German chamber to host gala dinner May 30 in Bangkok

(From left) Jan Immel, Rene Pisters, Karl Heinz Heckhausen and Joerg Buck are obviously enjoying the Stammtisch event.

Elfi Seitz
The German-Thai Chamber of Commerce will host its annual gala dinner May 30 at the Grand Hyatt Erawan in Bangkok.
Speaking at the chamber’s May meeting at the Moon River Pub, Director Jörg Buck said the “Glamour of Germany” event will feature dinner and music, along with performances of dance and fashion. A raffle will be held offering numerous prizes. Guests are requested to dress in the red, gold and black of the German flag.
At the May “stammitsch” at the Thai Garden Resort bar, President Karl Heinz Heckhausen said many members have been concerned with the strong Thai baht, which has appreciated 6 percent this year, versus gains of less than 1 percent for other Southeast Asian currencies and 15 percent depreciation of the Japanese yen.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra last week said the cabinet has authorized Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong to press ahead with continuous meetings with representatives from the central bank and the government and private sectors in order to address the baht problem and stabilize the currency.
Heckhausen said he hopes the government finds a “healthy middle ground” on which to stabilize the baht. Too strong, and the baht damages exports. Too weak and it hurts German importers, he said.
“The kingdom already prepared itself well for the arrival of the ASEAN Economic Community and I personally believe Thailand would be a perfect hub for the region,” he said.
On a lighter note, chamber members got news that the Moon River Pub’s house band of nine years would be replaced June 1 with “Cross Colors,” comprised of musicians from Germany, the Philippines, Trinidad and Romania.

Baht strong - Thai auto exports weaken

The 6 percent appreciation of Thailand’s baht since late last year has reduced profits in the domestic auto industry to only 3-4 percent, a representative of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) said on Friday.
Surapong Paisitpipatanapong, spokesman of the FTI auto industrial group, said the surging baht has compelled auto and parts manufacturers to reduce their prices to stay competitive in the export market.
The auto industry will face more difficulty if the baht strengthens to Bt28-29 against the dollar, he said, indicating that appreciation by Bt1 is equivalent to a Bt28.6 billion loss in auto exports.
The calculation was based on last year’s export value of US$28 billion.
But the Thai auto industry maintains its original export target of 1.1 million units for this year. The domestic sales target of 1.45 million units will also be unchanged though manufacturers foresee an increase to 1.5-1.6 million units.
“We have to wait for final sales figures from the Bangkok International Auto Week. We have to see how many people discard their bookings,” he said.
FTI chairman Payungsak Chatsuthipol said the baht’s movement is currently in line with other regional currencies but industrialists doubt it will remain stable.
Payungsak called on state agencies concerned to keep a close watch on foreign capital inflows which will have a negative impact on the Thai currency. (MCOT)

Thailand’s Industrial Sentiment Index drops 4 months in row

The Thai Industrial Sentiment Index (TISI) slipped for its fourth consecutive month to 92.9 in April, according to the chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI)

Payungsak Chatsuthipol said the TISI, which declined from 93.5 in March, was below 100 for the tenth month due to the private sector’s concern on the surging baht which directly affected exports.
The TISI among exporters dropped from 89.9 to 85.7, marking their even lower confidence in the economic landscape.
He said exporters have been uneasy with the volatile global economic situation which has negatively impacted overseas purchase orders.
Manufacturers have resorted to import raw materials from abroad, which will eventually negatively affect the internal supply chain, but there was no tangible assistance from the government, he said.
The TISI in the next three months will remain below 100 as manufacturers are worried about the country’s fragile political situation, he added.
He called on the government to maintain the stability of the Thai currency and find measures to help small and medium enterprises. (MCOT)

Thailand’s state revenue 10% higher than targeted

The Thai government realized net revenue of Bt127.581 billion last month, 9 percent higher than its earlier estimate of Bt10.585 billion, a Finance Ministry spokesman reported today.
Somchai Sajjapong said the revenue came mainly from personal income and auto sales taxes.
Collections of personal income tax was Bt3.728 billion, 13.9 percent higher, due to expanded household income, and Bt3.434 billion, 33.2 percent higher, from auto sales tax mainly from the government’s first-car purchase scheme, he said.
He added that contributions from state enterprises were Bt9.518 billion, 77.1 percent, higher than earlier forecast.
In the first seven months of the 2013 fiscal year (Oct 2012-April 2013), the government’s net revenue was Bt1.1 trillion which was Bt104.426 billion, some 10.4 percent higher than the target, and 16.2 percent higher than the corresponding period in the previous fiscal year.
However, the Revenue Department’s tax refunds were Bt18.542 billion higher than earlier estimated.
The Revenue Department collected Bt821 billion tax in the first seven months of the current fiscal year, Bt42.164 billion or 5.4 percent higher than the target while the Excise Department collected Bt268.5 billion tax, higher than the target by Bt24.462 billion or 10 percent.
The Customs Department’s tax collection in the first seven months was Bt67.6 billion, higher than the target by Bt455 billion or 0.7 percent.
The contribution from state enterprises was Bt72.6 billion which was Bt15.2 billion or 26.7 percent above the target while other state agencies collected combined revenue of Bt100.5 billion, which was Bt41.854 billion or 71.4 percent above the target.
The Revenue Department’s tax refund totaled at Bt174.9 billion, which was Bt18.542 billion or 11.9 percent higher than originally projected. (MCOT)