Kasikornbank predicts disappointing economic growth at 4% this year
Thailand’s economic growth will possibly be capped at 4 percent this year
given delays in the state’s 2014 budget spending and the planned Bt2
trillion investment on infrastructure development, a leading banker said
last week.
Teeranan Srihong, Kasikornbank president, said there were no positive signs
contributing to internal economic resurrection in the last four months of
the year.
He forecast Thailand’s economic expansion by 4.5 percent next year after the
global economy gains strength and the government kicks off some investment
projects.
“Wars in some countries have toned down, boosting foreign consumers’
confidence. Thailand’s export sector should improve next year if the Thai
currency remains weak as it is,” he said.
Teeranan said Thailand’s overall efficiency has neither improved nor
worsened - ranked 27th among 60 countries - as surveyed by the
Switzerland-based International Institute for Management Development (IMD).
Compared to countries in Southeast Asia, Thailand is third after Singapore
and Malaysia due to its lack of infrastructure development.
The government has mapped out investment plans for various projects but they
have never been implemented, diminishing Thailand’s competitiveness in the
region and creating concerns that the country’s ranking may drop, he pointed
out.
The private sector’s proposals on state investment in research and
development of products, and human resources development have never been
executed by the government, he said.
Expressing concerns on household debt, Teeranan said Kasikornbank has
closely monitored the financial situation and found that non-performing
loans remain controllable while borrowing expansion was on target at 9-11
percent. (MCOT)
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Pig farmers nationwide prepared to protest US pork imports
Thai pig farmers nationwide are prepared to protest
against the import of American pork.
Swine Raisers Association of Thailand president, Surachai Sutthitham,
representing Thai pig farmers, will submit a letter to Thailand’s Trade
Negotiations Department director-general and the US Embassy to stand firm on
their position that Thai swine raisers are against importing pork from the
United States.
Surachai said the imports will destroy the entire system of Thai pig farming
and Thai swine farmers nationwide are ready to gather to protect their
vocation by all possible means. The government could see an unexpectedly
high level of protest, he added.
He asserted that Thailand’s pork production is sufficient for domestic
consumption and sometimes is in oversupply.
Thailand should push for more pork exports instead of importing from other
countries, especially the US, which still uses Ractopamine as a feed
additive to promote leanness in animals raised for their meat.
The United States recently tried to negotiate via the Thai Trade
Negotiations Department asking for a market opening for American pork
products here.
The US said it will adjust the additive’s level to comply with the Codex
standard, the international food standards recognized by the World Trade
Agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) and Technical Barriers to
Trade (TBT) as being the reference point for food standards applied in
international trade.
Surachai commented that such move was a pressure to Thailand and reflected a
negative sign that the US would try its best for Thailand to open its pork
market.
He added that an obvious example was seen when many Vietnamese pig farmers
went bankrupt due to the dumping of US pork imports. (MCOT)
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Kingdom Property joins forces
with China’s leading real estate agent
Overseas sales: Kingdom Property
will be working with SouFun, China’s leading real estate agency to secure
sales in Mainland China.
Thailand real estate developer Kingdom Property has
appointed China’s largest real estate agent, SouFun Holdings, to represent
the company’s debut project, Southpoint Pattaya, in the booming Mainland
Chinese market.
With an expected total of five million Chinese tourists visiting Thailand in
2013 alone, the growing Chinese demand for Thai property is one that Kingdom
Property plans to maximize with the hiring of the NYSE listed company.
Kingdom Property Chief Executive Officer Nigel Cornick said that he was
delighted to be working alongside SouFun in a market that offered a good
match for high quality property developments such as Southpoint Pattaya.
“SouFun have a formidable track record and are very respected in the market
- and we are pleased to have signed a partnership with them to represent us
in China and join our established international team,” he said.
“It is clearly a market that requires a strong local partner - and in SouFun
I believe we have found a company that provides Chinese buyers with a high
level of confidence and we expect the market to continue to perform strongly
for us.
“Pattaya represents excellent value as an investment, given the thriving
tourism industry and an expanding manufacturing sector on the Eastern
Seaboard, offering capital gains on property as well as a healthy rental
market, plus a family-focused lifestyle option.”
Thailand’s soaring travel sector witnessed almost 15 million overseas
arrivals for the period January through June 2013, China alone claiming 18%
of the total market.
