Confidence remains stuck in neutral until September
Confidence remains stuck in neutral until SeptemberInvestor confidence for the three months to September remains in neutral territory as concerns over second-quarter earnings at listed companies offset hopes of an economic recovery. The investor confidence index (ICI) in June rose by 4% to 101.19 from May's 96.93, according to the monthly survey by the Federation of Thai Capital Market Organisations (Fetco). An index below 80 points is considered bearish, 80-120 is neutral and over 120 is bullish. Foreign investor ICI climbed into bullish territory at 125, while the confidence gauge among proprietary traders rose into the neutral zone at 100. Confidence among local institutional investors dropped slightly but remained neutral at 100, while the retail investor ICI fell into bearish territory at 71.79.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 07, 2020 23:26 UTC
Asian equities ready for return of foreign funds
Asian equities ready for return of foreign fundsAsian equities could benefit from a return of foreign fund inflows, but the stock market remains volatile depending on the economic recovery and the pandemic situation, says Principal Asset Management. Chief investment officer Win Promphaet said foreign capital inflows will return through exchange-traded funds (ETFs) investing in Chinese and other Asian equities. Foreign inflows were a factor driving up China's stock market during the past few months, Mr Win said. The US stock market also surged drastically after a series of monetary stimulus measures by the Federal Reserve, he said. Foreign investors have been net sellers of Thai equities during the first five months, with year-to-date foreign outflows totalling 219.2 billion baht as of July 3.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 07, 2020 23:26 UTC
Gulf Energy buys German wind farm
Germany's Borkum Riffgrund 2 (BKR2) offshore wind farm in the North Sea. Gulf Energy Development acquired the farm in a deal worth more than B19bn. Gulf Energy Development has acquired Germany's Borkum Riffgrund 2 (BKR2) offshore wind farm, worth more than 19 billion baht, in a move to expand its renewable energy business in Asia and Europe this year. GIH acquired GIP's entire shareholding in Frankfurt-based Borkum Riffgrund 2 Investor Holding GmbH, entailing 50% of shares in Borkum Riffgrund 2 Offshore Wind Farm GmbH & Co Ohg, which co-operates the wind farm with the other shareholder, Orsted A/S. Orsted, which has 25 years of experience in the business, generates 6.8 gigawatts from offshore wind farms globally.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 07, 2020 23:26 UTC
Why seat belt law fails to bring safety
Why seat belt law fails to bring safetyPolice officers launch a buckle up campaign. The seat belt law is already 25 years old, yet the seat belt use rate remains very low. The dismal safety belt use rates are also evident in a recent study by the Thailand Development Research Institute to evaluate seat belt policy for traffic safety. While consistent information and campaigns are necessary for better seat belt awareness, the focus should shift to the back seat passengers -- passengers in taxis, vans, and minibuses. Why has the 25-year-old safety belt law failed to make a dent in the public consciousness?
Source:Bangkok Post
July 07, 2020 23:26 UTC
Key official seeks to revoke VAT break
Key official seeks to revoke VAT breakRemoving the value-added tax (VAT) exemption for goods of up to 1,500 baht per parcel and imported through the post is crucial to levelling the playing field for local vendors, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), says the Revenue Department. The VAT exemption is unfair to local SMEs because trade is now borderless and scrapping the privilege will help these small businesses avoid going under, said director-general Ekniti Nitithanprapas. The Revenue Department wants to revoke the tax exemption but must defer to the Customs Department's mandate, he said. For example, the Revenue Department has pushed a draft e-service act that received cabinet approval. The Revenue Department's digital transformation is aimed at not only running working processes on the digital platform, but also speeding up and simplifying the process.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 07, 2020 23:26 UTC
Malnutrition in poorer nations costs firms up to $850 bln: study
Malnutrition in poorer nations costs firms up to $850 bln: studyThe pandemic is increasing the number of people at risk of acute hungerPARIS - Hunger, poor nutrition and obesity not only present a health burden in developing countries but carry a hidden economic penalty that costs businesses up to $850 billion a year, according to a new report published Wednesday. "We show that the costs and risks are significant and that it is in the interests of businesses to take action." In developing nations where the prevalence of malnutrition is high, researchers estimated that the direct costs of productivity loss would total between $130 billion and $850 billion a year. According to the 2020 Global Nutrition Report, around one in nine people globally are hungry or undernourished, while one in three people are overweight or obese. The report stressed that action to tackle malnutrition is in businesses' best interests.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 07, 2020 23:26 UTC
Take action on monkey use
Take action on monkey useDenial alone won't help. To disprove the allegations of monkey abuse in Thailand's coconut business, the Commerce Ministry has no other option but to face up to the matter. The claims made by Peta have led to a boycott of Thailand's coconut products by Western retailers. In the United Kingdom, Waitrose, Ocado, Co-op and Boots have vowed to stop selling some coconut products from Thailand, the BBC reported. As for companies implicated in the campaign, they simply have to provide evidence that they don't use forced monkey labour as suggested by Peta.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 07, 2020 23:26 UTC
Thailand, New Zealand in bubble talks
