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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/economy/40024506

Cabinet approves adjustments to basic daily wages for 17 professions

TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2023

The Cabinet on Tuesday approved the Labour Ministry’s proposal to adjust the wages for skilled workers in 17 fields, which would see them earning between 465 and 700 baht daily.

Labour Minister Suchart Chomklin said the Cabinet agreed to adjust the minimum daily rate for the 17 professions, provided they receive a certificate from the Skill Development Department.

The professions to be covered are divided into three groups, namely the industrial sector, technicians and workers in the service sector. Suchart said there is a big demand for people in these fields.

In 2014, the Labour Ministry’s proposal to set a minimum wage rate for 112 professions was approved by the Cabinet, and now with 17 more, the number of professions under the radar has risen to 129.

The new minimum daily wages for some of the 17 professions are:

• Pump and valves technicians: 515 baht

• Mechatronics and industrial robot controllers:

Level 1: 545 baht

Level 2: 635 baht

Level 3: 715 baht

• Mechanics

Tractor repairs:

Level 1: 465 baht

Level 2: 535 baht

Level 3: 620 baht

Excavator controllers: 585 baht

• Service sector

Holistic food therapist, aqua therapist, aromatherapist

Level 1: 500 baht

Level 2: 600 baht

Bartenders

Level 1: 475 baht

Level 2: 525 baht

Level 3: 600 baht

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/economy/40024505

Thai rice export target set at 7.5 tonnes this year, down from 2022

TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2023

Thailand expects to export about 7.5 million tonnes of rice this year, down from 7.9 million tonnes last year, the Foreign Trade Department said on Tuesday.

The department’s director-general, Narong Poolpipat, said rice exports last year had exceeded the target of 7.5 million tonnes, mainly because of the depreciation of baht, which dropped to around 38 baht to the US dollar.

Last year’s rice export was 22.06% higher year on year in terms of volume, while rice export value was US$3.971 billion, up 14.67% year on year, Narong said.

He said the top five markets for Thai rice exports last year were:

– Iraq, 1.6 million tonnes, up 458%

– South Africa, 775,000 tonnes, down 2.26%

– China, 745,200 tonnes, up 18.81%

– United States, 653,000 tonnes, up 13.21%

– Benin, 320,000 tonnes, down 15.38%

Although the department eyes 7.5 tonnes of rice exports this year, it cannot not yet estimate the export value due to fluctuations in the value of the baht, Narong said.

He explained that the baht had appreciated to about 32.50-33.00 baht against the US dollar, but it was expected to depreciate to 35-40 baht by the middle of the year and appreciate again later this year.

Narong added that his department would hold several activities this year to promote rice exports, including holding the Thailand Rice Convention 2023 and sending delegations of state officials and private firms to visit trading partner nations, such as Germany, China, United Arab Emirates and Australia.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/economy/40024491

Academics call for more diversified global currency basket, less dependent on US dollar

TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2023

Nongluck Ajanapanya

Asian emerging markets and developing economies should deepen regional financial market integration in order to mitigate the risk resulted from the US dollar’s dominance, experts and economists have suggested.

The remarks were part of the statement released on Monday by the Asian Shadow Financial Regulatory Committee (ASFRC) at their 35th annual meeting on “What can Asian Economies do about the USD Global Financial Cycle?” hosted by NIDA Business School in Thailand and its MSc in Corporate Finance, Investment, and Risk Management (CIFRM) program.

ASFRC members are all academics in finance and economics from the Asia Pacific. The statement aimed to persuade governments throughout Asia Pacific of the significance of diversifying the global currency basket.

Such a step will make countries in the region more resilient to external factors. They referenced the current impact on countries across the world from the US Federal Reserve raising policy rates to tame its own inflation.

“Tightening of monetary policy may be appropriate for the United States, but this exerts a recessionary tendency in the world as the United States’ tightening raises yields on US treasuries and induces capital outflows from other countries,” the statement explained.

One of the committee members, Martin Young, a professor at Massey University in New Zealand, said that the dollar remains powerful because the United States has the largest global economy.

However, in terms of cross-border trade and investment, reliance on a single currency threatens the financial market’s stability.

According to Obstfeld and Zhou’s 2022 study, despite the switch to a floating exchange rate system 50 years ago, the world remains largely on the dollar standard.

The majority of trade and invoicing is done in US dollars. The US dollar is used approximately 50% of the time in global trade invoicing, and around 90% of the time in global foreign exchange transactions where one side is in US dollars.

Martin Young

Young emphasised that the ASFRC committee has no intention of toppling the dollar. They simply require a greater balance in the global currency basket.

He declared that the dollar’s dominance in the global financial market should be reduced.

According to Maria Socorro Gochoco-Bautista of the University of the Philippines, allowing one currency to dominate the global market would inevitably have an impact on others, particularly small and open market Asian countries like Thailand and the Philippines.

Each country has its own economic cycle and development, she explained. Because countries all over the world are involved in the global supply chain and demand, the global economy may have some effects. However, the impact should not be so severe that a single government’s monetary policy deprives the others of financial stability and the ability to control their economies.

Jian-Xin Wang from the University of Technology Sydney, Australia, stated that the committee’s recommendations are a long-term process for each country to collaborate together to find a better system of global financial currency which the committee dubbed as a multi-polar currency system.

According to the committee statement, a multi-polar currency system will be better because it will be less reliant on the actions of a single monetary authority and reduce the risk of negative externalities on the rest of the world.

“The dominance of US monetary policy limits the ability of authorities elsewhere to respond to external shocks more independently under the current dominant US dollar standard,” the committee explained.

