthening from Monday’s close of 36.41.

The currency is expected to move between 36.25 and 36.45 during the day, Krungthai Bank market strategist Poon Panichpibool predicted.

He said the Thai currency is swinging in a wide range and may weaken if the dollar strengthens.

However, he speculated that the baht’s weakening would be limited and it will not weaken past its key resistance level at 36.50 to the dollar.

Moreover, foreign investors did not hurry to sell Thai assets and he believes they will buy more Thai stocks when the price goes down.

The strategist advises investors to use hedging tools such as options to manage risks in a highly volatile currency market.

Published : August 30, 2022

By : THE NATION