Thailand, New Zealand in bubble talksThe Industry Ministry has discussed working with New Zealand on what it calls an "industry bubble" with the aim to share knowledge, technology and innovations for the agriculture sector in support of farmers from both nations. Like a travel bubble, which links countries with low risk of coronavirus infection, the industry bubble is also based on the selection of certain countries for a close business cooperation. "The Industry Ministry agrees to partner with New Zealand because it [New Zealand] is expert in processing agricultural products for export," he said. Mr Suriya came up with the industry bubble idea after a talk with New Zealand's ambassador to Thailand, Taha Macpherson, on joint cooperation in agriculture. New Zealand and Thailand have had a diplomatic relationship for 64 years, and Thailand ranks eighth in trade value with New Zealand.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 07, 2020 23:26 UTC
Peta's complaint about monkeys isn't totally nuts
Peta's complaint about monkeys isn't totally nutsWhen I heard that coconut products from Thailand had been banned from supermarkets in London, as a result of a campaign by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta), I wasn't surprised. Media reports say Peta claimed the monkeys had been "snatched from the wild and cruelly trained" to pick coconuts, like coconut-picking machines. The commerce ministry said it would invite foreign ambassadors to witness how monkeys had been raised and trained. He has seen the use of monkeys as coconut pickers since he was young and questioned if Peta's visits to eight coconut plantations represented the whole industry in Thailand. Mentioning this, I'm not saying all monkeys, and other animals, in Thailand are being treated well and fairly.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 07, 2020 23:26 UTC
TAT predicts 80% plunge in arrivals
TAT predicts 80% plunge in arrivalsA new forecast by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) says the number of foreign tourists this year may plunge 80% to 8.2 million as revenue slides to 396 billion baht, with international air traffic regaining just 10% of the pre-pandemic schedule. The latest forecast issued on July 1 is based on the current situation in which Thailand welcomed 6.7 million tourists from January to March. From April 3 to June 30, there were no international arrivals as the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) imposed a flight ban. Thailand expects 14-16 million arrivals this year. After recording zero tourist arrivals and revenue in the second quarter, Thailand may welcome 300,000 international arrivals in the third quarter, down 96% from the same period last year, with revenue of 12.4 billion baht, down 97%.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 07, 2020 23:26 UTC
Lost revenue from sales tax cut 'insignificant'
The Excise Department has been offering tax breaks to help businesses stay afloat during the coronavirus crisis. The Excise Department's sales tax cut is expected to cost the government less than 1 billion baht in forgone revenue, says the department's chief. According to the tax breaks, the sales tax rate for electric tricycles has been halved to 2% and the rate for fruit and vegetable juices has been halved to 10%. He said the outbreak has taken a bite out of the Excise Department's revenue collection because the affected items are for services and consumption. The Excise Department has lowered its tax revenue collection target for this fiscal year to 600 billion baht from 640 billion baht set previously.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 07, 2020 23:26 UTC
Tisco aid recipients still paying interest
Tisco aid recipients still paying interestHalf of Tisco Bank's auto loan customers have participated in a debt holiday scheme, but 90% continue to service interest. Apart from the bank's auto loan customers, some borrowers in Tisco Bank's other products have joined the debt relief scheme, Mr Suthas said. Mr Suthas said 90% of the bank's participants in the debt relief measures continued to pay interest, and the remaining 10% were those who deferred servicing both principal and interest. Participants who suspended both interest and principal payments have been considered a risky group because Tisco Bank has a harder time assessing their debt payment ability and tendency to default. "Predicting the debt payment ability of 10% of customers who suspended paying both principal and interest is difficult.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 07, 2020 23:26 UTC
Face masks in surplus, ministry says
Face masks in surplus, ministry saysWorkers make disposable face masks at a factory. According to the Internal Trade Department, Thailand has a surplus of 1.2 million face masks a day. Thailand is still restricting the export of medical masks, with an ad hoc committee recently approving an extension of the export ban for medical face masks until February 2021. According to the Commerce Ministry, domestic demand for face masks has surged to 40-50 million pieces a month after the outbreak, up from 30 million previously. Thailand shipped 226 million face masks in 2019, a 218% surge from 71 million masks in 2018.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 07, 2020 23:26 UTC
Added local travel perks shaping up
(Photo by Arnun Chonmahatrakool)The Finance Ministry is poised to launch a fresh package to encourage domestic travel on weekdays, aiming to boost the country's GDP by 0.2-0.3 percentage points. Last month, the cabinet approved two stimulus packages worth 22.4 billion baht to boost domestic tourism. Hotel operators can register from July 1, while the public can register on July 15 at the We Travel Together website. Should the domestic-boosting tourism measures receive a good response from the public, the measure's deadline will be extended. The imminent tourism stimulus measures will trigger spending across the country, which is more important than giving GDP a boost, Mr Lavaron said.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 07, 2020 23:26 UTC
'Life coach' sorry for fund errors
'Life coach' sorry for fund errorsSean BuranahiranAfter disappearing for almost two weeks, embattled "life coach" Sean Buranahiran on Tuesday apologised for mistakes related to his firefighters fund and promised to right all his wrongs. Mr Sean was criticised on social media on June 27 about the fund's lack of transparency and he says he panicked. During his silence he says he ordered his staff to add up all donations made to the fund and update their Facebook page. He said his staff duly tallied the receipts and they came to 875,741.53 baht, while the total, including other accounts, was about 1.3 million baht, or about 400,000 baht more. Mr Sean said he had rectified his errors and returned money to two donors who requested a refund.
Source:Bangkok Post
July 07, 2020 23:19 UTC