An exclusive development just a
short walk from the Royal Varuna Yacht Club, Southpoint Pattaya represents
an excellent investment for buyers.
The main buyer nationality in Southpoint Pattaya is Thai,
accounting for 65 percent, followed by Chinese, Japanese and Russian buyers.
The development is the first in a pipeline of projects in Pattaya currently
valued at an estimated THB20 billion.
Southoint Pattaya is located on a four rai freehold plot, located a short
distance south of Bali Hai in Pattaya City, on an elevated site on Pratamnak
Hill, offering extensive sea views and within walking distance of the Royal
Varuna Yacht Club.
Total sales of the twin-tower development now stand at over 60 percent, with
the entire Suites Tower sold earlier this year to a local Thai investor who
will develop the 224-unit building into internationally managed serviced
residences.
Located a one-hour drive from Bangkok International Airport, unit sizes at
Southpoint start from studios of 30sqm with one-bedroom units ranging from
41sqm to 87sqm and two-bedroom units ranging from 61sqm to 97sqm. The
condominium includes a dedicated sky deck with an infinity edge lap pool and
fitness center along with a landscaped family zone featuring a children’s
pool and playground.
For Southpoint Pattaya sales enquiries please visit:
www.southpointpattaya.com or email: info@kingdomproperty .com or call the
Pattaya Sales Office tel: 038 416 441.
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Shippers seek lower logistics costs
The Thai National Shippers’ Council has asked the
government to guarantee clear measures to reduce tangible logistics costs.
At a seminar on developing Thailand’s logistics standards to welcome the
ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), council president Nopporn Thepsittha said
the private sector agreed with the government’s infrastructure investment
plan which aims to reduce the country’s logistics costs to two percent.
However, he said in order to really help entrepreneurs lower logistics
costs, which will help them become more competitive, the Thai National
Shippers’ Council wants the government to guarantee that Thai logistics
costs would be reduced at all levels.
According to Nopporn, transport by rail takes three steps to reach a port,
for the process starts from factories by truck followed by rail, then by
trucks to ports as the last destination.
The existing transport system uses only trucks to carry goods to ports, he
said.
The council’s export target this year is expected to grow three percent.
Thai exports this year grew only 0.6 percent during the first seven months.
(MCOT)
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Thai investment privileges,
potential attract foreign investors
Foreign investors in Thailand are strongly confident in
the country’s potential, with more than half keen on maintaining their
investment portfolios here, according to the Board of Investment (BoI).
Chokedee Kaewsang, BoI deputy secretary general, said 63 percent of foreign
investors planned to maintain their investment in the country next year and
one-third, some 34 percent, said they would expand their investment.
Those countries with the highest level of investment are Japan, China and
the European Union. None of the foreign investors said they would withdraw
from the kingdom, he said.
Contributing factors for their business expansion are Thailand’s readiness
to support industry, raw materials, infrastructure and investment
privileges.
In terms of contributing factors for investment in Southeast Asia, Thailand
ranked second, at 3.64 percent, after Singapore at 3.79 percent. Compared to
other Asian countries, Thailand ranked after Japan which received 4.40
percent and close to China at 3.66 percent.
He said most foreign investors believed that their performance next year,
whether from total revenue or revenue from domestic and international sales
would be higher than this year, while their debt burden in 2013-3014 would
be stable.
The BoI survey also found that 13.60 percent of foreign investors who have
set up businesses in Thailand planned to venture to other countries,
including Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar and Malaysia.
He said some investors wanted the BoI to speed up services such as the time
necessary for approval of granting an investment privilege, increasing
personnel for services and giving them advice on certain problems. (MCOT)
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Bt204 million approved for online system monitoring govt’s rice stocks
The National Rice Policy Committee (NRPC) has approved a
Bt204 million budget to improve the computer system of state agencies
responsible for the rice pledging scheme.
Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan
said all the agencies would be linked to an online database to enable
checking of required documents, and relevant information including the
volume of rice in the state’s stockpiles, the locations of rice warehouses
and the volume of rice released to the market.
The Warehouse Organization will be the hub of data and information, which
will be shared by the Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives,
Marketing Organization for Farmers, Agricultural Futures Exchange of
Thailand, Commerce Ministry, Finance Ministry and Agriculture and
Cooperatives Ministry, he said.
The system should be implemented within two months, he said, assuring that
the system would prevent corruption in rice purchases and facilitate
enforcement of the rice subsidy program. (MCOT)
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