The price of oil is expected to move upwards this week (November 30 to December 4) thanks to positive news about AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine, PTT’s International Trading Business Unit forecast on Tuesday.
The unit said the price of oil had been affected by the smooth US presidential transition and Shell’s oil-delivery accident in Nigeria’s Brass River on November 24. The unit also said that the number of oil rigs in the US rose by 10 rigs to 241 as of November 25.
“We advise following the Opec+ meeting as the organisation’s plan to cut oil production to 7.7 million barrels daily will be extended until the first quarter next year,” the unit added.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) Index fell almost 30 points on Monday due to global investment firm MSCI’s decision to reduce investments in Thai stocks, worries over rising Covid-19 cases in Thailand and the pending Constitutional Court ruling in a case against Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, experts said.
The SET Index closed at 1,408.31 on Monday, down 29.47 points or 2.05 per cent. Total transactions amounted to Bt120 billion with an index high of 1,435.04 and a low of 1,408.02.
Foreign and institutional investors made net sales of Bt4.37 billion and Bt2.98 billion respectively, while securities accounts and general investors made net buys of Bt725.71 million and Bt6.62 billion, respectively.
Therdsak Thaveeteeratham, Asia Plus Securities executive vice president for research, said SET faced short-term correction on Monday as domestic and foreign investors sold off stocks to reduce their risks from the new Covid-19 cases in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, as well as the pending court ruling in Prayut’s case on Wednesday.
“The Constitutional Court’s ruling on Prayut could affect Thailand’s economy in terms of policy continuation, because he may be removed from office at a time when the economy is recovering gradually,” he said.
He said he expects SET to move upwards as foreign funds are still flowing into Asian markets.
“If there is no negative sentiment, we expect Thailand’s deposits of Bt15.5 trillion to flow into the stock market due to low interest offered on deposits,” he said, adding that SET is expected to hit 1,550 points next year.
He advised investors to buy stocks that are likely to rise next year, such as commercial banks that will benefit from the economic recovery and construction stocks that would benefit from the government’s investment in various projects.
Kitichan Sirisukarcha, CGS CIMB Securities senior vice president for research, said SET fell on Monday due to MSCI’s move to reduce investment in Thai stocks from 1.9 per cent to 1.87 per cent, worries over rising Covid-19 cases and Washington’s move to ban another four Chinese firms as well as Thai and foreign investors’ move to speculate after the index skyrocketed by 243 points or 20 per cent in the previous month.
“However, we expect foreign funds to flow into the stock market as positive news of Covid-19 vaccine will help boost Thailand’s economy and SET-listed companies’ profits next year,” he said.
He advised investors to buy petrochemical, oil refinery, energy and commercial bank shares.
DTAC, Yara launch first digital community network for farmers in Thailand
Dec 01. 2020
By THE NATION
Telecom operator DTAC and agricultural operations company Yara Thailand on Tuesday officially launched Kaset Go, a mobile application that connects farmers to reliable and real-time insights verified by agricultural experts.
Designed to empower Thai farmers, the app leverages Yara Thailand’s agricultural knowledge and DTAC’s communication technologies, the companies said.
Kaset Go presently allows farmers to ask questions to agriculture experts and gain knowledge from other farmers within the community with similar experiences. It also provides farmers access to key information such as daily crop prices, agricultural news, tips on eight major staples in Thailand: rice, maize, vegetables, durian, mangosteen, longan, citrus and mango. Content is geo-localised to meet the specific needs of farmers in Thailand’s major regions and there are sections within to support farmers groups with specific interests such as farm certification, logistics and marketing, the companies said.
The content is supported by experts from the Department of Agriculture Extension (DOAE) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, the Rak Ban Kerd Foundation (RBK), and Yara Thailand.
Sharad Mehrotra, chief executive officer of Total Access Communication Plc, said: “DTAC has a long history of commitment to empowering Thai farmers with mobile connectivity, be it through information platforms or internet of things solutions. “Over the past 12-plus years, we have collaborated with the industry-leading partners like DOAE, RBK to support and learn more about the farmers. Kaset Go represents our most advanced platform built in partnership with Yara,” he said. “Because farming represents such a large part of Thailand’s workforce, and smartphone penetration is among the highest in the region, Kaset Go could be a game changer for Thailand’s digital transformation,” he added.
Since its soft launch in August, Kaset Go has had more than 150,000 downloads and attracted more than 100,000 registered users. As the number of downloads and users is rising exponentially, DTAC and Yara Thailand are already planning Kaset Go’s next phase of development, which will include information on 44 more crops and key features such as weather warnings, disease alerts, market price benchmarking, the companies said. There are also plans to extend further to other value-added services such as farm equipment, insurance and finance.
Mehdi Saint-Andre, managing director, Yara (Thailand) Co Ltd and vice president Thailand and Myanmar, said, “Since our foundation in 1905, we strongly believe that knowledge is key to support farmers’ productivity and with our extensive network of local agronomists, Yara has been providing sustainable solutions to Thai farmers for 47 years. Since 2017, Yara has been accelerating its digital farming strategy, providing precision farming tools to farmers across the globe, and the partnership to develop Kaset Go marks a milestone in Thailand’s agricultural industry as this platform connects farmers to reliable information vetted by experts and validated by the community.
“Kaset Go is expected to become Thailand’s biggest online platform for farmers and kickstart digital transformation in Thailand’s agricultural industry,” he said.
Kaset Go is available on iOS and Android from the App store and Google Play. Find out more at https://kasetgo.com/
MEA launches mobile app, offers free aircon cleaning services to first 100 customers
Dec 01. 2020
By THE NATION
The Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) has launched its newest service “MEA e-Fix” mobile application that provides installation and maintenance of electrical appliances by professionals.
“All technicians under the campaign have undergone extensive MEA training to ensure efficient and safe installation and fixing of electrical appliances to customers in MEA’s responsible areas, which include Bangkok, Nonthaburi and Samut Prakarn,” MEA deputy director-general and spokesman Jaturong Suriyassin said.
“The MEA e-Fix covers five types of electrical services: lighting system, wall socket installation, water heater installation, door buzzer installation and electrical switch box.
“To use the services, users can download and install the application, choose the type of work, provide details on points of installation with photos, then input the address and your convenient date,” he added.
“We accept payment via credit card and offer three months warranty on our jobs. Furthermore, the first 100 customers of MEA e-Fix will be offered free air-conditioner cleaning service [one unit per customer].”
To download the application, follow this link http://onelink.to/rzrf65. For more information, contact MEA Call Centre at 1130, Line: MEA Connect and Twitter: @mea_news