Besides encouraging Asean and other Asian economies to enhance and expand regional economic integration, the committee’s recommendations include:

● Establish a regional corporate bond market, such as the Asian Bond Market Initiative, with common issuance standards.
● Create an inter-dealer regional trading platform to provide liquidity in exchange for certain benefits such as preferential access to a regional repo market.
● Have a regional centralised counter-party for Asean names in credit default swaps.
● Create an Asean+3 zone of free capital mobility, including mutual recognition of funds and instruments from different jurisdictions.
● Remove withholding taxes on intraregional flows.
● Harmonise macro-prudential rules for managing external capital flows.
● Expand the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation into a regional repo market to provide additional liquidity on a daily basis rather than just during a crisis.
● Central banks could agree to accept cross-border collateral in the form of Asean+3 government and corporate bonds.
● With the help of multilateral institutions such as the Asian Development Bank, build regional financial infrastructure to facilitate regional market integration.
● Encourage the use of regional currencies through bilateral agreements.
● Increase local risk management capacity at the firm level, as part of central bank initiatives to encourage the use of fintech in transactions.
● Use digital currencies and distributed ledger technologies to make cross-border payments and settlements easier, faster and more secure.

Young expected that these suggestions would encourage Asia Pacific governments to adopt a multi-polar currency system. He believes that while the system may not be implemented in the next 10 years, Asia Pacific countries will eventually achieve the goal if they begin taking decisive actions.

Other panel members this time included Qian Sun of Fudan University in China, David K. Ding of Singapore Management University, Robin K.Chou of National Chengchi University in Taiwan, Aekkachai Nittayagasetwat of NIDA Business School, Sunti Tirapat of NIDA Business School, and Kridsda Nimmanunta of NIDA Business School in Thailand.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/economy/40024484

Thai tourism industry ups forecast to 30 million foreign arrivals this year

TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2023

Thailand’s tourism industry expects foreign arrivals to exceed 30 million this year, significantly higher than government estimates of 25-27.5 million.

Making the forecast on Tuesday, the Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT) predicted foreign and domestic tourists would generate over 3 trillion baht in revenue this year.

However, TCT president Chamnan Srisawat warned the huge volume of customers will pose challenges for the Thai tourism industry, which is still recovering from the ravages of Covid-19.

Most tourism businesses are still suffering liquidity and labour shortages, he explained, while some are missing out on new opportunities.

TCT is tackling the problems by cooperating with the Office of SMEs Promotion to help entrepreneurs tap new trends like wellness- and metaverse-based tourism, he said.

On the liquidity front, it is liaising with the Government Savings Bank and National Credit Bureau for access to soft loans for tourism operators.

Finally, the TCT is collaborating with the Labour Ministry, Vocational Education Commission and Thailand Professional Qualification Institute to fill gaps in the tourism labour market.

About 86% of workers have now returned to the tourism industry after the Covid downturn, said Pakakrong Theparak, a tourism expert at Rajamangala University of Technology Srivijaya.

Only 13% of tourism-related businesses plan to recruit employees in the first quarter of this year, with demand for workers strongest among spa/massage operators, followed by entertainment venues.

Many businesses had been forced to increase employee hours, allow more overtime and offer higher wages, she added.

Most operators plan to hike the price of their products and services in the first quarter, especially restaurants, Pakakrong said.

Sisdivachr Cheewarattanaporn, president of Association of Thai Travel Agents, agreed that foreign arrivals this year could exceed 30 million.

He cited the return of Chinese tour groups from February 6.

“However, China’s economy has suffered from a prolonged Covid-19 crisis, so the number of Chinese visitors must be monitored quarterly,” he said, adding that he expected foreign arrivals from China to jump in the third quarter.

However, Sisdivachr said recent scandals involving Thai police had damaged confidence in Thailand’s tourism industry. He cited police extortion of a Taiwanese actress and a police VIP siren service for a Chinese tourist, urging the government to tackle such abuses urgently. He also asked authorities to reduce queues at immigration checkpoints.

Related stories:

Chinese yearning for overseas trips in 2023: Report

Head inland to enjoy Thailand

Korn pledges to create Thai spiritual tourism industry with THB1bn per province

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/economy/40024478

Duopoly warning for Thai e-commerce market after JD Central pulls out 

TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2023

The founder of Tarad.com has urged the competition regulator to investigate whether Thailand’s e-commerce market will become a duopoly when JD Central bows out in March, leaving Lazada and Shopee to dominate the scene.

JD Central announced on Monday it will stop operating in Thailand from March 3, though customer deals will be honoured until March 31.

Pawoot Pongvitayapanu, who founded e-commerce website Tarad.com in 2001, said on Monday that the Trade Competition Commission of Thailand (TCCT) must guard against unfair market conditions that damage consumer interests.

A duopoly in e-commerce would likely have a more severe effect on sellers and customers than retail channels, he said. 

“Having only two major players will limit the choices for sellers and customers, while platform operators can pressure sellers into following their policy.”

Lazada raised the fee for sellers on its platform only last year, Pawoot pointed out.

Shopee and Lazada are Thailand’s top two online shopping platforms, dominating the market with an average of 63.1 and 50.3 million visitors per month, respectively. JD Central ranks 8th with around 2 million visitors per month.

JD Central was launched in 2018 by Thailand’s Central Group and Chinese e-commerce operator JD.com. A source said that Central, which had invested 17.5 billion in the platform, has decided to pull out.

Fierce competition between giant players in Thailand’s e-commerce market also saw Japan’s Rakuten and South Korea’s 11Street withdraw in 2016 and 2018 respectively.

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